Aston Martin has announced that a new flagship ‘S’ variants of its DB12 grand tourer is now on sale in the UK, which features “more power and even greater dynamic prowess”.
The large DB12 coupé and convertible range – on sale since 2023 – is the third current Aston Martin export to get a range-topping ‘S’ model this year, following the arrival of the DBX S and Vantage S in prior months. Aston Martin’s has applied the ‘S’ suffix to higher-performance versions of its models for around two decades now.
Opting for this ‘S’ model comes with a few cosmetic changes over the lead-in DB12, including new front and rear bumper splitters, gloss black or carbon fibre bonnet louvres, a two-tone exterior colour scheme with the roof and window surrounds finished in black, gloss black door sills and red ‘S’ badges near the front wheel arches.
Aston Martin has also given the ‘S’ a new stainless steel quad tailpipe exhaust, which the brand says reduces the grand tourer’s weight by 12kg (27kg weight reduction across the car in total) and has been “tuned to accentuate the engine frequencies throughout the rev range for added depth and potency.”
The British brand adds that its engineers have also tweaked the car’s throttle response and reduced the automatic transmission’s gearshift times by more than 50%. Further attention has been applied to the suspension, with re-tuned Bilstein DTX damper software said to improve “front-end confidence and overall agility feel.” Carbon Ceramic Brakes also comes as standard to improve the car’s stopping power.
Inside, the DB12 S is offered with a choice of three interior trim ‘environments’; all being different configurations of leather upholstery and panel trimmings. The car also comes with 16-way electrically-adjustable front seats as standard.
Available as either a coupé or ‘Volante’ soft-top convertible, the DB12 S is powered by the same 4.0-Litre twin-turbocharged petrol V8 as the standard DB12, but with a 20hp boost, raising power output to 700hp. This “even more potent” engine cuts the car’s 0-62mph sprint time down to 3.4 seconds. Top speed is caps out at 202mph.
The Aston Martin DB12 currently holds a New Car Expert Rating of D, with a score of 56%. It might be a fantastic car to drive, but it’s also a very expensive car to live with – not that this will come as any surprise to potential customers.
