Aston Martin DB12 S sharper, powerful

Aston Martin’s DB12 S is the harder-edged version of the DB12, and the interesting part is not just the extra power. The real story is that Aston seems to have used the usual “S” recipe — more output, less weight, louder exhaust — to fix the slightly fuzzy edge that some people felt in the standard car. Now the first drives are out, and they mostly point the same way: this is still a grand tourer, but one with more bite. That’s the gap Aston was trying to close. The DB12 already had speed. The DB12 S is meant to feel more intentional. (autocar.co.uk) ### What actually changed? The basics are straightforward. Aston Martin turned up its 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 to 700 PS globally, which is 690 hp on the U.S. site, while torque stays at 800 Nm, or 590 lb-ft. The company also quotes a 202 mph top speed and a 0-60 mph run in 3.4 seconds. None of that rewrites physics, but it does move the DB12 S into a more serious bracket inside Aston’s own lineup. (astonmartin.com) ### Why are reviewers focusing on the chassis? Because the numbers were never the weak point. The standard DB12 was already very fast. What Aston needed was a cleaner sense of connection — the feeling that the front end, steering, throttle, and transmission are all working with a little more urgency. That’s where the DB12 S seems to have put its effort, with revised calibration for the th(astonmartin.com) rather than brute-force stiffness. (astonmartin.com) ### How much lighter is it? Not radically lighter, but enough to matter in this class. Autocar says the DB12 S can be up to 50 kg lighter, while Aston’s own material points to standard carbon-ceramic brakes cutting 27 kg of unsprung mass. That last bit matters more than the raw number suggests — unsprung weight is the stuff the suspension has to control directly, so reducing i(astonmartin.com)guage, not just a better spec sheet. (autocar.co.uk) ### Is it just louder and harsher? Turns out, not really. Aston gave the car a new quad-tailpipe exhaust and offers an optional titanium system, so yes, it is more vocal. But the company’s pitch — and the early reviews mostly back this up — is that the DB12 S keeps the long-distance comfort that defines a GT. MotorTrend’s first drive leans especially hard on that point: sharper, but also smoother and more opulent where it counts. (astonmartin.com) ### Where does it sit in the range? Right at the top of the DB12 tree. Aston calls it the halo model of the DB bloodline and the new pinnacle for the DB12 range. That sounds like marketing, but it also tells you the role: not a stripped-out track special, not a replacement for a Vantage, and not a DBS revival. It’s the posher, more focused expression of the same super-tourer idea. (media([astonmartin.com)the-new-pinnacle-of-performance-and-style/)) ### So is this a different car? Not in the sense of a full generational leap. The cabin, the mission, and the overall shape of the car are familiar. But that’s almost the point. Aston didn’t need to invent a new DB12. It needed to tighten the one it had — more response, more definition, more confidence from the chassis. Early impressions suggest that’s exactly what happened. (autocar.co.uk) ### Bottom line? The DB12 S looks like Aston Martin doing the sensible thing well. More power grabs the headline, but the meaningful upgrade is the way the car seems to have been tuned around that power. Basically, Aston took an already fast GT and tried to make it feel worth driving for the sake of the drive, not just the badge or the cabin. If that impression holds up beyond the (autocar.co.uk)ted to be. (autocar.co.uk)