Driving the NEW Aston Martin Vanquish (Twin-turbo V12!) | Henry Catchpole - The Driver’s Seat

Henry Catchpole reviews the new Aston Martin Vanquish on the island of Sardinia in this latest episode of The Driver’s Seat. He tries really hard to steer clear of any references to James Bond but if there’s a famous hotel, a fast boat and an Aston Martin, what’s a chap to do?
Don’t worry, though, it’s not all Roger Moore and Martinis - there is plenty to talk about with this final piece of Aston’s three-car puzzle. The DB12, Vantage and now Vanquish are all front engined and rear-wheel drive, but each has a distinct character. The 2+2 DB12 was described as a Super GT, while the Vantage is clearly the more sporty offering. But what room does that leave for the Vanquish?

Well, as it turns out, the Vanquish is capable of being the best GT of the trio. However, it is also possessed of a rather brutish side, with a penchant for graffiti. Without even trying, the pale roads of Sardinia were left tattooed with tyre marks in every area of hard acceleration. If you turn the traction control off then the marks get darker still, but the Aston reveals a very refined form of unruliness with its E-diff doing an ace job of making things controllable.

The new Vanquish costs from £333,000 or $429,000, which puts it in direct competition with the new Ferrari 12Cilindri. Both cars produce over 800bhp from V12 engines (with no hybrid assistance, unlike the Lamborghini Revuelto) and transmit it all to the road via the rear wheels alone. The Italian is a little lighter and quicker, but the Brit is faster and while the naturally aspirated Ferrari makes do with 500lb ft of torque at 7250rpm, the twin-turbo Aston has 738lb ft (or a nice round 1000NM) of torque from 2500rpm to 5000rpm.

#thedriversseat #henrycatchpole #neverstopdriving #astonmartin #astonmartinvanquish

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[gouldnj]

What a crushing victory for AM! Beauty, class, presence, crushing power and a useable UI.

[shawnsolan]

Hagerty no doubt has the best editing, big props to the team.

[paultucker]

I wanted Henry's review to be the first I watched. A special journalist for a special car. The video did not disappoint, and neither does the Vanquish. I'll take mine in Aluminite Silver, which I assume is a similar hue that might be chosen for that fella who shall not be named 🙂

[dougcargill]

The first minute and a half is worthy of an Oscar for cinematography.

[andrewm]

MmmMMM! Those view where it is from the drivers perspective. BEST. EVER! Every other attempt to capture on film on how it feels the drive a particular car (too low, too high, off to a side, angled wrong, etc.). Man those were great. And the Henry's narration of what makes these cars special is just bang on, not a word misplaced.
Well done Hagerty production team!

[kiwee]

I love that he mentions the firing order just for the sake of it

[DarrenCheesbrough]

What a beautiful film Henry. They set the standard for everything else on YouTube.

[nvrndingsmmr]

I absolutely love the rear end, you can totally see a bit of 60's Aston in those vertically stacked tail lights!

[ricardoe]

No James Bond.
Proceeds to James Bond.
Epic.

[SG-yfdk]

Some differences but the Aston absolutely blows the Dodici Cilindri out of the water! Different class!!

[vernonhampton]

Henry Catchpole: "We're not making any allusions or references to James Bond..."
ALSO Henry Catchpole: (proceeds to create Award-worthy opening cinematic for next 007 film)
-Chef's kiss...

[jonnnyren]

Hagerty reminds me of the old Top Gear. The cinematic intros definitely remind me of them. The intro looks like something taken from The Perfect Roadtrip's intro with the Riva Aquarama.

Hagerty, this is probably the 3rd Aston Martin video I will be watching repeatedly.

[tamasszabo]

I was waiting for Henry to say something like this: "If this film rakes your moon or thunders your ball..."

[MM-xrtz]

A masterpiece in cinematography Henry 👌

[robertcalinescu]

The first time in any car review that I rewatched the intro 4 times, well done chaps with invoking the Bond spirit! Oh what a day to be an AM fan.

[qpwoeiruty]

Aston has improved so much with these new designs

[GM-kjsb]

Watch guys - What watch is he wearing?

[joshcorvette]

Once you pointed out the sound similarities to the modern BMW 6s, I couldn’t unhear it. Not a bad thing whatsoever. I love the deep grunt of both engines.

[ArabianOak]

i have a 23 db11 v12tt with 630hp...can't even fathom another 200hp...car must be a total monster...

[mikeypv]

I'm so glad you posted this at the exact same time as Top Gear as I would of watched that but I would much rather hear Henry's review than 25 different presenters at Top Gear I've never heard of