Aston Martin to continue building V12 sports cars

Company boss Lawrence Stroll says 5.2-litre engine will survive beyond the new V12 Vantage

The new new V8-powered Aston Martin DBX 707 SUV just edges the V12-engined DBS grand tourer on outright acceleration, but boss Tobias Moers has no immediate plans to phase out the company’s own 12-cylinder motor.

Asked if the DBX 707’s V8 – a modified version of Mercedes-AMG’s most potent engine – could replace the V12 in the Aston Martin DBS and the top-rung DB11, Moers said: “No, we won’t do that. The V12 still has a bit of potential, and having the V12 Vantage shows there’s still room for a V12 in our sports car generation.”

The new V12 Vantage is expected to use a similar powertrain configuration to the V12 Speedster, which makes 690bhp and 555lb ft. It has already been confirmed as a swansong for the V12 Vantage name, but Moers’s latest remarks suggest the engine will maintain a role in Aston Martin’s sports car programme.

“The V12 Vantage gives an impression of where we move with the brand,” Moers said. “It’s the highest-performance sports car Aston ever did. It gives an idea what we’re going to do with sports car manufacture.”

He revealed that the end of the lifecycle for the V12s will be 2026-2027. “If you still have customers chasing it, it’s small numbers,” he added. “We’re not talking about mass production.”

That suggests the V12 could become a highly bespoke offering or be used only in ultra-exclusive special editions.

It almost certainly won’t be used in a potent version of the DBX, with Moers listing driving dynamics and weight distribution as factors that would be adversely affected.

Aston Martin currently uses AMG’s V8 and straight-six engines across its line-up, but the turbo four-cylinder destined for deployment in the next-gen C63 and E63 would be “a step too far,” according to Moers. “It might be my brainchild, but it doesn’t fit with Aston as a brand."