Aston Martin and Ferrari are brewing an almighty V12 showdown

Simultaneous arrival of Aston's new Vanquish and Ferrari's 12Cilindri sets stage for the test of the year

It feels like it’s been too long since we had a showdown of blue-blooded GT titans, but with the simultaneous arrival of this new Vanquish and Ferrari’s 12Cilinidri, there’s an almighty scrap brewing.

The on-paper comparisons will make for interesting reading – how could they not when we’re talking about a combined two-dozen ‘cilindri’ and in excess of 1600bhp – but the on-road, real-world comparison will be more captivating, and perhaps surprising. 

Ferrari is currently in an intimidatingly good vein of form, though it’s fair to say that Aston got its old flagship, the DBS Superleggera, into pretty formidable shape by the time the ‘770’ run-out special arrived.

If it has carried that momentum forward to the Vanquish, Ferrari will have a tough time beating its old English foe.

Key to the 770’s magic was an exceptional cohesiveness in the steering and handling that allowed you to goad the car as though it was an overgrown Toyota GR86.

Bottomless mid-rpm torque from the Aston’s blown V12 also made it easy to steer the car on the throttle, and that’s something the naturally aspirated 12Cilinidri will lack, relatively.

Of course, the Fandango will sound better, no doubt about it.

My gut says the Aston’s ace card could be its manners over big distances. This is the bread and butter of the GT skillset, though in recent years Ferrari has disregarded it, focusing instead on making its front-engined V12s needlessly agile.

A Vanquish triumph in what will be the twin-test of 2025 could hang on its superior ability to remain serene when required.