Aston Martin’s lauded DB line started way back in 1950, when British industrialist Sir David Brown bought the struggling car company, threw his initials on the badge, and gave the world the Aston Martin DB2. “Praise hallelujah!” gushed car fanatics across the globe. Seventy-five years and eight generations later, that bloodline never stopped evolving.
Perhaps none is more famous than the DB5 James Bond made legendary in Goldfinger—that gorgeous silver bullet “Spy Hunter” specced with smokescreen, oil slick, machine guns and, of course, a trusty ejector passenger seat we’ve all dreamt of deploying at some point. Then there was the DB7. Debuted in 1994, the Ian Callum-penned GT unveiled the signature design language Aston is now known for and single-handedly revived the marque in the modern era under Ford/Jaguar ownership. On a personal level, its DB9 successor was the first V12 car we ever drove. The fact we were heavily scolded by PR for doing donuts on a (nearly abandoned) airstrip in the Anza-Borrego Desert is a story for another day.
In Los Angeles, we got to drive the DB’s latest, fiercest chapter: the Aston Martin DB12 S, the new halo of the family and the most powerful and focused DB road car Aston has ever built. And boy, was it fun to take out in the curving hills over Malibu, with the gorgeous Pacific shimmering below. On those sage-lined twisties, you can really leverage the torque spooling out of the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8. Whether it’s the gearing or just the dump of thrust, when you push the throttle—even in “GT” mode—you can get the rear axle slipping. Spin the hefty diamond-cut metal drive mode dial on the central dash up to “Sport” or “Sport+,” and it’s way too easy to make the DB12 S dance like an overstimulated TikTok teen.
The best part? There’s no battery or electric motor to be found anywhere to ion-boost the ride—strictly combustion here. Although sourced from AMG, Aston Martin engineers in Gaydon fully personalized the V8 to produce 700 horsepower and almost 600 pound-feet of torque. That’s enough to launch you to 60 in just 3.4 seconds, all the way up to 202 mph. While the SoCal curves running from shores to mountaintop optimize torque shenanigans, you can truly stretch the DB12 S’s legs and feel the horsepower on the long, glorious straights of the PCH, where the V8 under that long hood sings the loudest.
Being an Aston Martin, elegance is prioritized, be it in the DB12’s muscular sheet metal, or inside—all shaped under the steady hand of Design Chief Marek Reichman. Beautiful touches throughout the grand tourer separate the upper “S” from the base DB12, including quad exhaust tips, 21-inch forged alloy wheels, carbon ceramic brakes, and a sharpened aero package. Inside you’ll find pure British theater: semi-aniline leather color-matched to the exterior paint; gorgeous diamond-stitched thrones that are both heated and ventilated hug tightly; Alcantara across the headliner.
One of the finest touches just might be the 15-speaker Bowers & Wilkins surround-sound system. Custom-tailored for Aston Martin by B&W engineers, the audio is so pure, so potent, and gin-clear, you’ll be tempted to consider soundtracking your drive to something other than that glorious rip of that V8. The slam of granite bass from Future, the ethereal washes of Aphex Twin, and the crooning of The Misfits all sounded sublime through nearly 1,200 watts of B&W’s 14-channel amp.
Base price for the new 2027 Aston Martin DB12 S starts at $272,000, while our tester version—with extensive twill carbon fiber packages (+$46,800) and the exceptional Bowers & Wilkins sound system (+$10,000)—squeezed just past $400,000.
Follow Executive Editor Nicolas Stecher’s travel, spirits, automotive and F&B adventures on Instagram at @nickstecher and @boozeoftheday.