Upgraded Aston Martin DB12 spied with Ferrari California-style stacked exhaust set-up

Aston Martin is readying an update to its DB12 super GT that first launched in 2023, which is expected to add power, aggression and focus to the model when it debuts over the next 12 months.

The original launched Aston’s new era with, among other things, a heavily upgraded 671bhp version of the 4-litre twin-turbo V8 Aston Martin sources from Mercedes-AMG. But now the new 656bhp Vantage is here to sit below it as Aston Martin’s sports car and the new 824bhp Vanquish has taken its place at the head of the range, the question of whether there’s headroom in the DB12 now looms. 

6

Not that it isn’t a balistically fast thing as it is in its current 671bhp form, but 740bhp would be the number to split the difference exactly, since you’re asking. The production version of this prototype will be Aston’s 700bhp+ answer to that question.

Could it get a version of the V12? That’s one way of doing the numbers reliably, though more likely is that this will be kept exclusively for the Vanquish, with an upgraded version of the V8 remaining at the heart of this new DB12, which even with its disguise, we can see will be a more visually aggressive model.

At the front, we see new flanking vent elements in the car’s more prominent splitter. There are also new side skirt elements but the biggest change appears to be at the rear, where a new stacked (and enormous) quad-exhaust set-up appears to be in the pipeline. 

The tips are large semi-oval elements, similar to those seen on the new Vanquish, albeit vertically stacked, as last seen on Lexus’s F cars and, of all things, the infamous original Ferrari California. Quite how this change will be received, on cars that trade heavily on their classical good looks and elegance, is to be determined. It’s certainly a dramatic change for the DB12, which evolved the least at the rear by comparison to the DB11 that it replaced. A Volante version has also been spotted, which if not launched at the same time, will appear in very short order after the coupe.

6

Aston Martin will likely be revising the DB12’s dynamic arsenal to meet the new power figure and more focused brief. Expect the multi-stage traction control, damping settings, spring rates and differential settings to be tweaked. We could also see a drop from the existing DB12’s chunky 1685kg curb weight.

> Aston Martin Valhalla nears production and its grudge match with the Lamborghini Revuelto

What will this new DB12 variant be called? Past upgraded DB-badged cars include the DB7 GT, DB9 GT and DB11 AMR, so it could follow on from one of those, or introduce a new naming convention entirely. Or, it could simply be DB12, taking the place wholesale of the current car.

The latter is unlikely, given new CEO Adrian Hallmark is on the record with his admiration of Porsche’s multi-variant strategy and his keenness to do something similar with Aston. Either way, we’ll know when the covers come off.