a Review of My 12 C, 812 GTS and Aston Martin Vanquish

A “non car guy” friend of mine perhaps summed it up best:

When I look at your Ferraris I see a “race car for the street” – when I look at your Aston Martin I see a “work of art”.

The 12 C is an evolution of the 812, but with significant, and noticeable refinements. As indicated in the various reviews, it has been transformed into much more of a Grand Tourer. You actually could drive this car long distances in perfect comfort. I got the multi-way adjustable seats, with ventilation, heating, neck heater, and massage, and they are as comfortable as my S Class Mercedes seats.

The ride is excellent. The car is composed, and very stable.

BUT:

In stock form, I had decided that I would not keep the car, but sell it as soon as my waiting period was over.

Instead of feeling like a V12 Ferrari, the car felt like a very sporty Bentley.

It never could get my blood boiling, regardless of how hard I tried. It was just too refined and way too quiet.

Since I really liked the car, (except for the excessive refinement), I decided to change to an aftermarket exhaust (muffler switch only – went with a Novitec). (I have posted a number of posts in the Exhaust Discussion section of the forum.)

IT IS A COMPLETE TRANSFORMATION ! I now love the car – I no longer plan to sell it. It sounds and feels like a proper (but refined) V12 Ferrari.

It now has a Jekyll & Hyde personality, selectable by the manettino. (In Wet and Sport settings, the exhaust valve is closed, so it is very quiet (like the stock exhaust) until you reache about 3000 rpm, then it opens up. In Race mode, the valve is fully open, even at idle, and the car now sounds very much like an 812. (I posted some sound clips in the Exhaust section).

Compared with the 812, I’d say the 12 C is more stable, handles more predictably, it takes road bumps mid-corner better, without getting unsettled, and it feels less likely to bite you. (Note that I think that is both good and bad – depending on what mood you are in – I like that the 812 lives closer to the edge, and demands a lot of respect when driven briskly).

Both my cars are Spiders, so I drive them with the top down, or top up but back window open, so I can hear the V12 singing better than in a coupe.

I would say that the 12 C has somewhat better rigidity, which gives the car a noticeably better and more stable ride.

You will recall that Ferrari talked about torque smoothing, to give the car a more linear feel as the rpm increases. That is quite noticeable, The engine feels smoother, but less rambunctious. A logical trade-off is that torque at medium rpms is less in the 12 C than in the 812. So I’d say that in the 3500-6000 rpm range the 812 feels “stronger/more torquey”. Beyond 6000 they feel about the same, but while the 812 does not reach the advertised 9000 rpm redline (stops a few hundred short of that number), the 12 C sings all the way to 9500, and is happy to do so. (By the way, the 12C is quite similar to my Competizione in how smoothly it delivers power, but with much less ferocity and sound – even with the aftermarket exhaust, than the Competizione).

Both the 812 and the 12 C have that lovely light, nimble, easy-to-drive feeling, with the 12C probably a bit more so.

My original plan was to keep both cars for a period, while I decided which I liked best and would keep for the long run. Right now I am undecided. I love the more mature, refined feel of the 12C, greater comfort, greater stability, but also love the wild crazy edginess that the 812 has. The 812 is more of a handful, but it rewards accordingly. So I am postponing the decision indefinitely.

By contrast the Vanquish is a totally different car. It is very much a very special car to experience, and feels more unique than either Ferrari. The look is indeed a work of art, inside and outside. The attention to detail and fit and finish is absolutely outstanding. (I have never seen paint as flawless as the Aston Martin). As an indication of the attention to detail, every part, inside and out, that looks metallic, is actually made from metal (generally chrome plated aluminum), whereas similar pieces in the Ferrari are plastic made to look like metal. (As an aside, I have since the 575, been disappointed with the interior bits in Ferraris – cheaply finished and totally out of character for such expensive, exclusive cars.)

The engine is an absolute monster (it has the same 830hp, but makes 50% more torque as the 12 C, and at very low rpm, so at mid-range it pulls as strongly as the SF90 or 296. It is truly astounding.

In a side-by-side acceleration, in the same gear, the Vanquish would easily win, but it runs out of breath just as the 12C is coming into its sweet spot, so in an all-out, multi gear race, the Ferrari (with its brilliant, zero-delay transmission), would win.

The Vanquish is a significantly larger and heavier car, and you are always aware of the extra weight and bulk. The steering is very heavy, and a bit dead in feedback, so it feels (and is) less agile. However, it does handle bumps very well, and on long sweeping curves, handles remarkably well.

The sound is both good and bad. In stock form, the sound outside is comparable to the 12C (after all they both must pass similar regulatory restrictions), but to their credit they have found a way to pipe significantly more sound (and engine vibrations) inside the car (in a good way), so you are always aware that there is a big, powerful V12 sitting in front of you. However, whereas in the Ferrari the sound changes considerably (improves) as one goes to higher and higher rpm, the Vanquish maintains the same tone throughout the rev range. Another nice feature, is that they provide a button that allows you to pick from 3 levels of sound inside the car, (and separately 3 suspension settings).

So all 3 cars are outstanding cars and we are very lucky to live at a time that we still have such good choices, but all 3 provide very different experiences.

Between the Vanquish and the Ferraris, the Vanquish wins the “specialness” prize, but dynamically (handling, ease of driving, transmission, engine), Ferrari wins the prize.

Contrary to the conclusions of the various reviewers, who rated the Vanquish as the better GT car, if I was going on a long trip, I’d pick the 12C first, the Vanquish second, and the 812 last.

On the other hand, if I wanted maximum thrills and excitement, it would be 812 first, 12 C second and Vanquish last.


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Look at the Exhaust discussion secttion.
I outlined the specific muffler I chose (going from memory, it was the one that fits the stock exhaust tips ie. square tips).