...and it gets trounced, finishing dead last by a wide margin in a field of 5. Ouch.

Acceleration for the V12 was actually slower than the last V8V they tested, hitting 60 in 4.2 and the 1/4 mile in 12.5@117. It was a full 1/2 second behind the next slowest car in both 0-60 and 1/4 mile, and was a painful 1.5 seconds slower to 60 than the 911 turbo and 1.7 seconds slower in the 1/4.

I love the car but really Aston needs to step it up here. Admittedly they were up against some stiff competition, but I'd still expect the car to do better.

 

"But in this group, the Aston scores as the V-8 Vantage did back in our 2007 comparo: “an 8/10ths car in a 10/10ths game." " OUCH

It was not a good review of the V12. However, most of us came from (much) faster cars- myself from a GT3 and Turbo. If you want a faster car (on the street or track), there are a lot of cars which are going to spank the Vantage.

I'm not sure Aston really needs to "step it up". Aston's niche isn't the supercar market. When I bought the Aston, I knew it was nowhere near as fast as my previous car and it wasn't better handling, but it was a pretty good performer. It was the other things that got me- the styling, the sound, the interior, etc. It's all the intangibles which I love.

I really think that Aston has stepped it up. They have made their cars very reliable, almost Porsche like. Also, the recent models have been beautiful, well performing cars. Look at the Porsche Panamera. Now that car is much better performing than the Rapide or Quattroporte, but it's sooo ugly! The Maseratti and Aston beat it hands down.

 

I'm not sure I agree that Aston Martin isn't part of the supercar market...if that was true they wouldn't be putting out a 700hp monster in the One-77.

Going back in history Aston was always the company that made cars with monster engines...and everything else sucked. The '98 Vantage, for example, had twin superchargers and made 600 hp...and it was faster than today's V12V. Now the quality is much better, the cars are more reliable, have better steering and brakes...but they are lacking in the power department. I don't think it's too much to ask for both, given the price.

In all fairness, the V12V was up against stiff competiton in this comparo. And surprisingly it wasn't the slowest on the track, beating the R8 V10 by 1/10th of a second in lap time. And...the comparison was done at 4000+ ft altitude, giving the 911 turbo a big advantage...although it was still freakishly fast. But...Aston could easily up the power in this car to make it more competitive in this field, but they choose not to. I'd love to see them be able to run with these cars. This is their halo sports car...not including the limited edition one-77. And while it may be more of a GT than the others, that doesn't mean it can't at least have the power to keep up in a straight line.

Really, I'd just like to see a comparison where the Aston doesn't finish dead last!

 

I read this article and found myself thinking about how fast my 996tt was after some simple modding and how unbelievable the 997tt must be. Then I thought about how I never really got a chance to explore it's potential and how I have been much happier in my slower Vantage. Aston Martin race cars do extremely well in most of the circuits that they compete in. If you lightened up the cars without all of that cool stuff inside, reprogrammed the ecu and changed the gear ratio, the V12 would compare well with these cars save the 997tt. However, that's not what the car is all about. If these comparisons were made on style, looks and driver satisfaction the Vantage would have the lopsided victory. I'm quite sure that I will experience amazing speed in the V12. I am certain that I will be thrilled even when I'm not going fast which may not be the case if you "live" with the other cars.

 

That's completely true. Most of these articles are merely over performance, which certainly isn’t the only factor one considers when purchasing a car.

 

Well really they do take a lot into consideration besides performance. There are subjective categories for exterior and interior design, steering feel, braking feel, etc. This was a tough competition, though. Of course I'm very happy with my car and chose it over these competitors, but that doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement. And while the Porsche is extremely fast, I had one on order but once I drove it I didn't like it...the power delivery is odd (although I'm sure that's improved in the new model) and I just never connected with it. I drove the Vantage and liked it much more from day one...even before the supercharger went on.

 

Better go and drive a V12V and make your own judgement. It really is and feels like the ultimate Vantage.

And the V12V is clearly quicker than a V8V. I have no idea what C&D did with the car in their test

As for the 997tt, sure it is fast as a rocket. But it is soooo boring and looks rather ugly.

I know your car is supercharged so you clearly are after performance. This is up to you. But the AM brand is not about performance in the first place. AM have made a huge step up with the V12V and the engine is just awesome in the little chassis. Again: Go and testdrive one.....then be honest with yourself

 

I still don't know how they got those numbers for the 4.3 a few years back. No other tester got numbers anywhere near them. In most tests, 0-60 for the 4.3 was around 5.0 s.

 

I've driven the V12 on the track as wells as the highway and local roads. There is no way that a V8 is anyway near as fast. You have amazing power and torque in every gear and even at the low end of the rev cycle. It took me 2 years to know how to drive my V8 fast. I was going fast on the first lap at pocono. As far as the looks of the 997TT, I don't think that it is necessarily "ugly". It just doesn't compare well with the Aston, not may cars do. The other issue is that there may be as many as 12 variants of the 911. some of the variants are better looking than the Turbo. It's almost as if Porsche knows that they can sell the Turbo on performance but they have to up the design of the other cars to get the premium price. I think that the front of the speedster and the GTS is more appealing. I was never a fan of the "slices" wrapping the car. I came close to buying one but once I priced out all of the changes to the body and wheels, I was 20K behind before I got to the performance. The only thing that I may change on the V12 is the wheels.

 

Actually 20 different 911s now!