As much as it pains us to admit it, there’s no denying that the V12 engine is on its way to extinction. Actually, it’s been on that path for a while; as carmakers have found new ways to squeeze more and more power from smaller engines and governments have imposed new environmental standards on vehicles that favor lower-displacement (which usually means fewer cylinders) motors, the number of 12-cylinder engines found in the new car market has dwindled.
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Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW, for example, have all but canned their V12 production; Bentley is poised to end production of its W12 soon as it pushes towards an all-electric future, and Aston Martin is likewise moving to sunset its V12 powerplants as it reduces (but not eliminates) its dependence on gas-powered engines.
But, as Djimon Hounsou said in Gladiator…not yet. Not yet. Before sending off the V12 and the current-generation Vantage sports car, Aston Martin is combining those two great tastes into a Reese’s peanut butter cup of automotive performance: a new Aston Martin V12 Vantage.
The carmaker first teased the new 12-pot-powered speed machine at the start of the month; now, they’re doing so again with a shadowy image of the car’s front, presenting it ahead of the last two V12-powered Vantages the company built.
This won’t be the first time the gang from Gaydon has squeezed a 12-pot into their compact sports car’s engine bay; they already did so for the V12 Speedster, a Vantage-derived open-top beast of a car. But while that car carries a near-seven-figure pricetag and exists in super-limited quantities (just 88 are being made), the V12 Vantage should be significantly more affordable and available — at least, by Aston Martin standards. We’ll know when the car debuts in 2022.