ASTON MARTIN VANTAGE V12 S

Engine: 5.9-litre V12 Transmission: seven-speed automated manual Max power: 565bhp Max torque: 620Nm @ 5,750rpm Max speed: 330km/h Acceleration: 0-100km/h in 3.9 seconds Kerb weight: 1.665 tonnes 911. It’s nicely balanced, the weight of its front engine being almost completely offset by the rear-mounted transaxle. And, thanks to the motor mounted low in the chassis, its centre of gravity sits impressively close to the road.

But as is the way with many cars approaching mid-life – and in spite of periodic upgrades down the years that have included the introduction of a roadster, capacity increases, V12 power, tuning packages, and tweaks to engine management, chassis and trim levels – the Vantage, while being never less than utterly covetable, had somewhat mislaid its mojo. Admittedly it was faster and way better looking than a Mercedes SL or a Jaguar XK, but Ferraris and Lambos had moved on since the midnoughties, and nowadays even some 911s are quicker and sharper to drive than the gracefully ageing Brit.

Aston may lack both the resources and the economies of scale of its bigger competitors, but that also means it’s small enough to be responsive – and it has a genuine car nut, in the person of dynamic 70-year-old CEO Dr Ulrich Bez, to guide it. Formerly of Porsche, BMW and Daewoo, the unfeasibly youthful Bez (who is also a ferocious competitor on the race track) recognised there was far more life left in his old dog than was generally realised, and that the Vantage might even serve as the basis for the fastest road-going Aston ever.

He set his engineers to work on achieving just that, and the result was revealed last October with the announcement of the V12 S. Replacing the Vantage V12 that’s been in production since 2009, the S is leaner and infinitely meaner than any other production car to wear the winged AM motif, and to my eyes it’s easily the most desirable of the current crop.

Purposeful and inscrutable in black and silver (the latter adorns the roof and a panel between the rear lights, as well as a daub of “lipstick” around the nose), and with liberal