What’s Cooler Than a Grand Tourer?

Adults of a certain age will be able to answer this question without second thought:

“What’s cooler than being cool?”

The correct answer, from Outkast’s 2003 hit “Hey Ya!” is “Ice cold!”

Aston Martin had a similar question to answer when developing a higher-performance version of its flagship DB12: What’s grander than a grand tourer? After much debate (probably) and too many meetings (almost certainly), Aston came up with the super tourer.

The super tourer would have more power, a more aggressive transmission, and a more potent torque curve. But equally important, this super tourer would have a more comfortable ride, a more tactile steering system, and more opulence. The 2026 Aston Martin DB12 S is the product of those efforts, and more than just being the company’s first “super tourer,” it provides the new benchmark for what a grand tourer should be.

On paper, the alterations Aston made for the S transformation are quite small. The DB12—the latest in a mostly unbroken, 10-generation line of flagship GTs dating to the 1940s—impressed us with its poise and performance. With us calling the plain DB12 “the company’s most important new offering since the DB5,” that was probably a smart decision.

Automotive engine compartment with visible components and details.

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The changes, all told, are subtle but meaningful. Under the hood the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 (V-12s are currently reserved for the Vanquish and other more exclusive cars) is massaged to produce an extra 20 hp, for a total of 690, while fueling, timing, and boost pressure changes, coupled with a new titanium exhaust system, help give the DB12 S a broader torque curve than the standard model even as the 590-lb-ft peak carries over. The Aston’s eight-speed automatic also receives some work, with increased pressure control helping allow quicker shifts overall, while launch control also gets revamped to further reduce shift speeds, resulting in 0.1 second improvement in the 0–60-mph time, to 3.4 seconds. Revisions to the throttle’s calibration help make the most of those changes.

Suspension, steering, and braking systems also get some attention. A stiffer rear anti-rollbar, a more aggressive camber, and software changes to the dampers supposedly work together to help the DB12S feel like it has more suspension travel and a softer ride, improving high-speed stability while also preserving the standard car’s eager cornering behavior. Changes to the steering rack reduce what Aston engineers describe as “on-center friction” for more organic steering feel, while steel brakes get swapped out for lighter, heavier-duty carbon ceramics.

Other changes include ritzy new interior appointments and a standard aerodynamic package finished with a boxy rear diffusor.

Interior view of a luxury car dashboard and steering wheel

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Do the small changes add up to make a big difference? Is ice cold colder than cold?

As we found in the related but smaller and sportier Vantage S, the thoughtful tweaks made to create the DB12 S have an outsized impact. Our route from Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley over the Santa Monica Mountains to Malibu and back would challenge any car (they certainly challenged the DB12 Volante) due to the transparent variety of the roads: tight canyon switchbacks, wide-open mountain pavement, pockmarked city streets, and highways. The DB12 S delivered, elegantly and effortlessly.

If there’s a single word to sum up the DB12 S experience, it’s “organic.” There’s a lifelike way this Aston goes down the road, breathing over bumps, tensing for corners, and exhaling on straights. You can even feel the car responding as you twist the drive mode dial: A click into Sport feels like muscles flexing, everything more reactive and immediate. Sport+ is even more so, like a sprinter at the blocks waiting for the starter’s pistol to fire. Finally, twist back to GT mode, and the car relaxes, becoming more tranquil all at once.

Interior view of a luxury car showcasing the center console and touchscreen display.

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That dynamic is captured in the way the DB12 S goes down the road. Open highways and rural two-tracks pass quickly, and the Aston is settled, composed, and comfortable. The driver workload is minimal, but what work there is to do is a joy with tactile, classically light British steering feel, and a transmission and engine just a flex of your big toe away from making haste.

Back roads are even better. While the suspension in its sportier settings became a touch too stiff for our liking on SoCal canyon roads (it’s never truly harsh), dialing the suspension back down to the GT setting preserves the ride without negatively affecting performance. The car’s body control, even with the springs in their softest settings, is exceptional. Working in tandem with the electronic rear diff, the suspension deals with quick left-right transitions beautifully, the car feeling far smaller than its size would suggest.

That rear diff works wonders in helping put power down on straightaways, too. Although you won’t notice the extra 20 horses from behind the wheel, the broadened torque curve and transmission updates are readily apparent. The DB12 S accelerates effortlessly from any speed, the transmission firing off aggressive shifts and causing gentle head toss between gearshifts that signals your foot’s really in it. Once it’s time to slow down, the upgraded carbon brakes are precise and easy to modulate, and they have plenty of stopping power.

High-performance sports car parked on a scenic road

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The car’s window sticker has plenty of stopping power, too—at least for those among us who consider “luxury” to mean splurging on for extra legroom on our next flight. Starting at $300,100—a roughly $50K premium over the standard DB12—our test car stickered for $400,300 thanks to about $35,000 in luxurious interior trim enhancements, another 30 large in exterior upgrades like exposed carbon fiber, another $23,100 in import tariffs, and the balance in other odds and ends. That’s not affordable by any metric, but then again what else could possibly cover the same sorts of ground that the DB12 S can as effortlessly as it does?

A front-engine Ferrari won’t be anywhere near as comfortable (and you’ll have the indignity of the Ferrari’s obtuse capacitive touch infotainment system instead of the Aston’s Apple CarPlay Ultra suite), while a Bentley Continental GT Speed won’t be as sporty, and a Rolls-Royce Spectre would be too soft. And that’s before even getting into the dynamic of the above cars not being the best representations of what their brands are capable of.

The DB12 S, on the other hand, encapsulates the magic of the Aston Martin experience. Exquisitely styled and opulently appointed, the DB12 S is equally at home eating up endless miles on the interstate as it is conquering winding backroads in far-flung locales. It’s much more than a grand tourer, it’s—well, you get it.

Photo credit: MotorTrend

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