The 2026 Aston Martin DB12 S, in traditional fashion, tweaks the formula making everything a little bit better.
Two years ago, Aston Martin launched the DB12 as the latest in its most iconic lineup, following the DB11 and creating yet another great looking, high-performance grand tourer in the process. If you’ve followed the brand over the years, though, you know what comes along in due time. A new ‘S’ model comes along that focuses on tweaking pretty much everything, and that’s what we have here. The 2026 Aston Martin DB12 brings some styling tweaks, suspension changes, brake upgrades and — as you’d rightly expect — a power bump (albeit a modest one) over the standard car.
Let’s start off with the styling. I totally get calling an Aston a great-looking car is a cliche at the very least, but this is an opportunity to appreciate that fact once again. Both inside and out, this is one of the most beautiful cars around right now, and the S does nothing to upset that balance. You do get a few elements that make this version a bit more hardcore than the “regular” DB12, including a new quad-pipe exhaust setup, updated louvers on the hood and a new splitter at the front. Inside, you get three interior options: “Accelerate” full-aniline leather with Alcantara, “Inspire S” semi-aniline leather with Alcantara, or a full semi-aniline leather upholstery.
The DB12 S’ exhaust isn’t just for show, either.
On the performance front, the S gets a titanium exhaust system that drops 26 pounds from the overall curb weight, while increasing the noise output by 1.5 decibels. Behind the 21-inch wheels, a $14,500 set of carbon-ceramic brakes comes standard here (while it’s an option elsewhere in the DB12 lineup). That drops another 60 pounds of unsprung weight.
But what about the engine? Well, the 2026 Aston Martin DB12 S still makes use of a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 rather than the old-school V12 we saw in the past few DB generations. Even the standard 671-horsepower DB12 was no slouch, though, and this one gets a 19 horsepower boost to 690 horsepower. The 590 lb-ft of torque remains the same.
Beyond just giving it a bit more grunt and beefier brakes off the bat, the engineers behind this car also tweaked the chassis with a stiffer rear anti-roll bar and software changes to the damper settings and the electronic rear differential. You also get an updated launch control algorithm that Aston says shaves about a tenth of a second off the 0-60 time. Overall, it can manage that acceleration run in 3.4 seconds.
How much will the S cost?
We aren’t talking about a multi-million dollar supercar here, but you know the normal DB12 already sits in “if you have to ask” territory on price. To that end, the 2026 Aston Martin DB12 S is more expensive still, though we don’t know exactly how much yet.
Like the standard DB12, though, the S will be available in both coupe and Volante (roadster) forms. Prices for the non-S models start at around $250,000 for the coupe and $270,000 for the convertible — so tack about $25,000 or so onto that and you’ll probably be in the right ballpark for the S.
The 2026 Aston Martin DB12 S is available to order now, with deliveries set to kick off early next year.
