Aston Martin CEO Adrian Hallmark has been particularly busy recently. In separate interviews with Drive and Motor1, Hallmark confirmed that the automaker plans to move in the opposite direction of other automakers. With their latest bold play, Aston Martin plans to keep producing one of the industry’s most powerful engines through the end of the decade, as well as revive a beloved transmission.
Aston Martin
Aston Martin CEO wants to keep the V12 around through 2030
If current government efficiency requirements and global emissions regulations remain unchanged, large-scale production of Aston Martin’s V12 engine will likely end in 2028. That doesn’t mean that 2028 marks the final year for the V12 engine, though.
According to Hallmark, the V12 engine could stick around through 2030. There are only a couple of ways to keep the engine around, one of which includes small-scale production. If the V12 engine is built in low volumes, it could be eligible for exemptions.
“There’s always opportunities and we’re still looking at how can we extend the life of 12-cylinder [engines] through emissions development activity as we speak. But end of the decade is pretty much the end of 12-cylinder [engines] as we currently see,” Adrian Hallmark, global CEO of Aston Martin, told Drive.
Aston Martin
Currently, Aston Martin only offers the all-new Vanquish with a 5.2-liter twin-turbo V12 engine that outputs 824 horsepower and 737 lb-ft of torque, making it the most powerful ever from the British automaker.
Perhaps rather controversially, all that power is channeled through an eight-speed automatic transmission. At its peak, the 2025 Aston Martin Vanquish can reach 60 mph in less than 3.3 seconds and boasts a top speed of 214 mph.
Aston Martin is limiting production to under 1,000 examples per year. That kind of power and exclusivity will cost you, with the 2025 Aston Martin Vanquish starting at $427,700.
2025 Aston Martin Vanquish Aston Martin
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Perhaps unsurprisingly, Aston Martin isn’t the only one who wants to keep the V12 engine around. Emanuele Carandro, head of product marketing for Ferrari, told Australian media that the Italian supercar manufacturer will keep making naturally aspirated V12 engines as long as the law allows.
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Aston Martin plans to bring back manual transmissions
Adrian Hallmark spent quite a while running Bentley, and now he’s at the helm of Aston Martin. With five months under his belt as Aston Martin CEO, Hallmark shared his plans for the future of the brand. In short, he plans to increase the number of variants for each model and bring back the manual transmission.
Aston Martin
While Aston Martin had offered a six-speed manual transmission in the limited-run Valour and Valiant models, it doesn’t have a manual transmission in any production car. Aston Martin last offered a manual in a production car in the 2019 Vantage AMR.
While reviving manual transmissions might sound out of touch, considering most manufacturers are nixing them altogether, Hallmark wants to take a page from Porsche’s book. The German luxury performance brand currently offers the 911 GT3 and 911 S/T with a manual transmission, proving there’s demand for a more connected driving experience in high-end performance cars.
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Don’t expect to see a manual transmission in an Aston Martin anytime soon, though. According to Hallmark, decorative changes, like cosmetic packages, can be approved fairly quickly, but more considerable changes will take over a year to bring to market.
Final thoughts
Models equipped with V12 engines are usually out of the budget for most consumers, and this looks to be no different. In essence, the fact that Aston Martin is keeping their most powerful engine alive as long as possible is a huge plus for the industry.
Aston Martin
Bringing back a manual transmission in high-performance cars is definitely a plus for those who want the exhilaration behind the wheel. Since Aston Martin vehicles are typically available in low quantities, the addition of a manual could motivate more buyers. After all, in a world where even supercar manufacturers are reducing their manual offerings, those that continue to offer a manual have little competition.
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