The Last Naturally Aspirated V12 Flagship: A Full Review

There is a particular kind of anticipation that comes with a naturally aspirated V12. Before you have turned a wheel, the specification alone tells you this car was built to a philosophy rather than a spreadsheet. Cold-start it and the engine settles into a hard, metallic idle that feels closer to a race car than anything with number plates has a right to.

The proportions are dramatic without being cartoonish. Every intake and vent is doing a job, and the surfacing manages to look both muscular and precise. It is a car that stops conversations in a car park, yet rewards a closer look with genuine engineering honesty.

Away from the drama, the everyday manners surprise you. The adaptive dampers have a genuinely usable soft setting, the gearbox shuffles smoothly through town, and forward visibility is better than the low seating position suggests. This is a supercar you could realistically use more than a handful of weekends a year.

Then you find an open road and everything sharpens. Throttle response is instant in a way turbocharged rivals cannot match, and the engine pulls with a ferocity that builds rather than explodes. The last 2,000 rpm is where the magic lives — and it is worth every fine you will be tempted to earn.

Grip levels are enormous, but what defines the car is balance. The rear axle steers subtly to tighten your line, and the front end bites with a confidence that flatters an enthusiastic driver rather than intimidating them. Traction out of slow corners is remarkable for a rear-driven car of this output.

Braking is equally impressive, with carbon-ceramic discs that resist fade lap after lap and a pedal that stays firm and communicative. On a fast, flowing circuit this is a car that shrinks around you rather than one you fight.

If this really is the last of the naturally aspirated flagship V12s, it is a magnificent send-off. It combines a once-in-a-generation engine with the poise and usability that make a supercar something you want to live with, not just admire.

It is not cheap, and the options list is a slippery slope, but as a driving experience it is close to untouchable. For enthusiasts, this is the car to buy while you still can.