Every car Aston Martin makes is built to be wanted in its own right, so choosing between them is less about which is best and more about which one belongs in your life. The Vantage is a two-seat sports car. The DB12 is the grand tourer Aston Martin calls the world’s first super tourer. The DBX is Aston Martin’s five-seat performance SUV. The Vanquish is the V12 flagship. Above them sit the hypercars, Valhalla and Valkyrie, and the specials from Q by Aston Martin. This guide sets out the character of each so you can match the right one to how, and where, you drive in Saudi Arabia.

Start with how you drive

Aston Martin’s range is built around different kinds of driving rather than trim levels of one car, so the honest place to start is with how you actually use a car. A second car kept for weekend roads is a different decision from the one that carries your family every day. 

Distances between Saudi cities are long, which puts a premium on comfort over a three or four hour run, and because many owners here keep more than one car, a Vantage can stay a specialist without having to do everything.

As a quick guide: the Vantage is for driving, the DB12 for touring, the DBX for the family, and the Vanquish for the drama of a V12. The hypercars and specials are for the collector. The rest of this guide fills in the detail. 

See the full Aston Martin model range to explore each car.

Vantage: the sports car

The Vantage is the sports car of the range, and it makes no apology for it. Its 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 produces 665 PS (656 bhp) and 800 Nm, drives the rear wheels through an eight-speed automatic, and takes the coupe to 100 km/h in about 3.4 seconds and on to 325 km/h. 

Two seats, a modest boot, and a car that changes direction the instant you ask: it is happiest on an open road early in the morning, and it wants you involved every second. If the act of driving is the reason you are buying, this is the Aston Martin built around it.

DB12: the super tourer

The DB12 is the grand tourer, and Aston Martin’s name for it, the world’s first super tourer, turns out to be fair. The same 4.0-litre V8 is tuned here to 680 PS (671 bhp) with 800 Nm, again rear-driven through an eight-speed automatic, good for 0-100 km/h in the mid-three-second range and 325 km/h. As a 2+2 it adds occasional rear seats, and over distance it rides and insulates in a way the Vantage never set out to. 

It carries the pace of a supercar with the manners of a car you could cross the Kingdom in before lunch, and it is the car the local showrooms feature most.

For a single Aston Martin that can handle the week’s commute, cross the country at the weekend and still come alive on a good road, the DB12 answers to all of it.

DBX: the SUV

When you need five seats, the DBX is the Aston Martin you can live with every day. Its 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 drives all four wheels through a nine-speed transmission, giving it the pace of a sports car in the body of an SUV. 

It still seats five and swallows a family’s luggage, so none of the performance comes at the expense of the everyday. It is the Aston Martin to choose when the car has to do more than one job.

Vanquish: the V12 flagship

The Vanquish sits at the top of the front-engined range, and it is the only way into a twelve-cylinder Aston Martin today. Its 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12 produces 835 PS and 1,000 Nm, reaches 100 km/h in 3.3 seconds and runs on to 345 km/h. Where the DB12 is the everyday super tourer, the Vanquish is the grand gesture: the definitive front-engined Aston Martin, with the theatre of a V12 to go with it.

The hypercars: Valhalla and Valkyrie

Above the road range sit Aston Martin’s two hypercars, both drawing directly on the company’s Formula 1 programme. These are allocation cars, bought by collectors rather than ordered from a showroom floor.

Valhalla

Valhalla is Aston Martin’s first plug-in hybrid hypercar and the halo of the range. A bespoke 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 works with electric motors for more than 1,000 PS, and the chassis and electronics come straight out of the company’s Formula 1 programme. Production is capped at 999 cars. This is a collector’s car and a track car rather than a daily one, and it is bought on allocation.

Valkyrie

Valkyrie is the most extreme car Aston Martin has ever built for the road, the ultimate hypercar in the range. Developed with the company’s Formula 1 partners, it pairs a naturally aspirated V12 with a hybrid system for well over 1,000 PS and generates enough downforce to feel like a race car on the road. Like Valhalla, it is a limited-production, allocation-only car aimed at the serious collector.

The specials: Valen, Valour and Victor

Beyond the model range, Q by Aston Martin, the brand’s bespoke division, builds a small number of special vehicles: ultra-limited, hand-finished cars made in tiny numbers for collectors. They are not part of the everyday line-up, but they show what Aston Martin is capable of at its most exclusive.

Valen 

The newest of the specials, a limited V12 car and the most powerful front-engined Aston Martin yet built.

Valour

Valour was created to mark Aston Martin’s 110th anniversary, pairing a 5.2-litre V12 with a rare six-speed manual gearbox, limited to 110 cars. 

Victor 

A one-off, a single coachbuilt V12 commissioned as a modern tribute to Aston Martin's most muscular era.

All three are collector cars, offered by allocation through Q by Aston Martin.

The range at a glance

Buying an Aston Martin in Saudi Arabia

Aston Martin is represented in the Kingdom by the authorised dealer, HHA, with showrooms in Riyadh, Jeddah and Al Khobar for sales, service and parts. You can arrange a test drive, commission a car through Q by Aston Martin, and have it maintained by factory-trained technicians without sending it abroad. Pricing starts from roughly SAR 660,000 for the Vantage and climbs with the model and specification; every price carries 15% VAT, and the current figure for the car you want is best confirmed with the dealer.

If a particular model or specification matters to you, mention it to the dealer in advance so a car is ready to drive when you arrive. The quickest way to decide is to drive two or three of them back to back, book a test drive, or visit a showroom, to feel the range for yourself.

Book a test drive

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between the DB12 and the DBX?

The DB12 is a rear-driven 2+2 grand tourer built for driving and long journeys; the DBX is a five-seat all-wheel-drive SUV built for the family and daily use. They share the same 4.0-litre V8 family but are made for different lives.

Which Aston Martin is best for a family in Saudi Arabia?

The DBX. It is the Aston Martin with five seats and SUV practicality, built to carry a family while keeping the performance and finish Aston Martin is known for.

Which Aston Martin has a V12 engine?

The Vanquish. It uses a 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12 producing 835 PS and is the flagship of the front-engined range. The Vantage, DB12 and DBX use the 4.0-litre V8, while the hypercars and V12 specials sit above the everyday range.

What is the difference between a hypercar and a special vehicle?

Aston Martin’s hypercars, Valhalla and Valkyrie, are Formula 1-derived, limited-production cars built for outright performance. The special vehicles, such as Valen, Valour and Victor, are ultra-rare, hand-built cars from Q by Aston Martin, made in tiny numbers for collectors. Both are offered by allocation rather than ordered from a showroom.