Aston Martin Vanquish S Is Coming — 8 Exhaust Pipes Spotted at the Nürburgring

Spy photographers caught a lightly camouflaged Aston Martin Vanquish prototype running hot laps around the Nürburgring Nordschleife on May 6 2026. The car is clearly development hardware — it carries prototype and emission test vehicle stickers throughout — but the details visible through the camouflage tell a clear story about the direction Aston Martin is taking the Vanquish S.

The rear end is the most immediately striking element. The standard Vanquish uses four exhaust outlets in a quad configuration. The prototype in these spy shots has eight. Four of those outlets appear in the revised diffuser section at the bottom of the rear bumper. Another four — larger, round tips — are visible behind a mesh section in the camouflage covering the trunk lid area. Whether all eight are functional on the production car or whether some are development hardware is not yet confirmed. The most likely scenario, based on how Aston Martin has developed previous S variants, is that the production car will use a cleaner exhaust arrangement — probably quad tips with revised flow routing — and that the additional outlets on this prototype are test hardware for exhaust gas management during development.

Beyond the exhaust drama, the prototype reveals a genuinely more aggressive aerodynamic specification than the standard Vanquish. The front splitter is visibly deeper — extending further forward and lower than the standard car's unit — indicating that the Vanquish S will generate more front downforce than the base model. The trunk lid spoiler has been revised, with a different profile that suggests additional rear downforce at speed. The aerodynamic diffuser at the rear has been substantially reworked — not simply to accommodate the additional exhaust outlets, but to generate meaningful aerodynamic effect in its own right.

The prototype also rides on lightweight wheels and is equipped with carbon ceramic brakes — both consistent with Aston Martin's S variant philosophy, which prioritises unsprung mass reduction to sharpen dynamic response rather than seeking headline power figures alone. The combination of aero-focused development and lightweight components suggests the Vanquish S is being engineered as a more complete performance package than the already capable standard car, not simply a power upgrade.

The standard 2026 Aston Martin Vanquish uses a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V12 producing 824 horsepower and 738 lb-ft of torque — making it one of the most powerful naturally-produced V12 GT cars available today. The Vanquish S will build on this foundation, and based on the exhaust development visible on the prototype, Aston Martin's engineers are clearly working on the exhaust flow and engine breathing. The most credible expectation is an output somewhere above 850 horsepower — potentially reaching 900hp depending on how aggressively Aston Martin develops the engine's top end.

Aston Martin has previous form with S variants. The DB12 S — announced earlier this year — follows the same formula: more power, more focused chassis tuning, more aerodynamic aggression and a higher price. The Vanquish S will almost certainly follow the same pattern. Given that the standard Vanquish already sits at the top of Aston Martin's GT lineup, the S variant represents the absolute peak of what the British brand will offer outside the bespoke Specials programme — a car that combines genuine supercar performance with the grand touring character the Vanquish nameplate represents.

Base car	Aston Martin Vanquish — 824hp twin-turbo V12
Variant	Vanquish S — higher performance S specification
Spotted at	Nürburgring Nordschleife — May 6 2026
Exhaust configuration	8 pipes on prototype — 4 in diffuser + 4 behind trunk mesh
Aero changes	Deeper front splitter — revised trunk lid spoiler — reworked diffuser
Brakes	Carbon ceramic — confirmed on prototype
Wheels	Lightweight specification — confirmed on prototype
Expected output	Above 824hp — likely 850hp+ from twin-turbo V12
Expected launch	2027
S variant precedent	DB12 S — same formula: more power, more aero, higher price
Production exhaust	Likely cleaner than prototype — 8 pipes probably development hardware
Price (est.)	Above standard Vanquish — ~$380,000+ est.
Source	Carscoops / Autoevolution — Nürburgring spy shots May 2026

The Vanquish nameplate carries enormous weight in Aston Martin's history. The original Vanquish — introduced in 2001 — was the car that defined the modern Aston Martin brand: a front-engined, rear-wheel-drive grand tourer with a hand-built V12 and proportions that made everything else on the road look ordinary. The current Vanquish — revealed in late 2024 — revives that formula with 824 horsepower, a revised V12 architecture and a body that is wider, lower and more aggressively proportioned than the DBS it replaced.

The S variant follows a pattern that Aston Martin has used for decades — taking its flagship and sharpening it into something more performance-focused without abandoning the GT character. The original Vanquish S of 2004 raised power from 460hp to 520hp and sharpened the chassis. The current Vanquish S will almost certainly do the same — take a car that is already extraordinary and make it genuinely threatening. Eight exhaust pipes at the Nürburgring is one of the most compelling previews of what is coming. The full reveal will follow in 2027.