In reality, you’d be silly to think about turning the traction control system on either car to a position where you are all on your own on a wet road. But even with everything switched on and the dampers set to comfort mode, the 599 feels more nervous – more alive, perhaps – than the Aston, particularly on less than perfect road surfaces.

"On paper the DBS looks extremely quick. But the 599 is something else again..." (Autocar photo) » More Photos

You feel much more of what’s going on beneath your backside in the 599, and the steering is more neurotic in the way it responds just off center. If you are remotely clumsy with your inputs at the wheel, the 599 can even feel a bit of a handful if driven with gusto, whereas the DBS always feels more settled, more in control of itself, even with the dampers set to sport mode (not to be advised unless you are on a glass-smooth autobahn or a racetrack).

The other big difference between them is their respective levels of dive under braking and squat under acceleration. In the Aston there is virtually no perceptible sensation of weight transfer, even under a full-bore stop from over three figures. Instead it just feels rooted, seemingly no matter how brutal you are with either pedal. Despite being the lighter of the two cars on paper, the 599 simply moves around more and feels heavier than the Aston on the road. Yet neither is it as comfortable just ambling along at 35mph. And it suffers from more tire noise than the DBS everywhere.

On the other hand, the Ferrari does feel more exciting than the Aston, and that’s partly because there’s so much more going on around you – more noise, more movement, more raw acceleration when you squeeze the throttle. Quite a lot more acceleration, if we’re being truthful.

Up to a point the DBS hangs on gamely to the 599 in a straight line, and it goes especially well at that point in the mid-range where passing normal cars becomes more a matter of restraint than possibility. It’s quick enough between 30mph and 70mph to force you to think quite hard before using full throttle, and it sounds sensational over the last 3000rpm.

But just at the point where you begin to wonder if the DBS is, in fact, uncatchable in a straight line, the 599 will bare its fangs, its V12 will hit its sweet spot and the Aston driver will be left wondering what on earth happened.