A control apparatus for a vehicle includes a control portion configured to control an input torque to an automatic transmission such that a value representing a rotating state of an input rotary member of the automatic transmission coincides with a target value; a racing determining portion configured to determine whether a rotating speed of an engine is predicted to exceed a predetermined rotating speed when control is provided such that the value representing the rotating state of the input rotary member of the automatic transmission coincides with the target value during a power-on shift-down action of the automatic transmission; and an output limiting portion configured to limit the output torque of the engine to a predetermined torque or less if the rotating speed of the engine is predicted to exceed the predetermined rotating speed during the power-on shift-down action of the automatic transmission.