Aston Martin is adopting change to their usual big GT formula with the DB11, but not any more than absolutely necessary.
The Geneva Motor Show this year has been a little overwhelming, especially in terms of the kind of cars that many of us will never own or even see in person. But that’s alright, because we’ve come to expect this brand of ante-upping at the Salon International de l'Auto each year, held rather ironically, in the Swiss capital.
There’s a new hyperfast Bugatti, a more beautiful but debatably faster and slightly more powerful Koenigsegg, the outrageous Apollo Arrow by the company formally known as Gumpert, and a very striking Lamborghini for good measure – all are, by some metric, landmark automobiles in their own right.
Despite this, Aston Martin has was confident that the lauch of its newest V12 grand-tourer, the DB11, wouldn’t be relegated to the sidelines among the more bombastic unveils. And they were right.
Look at it. Because that’s all you want to do. Until you can own one. Or drive one. Or both.
The DB11 continues the AML lineage from the DB9 that was launched in 2003, with the production nomenclature skipping a digit since the DB10 moniker was used for the 10-unit special developed for the 2015 James Bond film, Spectre. But you already knew that.
The DB11 certainly does take styling cues from the DB10, particularly those rear haunches, and even inherits its exact wheel design as an option. It is visibly larger than the DB10, matching the proportions of the DB9 almost to a fault. Aston Martin is bullish on their new discreet inlets such as the Aeroblade to reduce rear-end lift (channeling air around the passenger cell and spread it out through the rear) as well as the stronger but lighter bonded aluminium structure and platform.
The real story behind the Aston Martin’s new DB11, however, lies under the hood. We’ve been so familiar with the cars that roll off from Gaydon – literally all of them - being fitted with a 6.0-litre naturally aspirated V12 or a 4.x-litre V8, albeit ones with varying degrees of ferocity depending on the exact permutation. While those engines were very charismatic, the tightening of emissions and fuel consumption regulations meant they were a quickly drying breed, leaving Aston Martin in a tight spot.
The DB11’s powerplant is a 5.2-litre V12, but fitted with two turbochargers to, apparently, make it more environmentally conscious. Aston Martin in 2015 also inked a tie up with Daimler AG (Mercedes-Benz), which despite assertions that the engine was engineered entirely in-house, could have offloaded some German turbocharging and engine packing expertise for Aston’s first wading into the world of modern forced-induction.
It develops 447kW (600hp) and 700Nm of torque that allows the DB11 to sprint from standstill to 100km/h in just 3.9 seconds and on to a top speed of 322km/h (200mph), but it also features intelligent cylinder deactivation and idle stop-start to eek out some extra efficiecy points. Drive reaches the two rear wheels via an 8-speed ZF automatic transmission. From some initial footage, 5.2-litre unit does sound like the sonorous V12 it replaces, albeit less pronounced, but we’ll have to wait to see if that turns out to be true.
Inside, it’s as we’ve come to expect from Aston Martin. Lots of leather, interspersed with plush and/or expensive materials. The infotainment system has been a sore point for Aston’s gone by, but in the DB11 there’s a centre-mounted unit with an 8-inch display (courtesy of Daimleg AG) that’s controllable from a rotary dial along the transmission tunnel.
Dr Andy Palmer, CEO of Aston Martin, said: ““This is not only the most important car that Aston Martin has launched in recent history, but also in its 103-year existence. The DB11 rightfully places Aston Martin once again as a leading brand in the luxury automotive market”.
Deliveries are expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2016 with prices hovering tentatively at 205,000 Euros and $211,995 in the US.
