New Aston has aero and graces
How to enjoy a $390,000 Aston Martin? Just go with the airflow, says David Linklater.
Aproperly new Aston Martin is a rare thing. Even models that are quite new are still usually a lot like the older ones.
For the record, the last cleansheet Aston Martin model was the 2004 DB9, which introduced the VH platform that has underpinned every Aston since. If you want to get really technical, VH evolved from the 2001 Vanquish. So it’s been around a while.
Anyway, that platform has defined every Aston Martin of the current generation, which makes it very important because the ones before VH were built on old Jaguar bits. And nobody likes old Jaguar bits.
All of this makes the DB11 you see here a crucial model because it’s completely new again and will provide the basis for the next generation of Aston models. It’s the car that company boss Andy Palmer now-famously described as ‘‘the most important car in Aston’s [103-year] history’’.
That’s a bit heavy, isn’t it? In fact, if you’ re not an industryexecutive or platform engineer, the coolest thing about the DB11 is not what’s underneath but what goes over the top. The Eleven is dripping with cutting-edge aerodynamics, which is also the reason this 322kmh machine is not dripping in spoilers and skirts.
Around the front wheelarches is a design called Curlicue: gills in the lining take air and expel it through apertures behind the strakes on the front guards, to reduce lift. More air is fed through the back of the wheelarch via ‘stirrup’ vents behind the front wheels.
The rear incorporates the socalled Aston Aeroblade. Air goes in through a channel behind the pillars, is fed through a vent (you can see right through if you open the boot and peer towards the front of the car) and creates a jet effect as it’s forced through a tiny grille in the bootlid. Look closely and you’ll also see one of the few pieces of aero-addenda on the car: a sliver of active spoiler that raises only when required.
Honestly, you could leer at this stuff all day. Or you could just go and put some air to work.
As what is ostensibly a replacement for the DB9, this new model is no track-day racer. It’s a GT-car, albeit one that can rocket to 100kmh in a supercar-like 3.9 seconds, big V12 howling exquisitely as the scenery becomes a blur. The performance is epic at any speed; perhaps something to do with 700Nm of torque at 1500rpm
Given the extreme acceleration, what may surprise is the supple ride. You can choose from GT, Sport and Sport+ modes for the suspension (engine too, albeit separately), but even in the most extreme setting it’s entirely usable on everyday roads.
Or to flip the dynamic equation around, it’s beautifully controlled through corners even in GT mode, with some roll but sensational balance. The DB11 is aluminium in construction, but it’s certainly no lightweight (Aston only quotes a ‘‘dry weight’’ of 1770kg). However, weight distribution is a nearperfect 51/49 and it’s hard to fault the way it tackles the turns.
We like to think of Astons as oldschool, but the DB11 has newgeneration trickery such as electric power steering, twin turbochargers, cylinder deactivation and torque vectoring.
If you’re having a James Bond car-chase fantasy (by the way, Bond never drove a DB9. Never!) or feeling the pressure of 35kmh corners, you might wish for more substance to the steering. But it’s a tricky balance: too heavy and you might undermine the car’s GT aspirations.
Overall, those technologies are seamlessly integrated into the car and you seldom give any of them a second thought. Big V12 engines already have unbelievably elastic power delivery, and the turbos simply add bigger numbers everywhere without disturbing any of that linearity.
The DB11 takes Aston luxury to a new level and we have Mercedes Benz to thank for that. Well, partly. You get the gorgeous leather and high style that Aston does so well, but you also get hi-tech virtual instruments, with infotainment and switchgear that works flawlessly. M-B is a 5 per cent shareholder in Aston Martin and now supplies the electronic systems for such things.
If you’re familiar with the world of M-B you’ll recognise some stuff straight away, such as the weird wave-shaped touchpad on the centre console (standard on our DB11 Launch Edition, optional otherwise). Know what? If you’ve suffered though some of the wobbly electronic architecture of previous Astons, this is exciting stuff. Rejoyce.
There will be more from M-B in the future, probably including AMG-sourced V8 twin-turbo engines for smaller Aston sports cars. The DB11’s engine, by the way, is still all-Aston: essentially a re-engineered, shorter-stroke version of the previous 5.9-litre unit.
Just to bring us crashing down to earth, Aston assures its buyers that the DB11’s boot can swallow two golf bags. Golf has the potential to ruin a great car design.
Thankfully, it hasn’t happened with this one.