GAYDON’S 11

Aston Martin’s latest model arrives in Manila

FROM Aston Martin’s headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, England comes the new, clean-sheet design DB11 Grand Touring car. Unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2016 (sold later in the year), the British brand’s latest model arrived last week at the showroom of Aston Martin Manila.

As a replacement to the DB9, which debuted in 2003, the DB11 is the first product of what Aston Martin calls its “Second Century” plan. This means the car brings with it a number of significant changes that set the template on which future Aston Martins will conform. Here are the key pointers:

FAST TALK

The DB11 brings a lot of fresh elements to Aston Martin’s design language. New contouring on the front and rear fenders suggest bulk while scalloped panels over the car’s front wheels aid in aerodynamics. The shape of the car’s rear deck and tail lamps also owes nothing to previous Astons. Retained in the DB11 though is the cab-backward stance of the older DBs.

POWER PACKED

Aston Martin stuck with a V12 in choosing an engine for the DB11. But it did not merely stuff the DB9’s engine into it; it built a new one. While displacing 700cc less than the old V12 (ostensibly a means to cut on emissions), the new 5.2-liter engine packs a pair of turbochargers, allowing it power outputs of 600hp and 700Nm.

LEAN, MEAN

The DB11 turned the DB9’s flab into muscle. The key here lies in the car’s bonded aluminum structure that’s some 40 kilograms lighter than that which propped up the DB9. The new car still put on a bit of weight though due to the hardware that comes with its two turbochargers — not bad considering the DB11 is longer and wider.