Derek Watts Column
Don’t get into an argument about the world’s first sport utility vehicle (SUV). Some will insist it was the 1963 Jeep Wagoneer; Chevrolet will say it all started nearly three decades earlier with the Suburban Carryall; and historians will look to the launch of the Ford Explorer in 1990 as the spark that ignited the modern SUV blaze.
And it was a wildfire that soon swept across the great divide, from humble and affordable brands to the premium status marques.
Not that it was an easy transition. I remember shaking my head in disapproval of the monster military green Porsche Cayenne I encountered at the Johannesburg International Motor Show in 2004. Had Stuttgart gone completely mad? And I wasn’t alone – Porsche’s invasion of SUV territory was called an act of madness by most.
Ever since its genetic code was forged in 1948, the brand had extolled the ethos of purist performance, and chased the chequered flag with aerodynamic designs powered by race-bred German engineering. More than 28,000 victories told the only story that mattered.
But now the Cayenne and Macan SUVS outsell their maker’s entire sportscar range.
And SUVS have become the darlings of the motor industry – about 30 million are sold around the world every year. In securityobsessed South Africa, these rulers of the road account for a third of all car sales, with the Toyota Land Cruiser a popular choice.
The BMW X5 was one of the early adopters and now X marks the spot for an endless array of their off-road vehicles. But if your ship has come in, why not take a look at the upper-crust pretenders to the SUV throne?
Like the ultra-luxurious Bentley Bentayga Speed, which will hurtle you to 100 km/h in just 3.9 seconds. Please be careful not to spill the Moët & Chandon.
Or the even more extravagant and intimidating Rolls-royce Cullinan Black Badge, its “shooting star” feature streaming a beam of light over the roof liner that has been customised to the star pattern of your choice. Though a strangely Beijing-like feature, do try the Cullinan on the testing Zwartkops off-road track and you will be royally impressed.
As you might know, only 0.123% (a figure of my own informed estimation) the owners of super-luxury SUVS take their fancy steeds on any surface rougher than the gravel road from the Manor House to the stables.
So, as Roxette would say, it all comes down to whether you’ve got “the look”. And the best looker in town has just arrived – ask 007.
Even though he started out in a Chevy Belair convertible in Dr No – and has been behind the wheel of a wild assortment of vehicles, from a Tuk Tuk taxi to a Ford Mustang – James Bond, quite simply, is Aston Martin.
And the new DBX has a winning feature in its favour: It doesn’t look like an SUV.
Built at the fledgling St Athan Lagonda plant in Wales, in the UK, it looks sleeker and sportier than the class competitors, with aerodynamics taking precedence over enormous load space – and certainly the most appealing back-end of the lot. Plus, you can add painted callipers and carbon-fibre wing mirrors to give onlookers the Goldfinger.
It has been designed from a clean sheet of paper, using bonded aluminium (no pun intended) to offer a body structure that is relatively light and incredibly rigid.
As you might expect for your hard-earned R3.6m (add R70k if you supersize to the exclusive 1913 package which includes a cocktail party at the Waldorf Astoria), the interior is the home of plush and bespoke. I’m sure 21 different leather colours and 28 colours of contrast stitching will give you a modicum of choice?
The latest digital hardware is borrowed from the collaboration with Mercedes-benz, and personally I would be more than happy to be powered by the AMG four-litre V8 with new turbos and other special tweaks.
Let’s be honest: James has saved the planet many times over the last six decades (even if he is rather Trump-like when it comes to global warming). But maybe he has got one more mission in him: to inspire the DBX to do for Aston Martin what the Cayenne did for Porsche.