There was a certain mischievous confidence about launching an iconic British sportscar in Ferrari’s backyard, in this case Tuscany – particularly as the car in question was the sensational new Aston Martin DB11, the most important model in the marque’s 103-year history.
This car marks the start of a crucial new era for Aston Martin, or as CEO Andy Palmer puts it, the start of the “second century” featuring a revolution of design and quality.
It is the first car produced since Daimler bought a five per cent stake in the company and a series of new Astons will follow, with the new Vantage V8 next up.
Daimler, or to be more precise Mercedes AMG, provided the DB11’s electrics and infotainment system which is a million times better than the old-fashioned system that marred previous Astons. The rest of the car is a stunning example of British craftsmanship and innovation. I spent a couple of days in the company of the people who will lead Aston Martin into the future and their enthusiasm for the DB11, the replacement for the DB9, was inspirational. These guys were bursting at the seams with pride and so they should because they have produced something quite extraordinary.
I have long been an Aston Martin fan, mainly because I am British I guess, but I always felt there was something not quite right about them, beit cheap plastic bits in the cabin or an iffy gearbox, particularly in the V8 Vantage, so the anticipation of driving the DB11 – the DB10 was built purely for the James Bond film ‘Spectre’, in case you were wondering why they have gone from DB9 to 11 – was huge.
I had seen photographs of the car but they didn’t come close to seeing it in the metal – it looks fantastic, with its sweeping design, long clamshell bonnet, gorgeous rear end and the signature Aston grille and even that looks more refined than before.
Aerodynamics play a major part in the way the car looks and performs. The signature side-strakes on the front wings have been redesigned and now form part of the ‘Curlicue’ vent that extracts high pressure air from the front wheel arch to reduce lift. Discreet intakes at the base of the C-pillars also control airflow to create a virtual rear spoiler to increase downforce; pure genius which Aston call their Aeroblade.
The interior is lightyears better than the DB9’s cabin which, in comparison, now looks decidedly antique. It is classic Aston luxury with the highest grade leather seats and fantastic trims but, thankfully, no sign of nasty plastic indicator stems or other cheap bits that had no right to be in an Aston in the first place. The steering wheel is fabulous and the instrument cluster is displayed on a 12-inch TFT screen.
The centre console is completely new and oozes cutting edge quality without losing that all-important old school feel. Okay, it looks a bit Germanic with a definite Mercedes feel to the touchpad, 8-inch screen and dial controller but that’s a good thing and the Britishness of this car is still totally dominant.
One thing, though, and I know this is going to sound pathetic, but I used to get particular satisfaction from inserting the glass ignition key into its slot on the console, pushing it and waiting for the explosion of noise from the engine. Not any more, old boy, its now a push-button ignition. Shame, but that’s progress for you.
And progress is what this DB11 is all about. Everything about it is new from the bonded aluminium chassis to the suspension and that glorious, all new Aston Martin 5.2-litre V12 twin turbo engine which has 600bhp and 700nm of torque, making this the fastest DB every built with a 0-100kmh time of 3.9 seconds. It is linked to an eightspeed automatic gearbox which is as smooth as James Bond himself.
There are paddle-shifts which liven things up a bit and generally the performance of the DB11 will leave you both shaken and stirred – it is awe-inspiring. From the moment you push the starter button to awaken the engine which barks into life before settling down to a more neighbourhood friendly rumble to pushing this dream machine as far as you dare, particularly on the camber crazy, twisty, slippery roads of Tuscany, the smile will never leave your face.
You control the drive modes and the damper settings with cool switches on the steering wheel moving from GT to sport or sport plus. In sport plus the car is insanely fast. Push it hard and it feels a tad skittish on bumpy roads, but generally the suspension, traction and stability control and chassis more than deal with everything thrown at it, whilst providing an extremely exciting and engaging drive experience accompanied by a thoroughly satisfying howl from that V12. This is proper GT driving. The car even has 20-inch wheels shod with bespoke Bridgestone tyres coincidentally code-named S007.
For me, this is the car of the year. For the sake of the company it had to be better than good and it surpasses all my hopes and expectations – it’s a game changer.
