- Aston Martin reveals its new DB12 coupe, with British and German engineering.
- Powered by what is an unacknowledged AMG 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, the DB12 makes a Corgi-frightening 671 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque, routed through an 8-speed automatic and thence to an electronic rear differential.
- Look for pricing closer to the car’s delivery in fall.
Sometimes it’s hard to sift through the marketing hyperbole and determine what’s really fresh and exciting about a new car. Right now, in the case of the Aston Martin DB12, all we have is the hyperbole, but it’s pretty detailed hyperbole and from it the car sounds entirely promising. We’ll know more in a few weeks after we’ve driven it.
Aston Martin just released photos and specs on its much-anticipated DB12, successor to the (you guessed it) DB11, which itself can trace its lineage all the way back to the DB2, if you really want to do the full 23andMe on it. The DB11 was truly re-engineered when it came out in 2016, and it signified Aston’s new, company-saving collaboration with AMG Mercedes.
In addition to all those great AMG twin-turbo V8s, the AMG tie-up also meant German engineering throughout. The DB11 managed to do a good job maintaining a genuine Aston Martin feel, with certainly a gorgeous Aston Martin look about it. There were few complaints about the DB11. So the question now will be whether the DB12 manages a departure from its predecessor. If so, is that departure more in the direction of Gaydon, Warwickshire, or Affalterbach?
Let’s start with the chassis on which it rides. It may be similar to the then-new riveted, bonded, all-aluminum platform of the DB11 but with strategically placed reinforcements throughout that increase “global torsional stiffness,” whatever that is, by 7% over the DB11. Aston engineers added “underbody components, an engine cross brace, front and rear undertrays, front crossmember, and a new rear bulkhead. That and new adaptive dampers and stiffer anti-roll bars promise “class-leading driving dynamics,” Aston says.
Electronic power-assisted steering with a “non-isolated” steering column further promises communicative road feel. Your choice of iron or carbon-ceramic disc brakes slow the Michelin Pilot Sport 5s tires made just for the DB12.
Power will come from a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 that Aston does not officially acknowledge as an AMG product. Instead the British automaker says only that it was “tuned by Aston Martin engineers.” They, or whoever it was, did quite a good job, apparently, delivering a class-leading 671 hp at 6000 rpm and 590 lb-ft from 2750 to 6000 revs.
Somebody, either in Gaydon or Affalterbach—we’ll know in a few weeks—modified the cam profiles, optimized the compression ratio, installed larger turbos, and even increased cooling on the DB12 engine. That represents a 34% improvement over the DB11, but good enough to launch the DB12 from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.5 seconds and to a top speed of 202 mph.
All that power and torque goes to an eight-speed automatic and thence to an electronic rear differential, the first ever on a DB of any numerical designation. The diff can go to full lock in what Aston Martin claims is “milliseconds.”
So it should be fun to drive.
Inside they went to work, too, creating a “stylish and sumptuous haven for driver and passenger alike.” Check out the photo gallery. The haven has handstitched Bridge of Weir leather, “next-gen” infotainment displayed on a 10.25-inch hi-resolution screen with capacitive touch control, and Bowers & Wilkins premium audio.
Inside is nice, drive in it thrice…
It’s all a big deal.
“When a brand has as much history as Aston Martin, it is important to honor the past,” said CEO Amedeo Felisa. “Not by looking back, but by pushing on with the same energy and passion that propelled our founders 110 years ago. With the new DB12 we are reinvigorating the DB model line and reasserting Aston Martin as a maker of truly exceptional performance sportcars. By combining class-leading performance and exceptional chassis dynamics with cutting edge technology, impeccable craftsmanship, and immaculate design, DB12 leads Aston Martin into a new era of excellence.”
That new era (same words used for the DB11, btw) begins when the first deliveries arrive this fall. Pricing should be released shortly before that but prepare yourself: The DB11 stickered at $217,000 to start. Is that too much? Perhaps not when you consider that, as Aston Martin says, “This is no mere GT. DB12 is the World’s First Super Tourer.” We’ll find out what they mean by Super Tourer in a few weeks.
What do you think of the new DB12? Will it be better than the DB11? Tell us in the comments.
Mark Vaughn grew up in a Ford family and spent many hours holding a trouble light over a straight-six miraculously fed by a single-barrel carburetor while his father cursed Ford, all its products and everyone who ever worked there. This was his introduction to objective automotive criticism. He started writing for City News Service in Los Angeles, then moved to Europe and became editor of a car magazine called, creatively, Auto. He decided Auto should cover Formula 1, sports prototypes and touring cars—no one stopped him! From there he interviewed with Autoweek at the 1989 Frankfurt motor show and has been with us ever since.
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