Words: Rory FH Smith
Utter the words ‘Aston Martin’ to anyone – car fan or not – and it’s highly likely an image of Sean Connery, blasting through the Swiss Alps behind the wheel of a Silver Birch DB5, will pop into mind. Like strawberries and cream at Wimbledon, the institutions of Aston Martin and Bond have been inseparable stablemates for decades – a relationship that’s undoubtedly been the driving force behind many of the great British marque’s sales, until now, that is.
Entering a new era in 2020, when Lawrence Stroll took ownership, the marque has gone back to its roots and found form at the top end of Formula One, with frontman Fernando Alonso regularly featuring on the podium. Alongside that, it’s in the process of redefining its product portfolio, rolling out cars like the bonkers Valkyrie hypercar and, more recently, the DB12, the company’s new ‘super tourer’.
The first of the ‘new breed’ of Astons born of the Stroll era, the DB12 is a sizeable departure from anything that’s come before it. Though its looks are more evolutionary than revolutionary, it’s in the performance, finish and form that the greatest changes can be found.
Starting with the engine, it no longer sports a V12. In its place is a raucous Mercedes-AMG-derived 4.0-litre twin turbo V8, delivering 671bhp through the rear wheels, a 0–62mph time of just 3.2 seconds and a top speed of 202mph. Not bad for a comfortable four-seater grand cruiser, but, after all, the clue is in the name – Aston only refers to the DB12 as a super tourer, not a grand tourer as it has done with cars in the past.
Out on the road, it’s reassuringly planted, yet fun to drive. Spritely acceleration is twinned with tremendous amounts of grip, helped, in part, by the new Michelin PS5S tyre, created with the DB12 in mind. Through the twisting roads that weave their way through the hills above Monaco and on to Route Napoleon, the DB12 is hugely competent and composed in the corners. It’s a difficult car to dislodge, even in ‘Sport’ mode, with just a sprinkling of traction control stepping in, and, despite driving at pace, the ride remains comfortable and supple, just as any self-respecting tourer should. Switch it up into ‘Sport Plus’ and a more playful persona comes out – but, still, it’s reassuringly compliant and predictable.
With the V12 days all but over, the sound of the twin-turbo V8 is a worthy replacement. At slow speeds, the engine noise is quiet and unobtrusive, but plant the right foot and the revs reverberate around the cabin. The DB12 does well to strike a delicate balance between a liveable, luxury cruiser and a supercar.
On the outside, chief designer Marek Reichman and his team have built on the DB11’s beauty and refined the design, with more brutish muscle and defined creases, and enlarged haunches. It’s a sharp and considered piece of design that will likely stand the test of time, just like its 60-year-old ancestor, the DB5, has.
As far as changes go, the most significant overhaul is to its interior. Gone are the traces of Mercedes’s switchgear and in comes a much-improved 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system that sits neatly in the car’s flowing centre console. It’s Aston’s best interior to date, with a reassuring number of buttons and switches at your fingertips to control everything from the temperature to the traction control.
So, even though Bond has been one of the strongest selling points for the marque since the 1960s, cars like the DB12 are reason enough to invest into Aston Martin’s new era, even with its £185,000 starting price. Moreover, while grand tourers are making a comeback (notably with Maserati’s new GrandTurismo and Bentley’s formidable Continental), the DB12 carves out its own niche as a comfortable cruiser with a penchant for supercar levels of performance.
With such a promising start, the DB12 marks the beginning of Aston’s new product assault, and, given that more cars are on the way and there are distant plans to embrace electric, the future for Britain’s best-loved carmaker looks very bright indeed.
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