68 TOPCAR.CO.ZA|January 2016
8
ASTON MARTIN DB11
TURBOCHARGED? A
MERCEDES BACKBONE?
THIS CAR REDEFINES
ASTON MARTIN
The first propernew
Aston in a decade
Drum roll please:Aston Martin’s
comebackcoupe, the DB11, is our
most anticipatedcarof 20 16. Aston
has anew bossin ex-Nissanexec
Andy Palmer, asupplierpartnership
with Mercedes-AMG,fresh funding,
andin March, it’ll all come together
in the new flagship. Thegood
news isthat this DB11 will continue
with the rumbling, Ford-built V12,
but massively overhauled.It’ll be
downsizedin capacity toimprove
economy andemissions, but
twin-turbochargers will increase
power tobeyond 44 7kW.
There’ll bea V8
model,too
The Mercedes link comesgood
with the additionofa secondary
V8varianttothe DB11 range,
using aversion ofthe potent
4.0-litre twin-turbofoundin the
AMG GT. Too few cylindersfor a
cross-continental GrandTourer?
Not if the searing performance
ofthe AMG GTS is anything togo
by. Andbroadeningthe power
andpricing scaleofthe range
canonly open theDB11 uptoa
wider customerbase. All those
911 variants never did Porsche
any harm...Electrics byGermany
As partofthe Daimler tie-upthe
DB11 uses Mercedes’ electrical
architecture.That’ll meanAston’s
sat-nav andinfotainmentis
dragged out ofthe darkages,and
opens uppossibilities for digital
instrumentation,connectivity and
driveraids.Wiringharnesses are
crucial tothe userexperiencebut
costly andtime-consuming for a
low-volume sports carmaker, soit’s
a smart move toshort-circuit the
process. Thetie-upis evident in the
S-Class switchgeartransplanted
into prototypes: these will become
bespokebuttons in the finishedcar.But it’s still very
muchan Aston
Beneath the surface you’ll finda
highly-evolveddevelopment of
Aston’s bondedaluminium‘VH’
architecture. Prototypesspied
ontest sporta wider track, all
the betterfor handling agility,
andtomakemore roomfor less
agile occupants. It bodeswell that
ex-Lotus dynamics guruMatt Becker
is in charge ofDB11 sign-off.Expect
composites tofeature in theDB11’s
construction, using lessonslearned
in theVantage GT 12 andVulcanto
slashkerbweight.