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68 TOPCAR.CO.ZA|January 20168ASTON MARTIN DB11TURBOCHARGED? AMERCEDES BACKBONE?THIS CAR REDEFINESASTON MARTINThe first propernewAston in a decadeDrum roll please:Aston Martin’scomebackcoupe, the DB11, is ourmost anticipatedcarof 20 16. Astonhas anew bossin ex-NissanexecAndy Palmer, asupplierpartnershipwith Mercedes-AMG,fresh funding,andin March, it’ll all come togetherin the new flagship. Thegoodnews isthat this DB11 will continuewith the rumbling, Ford-built V12,but massively overhauled.It’ll bedownsizedin capacity toimproveeconomy andemissions, buttwin-turbochargers will increasepower tobeyond 44 7kW.There’ll bea V8model,tooThe Mercedes link comesgoodwith the additionofa secondaryV8varianttothe DB11 range,using aversion ofthe potent4.0-litre twin-turbofoundin theAMG GT. Too few cylindersfor across-continental GrandTourer?Not if the searing performanceofthe AMG GTS is anything togoby. Andbroadeningthe powerandpricing scaleofthe rangecanonly open theDB11 uptoawider customerbase. All those911 variants never did Porscheany harm...``````Electrics byGermanyAs partofthe Daimler tie-uptheDB11 uses Mercedes’ electricalarchitecture.That’ll meanAston’ssat-nav andinfotainmentisdragged out ofthe darkages,andopens uppossibilities for digitalinstrumentation,connectivity anddriveraids.Wiringharnesses arecrucial tothe userexperiencebutcostly andtime-consuming for alow-volume sports carmaker, soit’sa smart move toshort-circuit theprocess. Thetie-upis evident in theS-Class switchgeartransplantedinto prototypes: these will becomebespokebuttons in the finishedcar.``````But it’s still verymuchan AstonBeneath the surface you’ll findahighly-evolveddevelopment ofAston’s bondedaluminium‘VH’architecture. Prototypesspiedontest sporta wider track, allthe betterfor handling agility,andtomakemore roomfor lessagile occupants. It bodeswell thatex-Lotus dynamics guruMatt Beckeris in charge ofDB11 sign-off.Expectcomposites tofeature in theDB11’sconstruction, using lessonslearnedin theVantage GT 12 andVulcantoslashkerbweight.