theceomagazine.com | 179SPLIT PERSONALITY
There are also three driving modes that completely
change the car’s personality: GT, Sport and Sport Plus.
The two friskier settings, Sport and Sport Plus,
transform the DB11 into a spryer athlete, allowing the
car to slink through tight corners, convincing itself that
it’s a hot hatch rather than a 4.75-metre-long cruiser
(it’s about as easy to drive as a Golf GTI, too).
The eight-speed automatic ’box holds gears for
longer, allowing more access to that lovely torque, and
leaving you to wonder why everyone in Europe still
fusses about manual gearboxes so much. Aston’s
previous efforts at self-shifters were a weakness, but
it’s one that’s been fixed.
On the hairpin bends the Pyrenees serves up, the
20-inch tyres grip the tarmac fearlessly. The steering
is crisp and precise, which is reassuring when we’re
forced, on several occasions, to swerve around rocks
that have fallen off the mountain.
And the noise. Oh, the noise. The secret has long
been out about some car companies artificially
pumping sound into their cabins, but there’s no such
skullduggery in the DB11; it’s tuned for an exotic range
of exhaust notes.
Deliberately making it crackle as unburnt fuel is spat
out on the overrun is the most addictive driving game
since Grand Theft Auto.
Being back on the calm of the freeway offers the
chance to bathe in the classy glow of the DB11’s cabin –
a huge jump on the primordial cockpits of Astons past.
You’d be demanding an apology letter from the Aston
CEO if you weren’t surrounded by fields of soft leather,
or offered a twenty-first-century infotainment system
on a tablet-style display.
It’s the little flourishes that create the bespoke vibe
you expect from the Brits, like the intricate broguing on
the seat cushions and the headliner, or the company
logo stitched into the headrests.
If this isn’t tailored enough for your palate, Aston’s
design-butlers offer their ‘Q by Aston Martin’ service,
allowing customers with very deep pockets and very
long arms to personalise and spec their car’s interior.
Surprise of the month: nothing with the word
‘Aston’ on it comes cheap. The DB11 V8 will set you
back US$198,995; the V12, US$216,495. But the V8
is worth every single cent. Please, then, check your
vital signs if you’re not already thinking of ways to
unlock the money.
You may actually be dead. Or at least in serious
need of a siesta.“ IT’S OBVIOUS WHERE
ASTON HAS DONE ITS BEST
WORK AS SOON AS YOU
PLANT YOURSELF BEHIND
THE STEERING WHEEL.”