Nice, fast and, above all, stylish: we're talking about Aston Martin. Regardless of whether DB 9, V8 Vantage or Rapide - they all combine the art of combining a British sense of style with nobility, tradition and the feeling of wanting to have. But the cars from England were never really up to date. The V12 and V8 units are not even mentioned in the foreground here, but rather the technology in the interior. But the British have cleaned up and brought a strong partner on board: none other than Mercedes-AMG is helping Aston Martin with the DB 11. What was the result? The strongest DB ever.
The Aston Martin DB 11 is a classic 2 + 2-seater and maintains the style of a typical GT - as it should also be for James Bond. After all, the gentleman has to be able to put his jacket on the back seat or move the passenger seat far back for his personal enjoyment ... So it is not surprising that the current DB 11 is heavily based on the car from the latest Bond film “Specter” . In contrast to the film car, the civilian version does without special effects that would be too heavy anyway. The weight was taken into account and many aluminum parts were used - such as the bonnet. Equipped in this way, the Gran Turismo weighs around 1,8 tonnes and thus achieves almost exactly the same value as its predecessor, the DB 9.
If you let your gaze wander, the family affiliation is immediately apparent. The typical Aston Martin grill grew and is further emphasized by the striking beads on the bonnet. The curved lines are infatuated, but are well known. You can't say that about the new Airblades: they stretch almost across the entire roof line and were manufactured using a special process. First, they are bent elaborately before they are then stretched and pressed. Then they cut a laser so that they are finally polished and anodized before they are mounted on the Aston Martin DB 11. What is all the magic about? The air blades are intended to generate downforce on the C-pillar and thus stabilize the athlete, especially at high speeds. Also new is the full LED light, which gives the British a more concise appearance.
Innovations continue under the hood: the V12 has a displacement of 5,2 liters and is now charged. The two turbos help the twelve-wheeler to 608 hp at 6.500 rpm and a rich torque of 700 Nm. It is already at early 1.500 tours and only ebbs beyond the 5.000 revs. This is no problem with shift-free driving, but the eight-speed automatic transmission from ZF takes care of that anyway. If there is enough traction, the DB 11 catapults from 3,9-0 km / h in 100 seconds and only stops at 322 km / h. In order to be prepared for different life situations, the response behavior, the switching, steering, damping and control electronics can be regulated in three driving modes. You can choose between GT, Sport and Sport Plus.
But where does Mercedes come into play? On the one hand in the construction of the suspension, on the other hand in the cockpit design. The English racing car drives up with a 12-inch instrument and an 8-inch screen in the center console. Everything is operated via a rotary pushbutton in the center console, while the automatic - typically Aston Martin - is operated via individual, glass buttons below the screen. By moving in the Mercedes infotainment, the connectivity could be brought up to date, so that the connection of iPhones and iPods is no longer a problem. The system also has Bluetooth, a USB interface and a digital radio function. A gesture control is said to be on board, but how it is designed is not yet known. It is only clear that Aston Martin does not use Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.
Anyone who is now interested in the new Aston Martin DB 11 can own the 4,74 m long, but only 1,28 m high GT from the fourth quarter. Provided you have 205.000 Euro. Base price, of course.
All photos: SB-Medien, Stefan Baldauf