Petrolheads in the Middle East have plenty of reason to rejoice with production on Aston Martin’s latest 5.2-litre twin-turbocharged V12 engine underway. The new engine is the first to be turbocharged in the company’s history and is destined to power the brand-new DB11 – and possibly other vehicles.
A substantial upgrade from the older 6.0-litre V12 which first catapulted the company’s rejuvenation in 2003, the DB11 now has the potential for more power than ever before. The brand-new V12 engine is not the only change to the DB11 however, as its construction has been combined with multiple design tweaks, some larger than others, to affirm it as Aston Martin’s greatest innovation since the introduction of the DB9.
All this news comes fresh off the back of Aston Martin’s recent success at the Car Design Award 2016, where the DB11 was heralded as Production Car of the year. And the more we see of the DB11, the more that claim becomes harder and harder to dispute. The luxurious interior is complete with top draw hand craftsmanship and ornate leatherwork, whilst a striking new clamshell bonnet works in conjunction with these internal niceties to create an external air of sophistication that adheres to Aston Martin’s traditional philosophy of combining both form and function. It truly is a pretty car.
Initial worries over the aesthetics of the DB11’s brand-new all-LED headlights have also been quelled, as despite new technology giving the car an admittedly more technical look, its ‘face’ remains as distinct and friendly as ever before. Assembled in Gaydon, Warwickshire the car is British through-and-through, with its ability to accelerate from 0-62mph in just 3.9 seconds proving that the new DB11 is far more than just a pretty face.
The significant changes have really been in the intricate details however. An incremental increase of the wheelbase by only 65mm has enabled the powerful V12 to be moved further back in the chassis than previously possible, promising near-perfect weight distribution and crisp handling. It is this meticulous focus on the perfection of all the finer things that makes the DB11 such an exciting prospect, and one that even James Bond will have to think twice about before wrecking.