Aston's Carbon Credit Supercar
August 05, 2008
Sorry about the lateness of my Yahoo!Xtra Motoring entry today. But I have an excellent excuse - I've spent the morning driving the Aston Martin DBS, the latest super-coupe from the iconic British maker.
If, like me, you've been a bit confused about which Aston is what - understandable, since they all look very similar - here's the short version on where the DBS fits in. It's the current flagship of the Aston Martin range, a hard-core model intended to bridge the gap between the maker's road and race cars. Think of it as Aston's equivalent to a Mercedes-AMG Black Series or Porsche 911 GT3 and you're in the right frame of mind.
The DB9 fits in underneath the DBS. And the Vantage - the so-called "baby Aston" sits at the entry-level.
At around $500,000 (depending on which options you choose), the DBS is a very expensive car. Even more so when you consider that it looks all but identical to the $135,000-cheaper DB9.
Indeed, there's a lot of DB9 there: the all-alloy platform and basic body shape are shared. But the DBS benefits from a more powerful version of the 6.0-litre V12 engine, lightweight carbon fibre body panels (everything except the roof and rear guards), special suspension with dual-mode adaptive software and carbon-ceramic brakes. Yes folks, this is a serious road/track car.
Aston is keen to distance the DBS from both the DB9 (maybe they should have made it look a bit more unique) and the just-deleted Vanquish, which was formerly the flagship of the range. The DBS is a 200kg-lighter, more focused (but not faster) drive than Vanquish, says the company. Besides, there will be a new Vanquish in 2010.
What do you do with somebody else's $500k supercar when you're only allowed it for four hours? Head for the hills, of course. In between city traffic and getting the thing back on time, I managed 200km in the DBS over some favourite rural roads.
Based on that, I'd tend to dismiss the car's 0-100km/h sprint of 4.3 seconds as a trivial statistic. What really impressed me about the super-Aston was the sense of finesse in the chassis, even with the adaptive suspension set on Track mode. The V12 engine barks and the six-speed manual gearbox can be shifted with alacrity, bit after a while you stop cajoling the thing and start really appreciating the fluidity of the chassis.
Take a CLK Black Series or 911 GT3 out and you spend the whole time trying to do big skids and feeling your way around corners through the seat of your pants. They're all action and quite amazing. The DBS is different: it's planted so securely on the road that it demands good driving. The smoother you are, the more satisfying it becomes, and you appreciate just how well Aston has harnessed 380kW worth of V12 engine into a virtuoso supercar.
You really want one, right? Well, there are only two in the country including this demonstrator. The first four due this year are already sold. Put your name down now and yours will arrive in six months. Awesome.
And yes, this is the car that James Bond drives/crashes in Casino Royale and the forthcoming Quantum of Solace.
What this means to you: Forget about that do-up villa in Auckland. Aston Martin now offers a great way to "invest" $500,000.
If, like me, you've been a bit confused about which Aston is what - understandable, since they all look very similar - here's the short version on where the DBS fits in. It's the current flagship of the Aston Martin range, a hard-core model intended to bridge the gap between the maker's road and race cars. Think of it as Aston's equivalent to a Mercedes-AMG Black Series or Porsche 911 GT3 and you're in the right frame of mind.
The DB9 fits in underneath the DBS. And the Vantage - the so-called "baby Aston" sits at the entry-level.
At around $500,000 (depending on which options you choose), the DBS is a very expensive car. Even more so when you consider that it looks all but identical to the $135,000-cheaper DB9.
Indeed, there's a lot of DB9 there: the all-alloy platform and basic body shape are shared. But the DBS benefits from a more powerful version of the 6.0-litre V12 engine, lightweight carbon fibre body panels (everything except the roof and rear guards), special suspension with dual-mode adaptive software and carbon-ceramic brakes. Yes folks, this is a serious road/track car.
Aston is keen to distance the DBS from both the DB9 (maybe they should have made it look a bit more unique) and the just-deleted Vanquish, which was formerly the flagship of the range. The DBS is a 200kg-lighter, more focused (but not faster) drive than Vanquish, says the company. Besides, there will be a new Vanquish in 2010.
What do you do with somebody else's $500k supercar when you're only allowed it for four hours? Head for the hills, of course. In between city traffic and getting the thing back on time, I managed 200km in the DBS over some favourite rural roads.
Based on that, I'd tend to dismiss the car's 0-100km/h sprint of 4.3 seconds as a trivial statistic. What really impressed me about the super-Aston was the sense of finesse in the chassis, even with the adaptive suspension set on Track mode. The V12 engine barks and the six-speed manual gearbox can be shifted with alacrity, bit after a while you stop cajoling the thing and start really appreciating the fluidity of the chassis.
Take a CLK Black Series or 911 GT3 out and you spend the whole time trying to do big skids and feeling your way around corners through the seat of your pants. They're all action and quite amazing. The DBS is different: it's planted so securely on the road that it demands good driving. The smoother you are, the more satisfying it becomes, and you appreciate just how well Aston has harnessed 380kW worth of V12 engine into a virtuoso supercar.
You really want one, right? Well, there are only two in the country including this demonstrator. The first four due this year are already sold. Put your name down now and yours will arrive in six months. Awesome.
And yes, this is the car that James Bond drives/crashes in Casino Royale and the forthcoming Quantum of Solace.
What this means to you: Forget about that do-up villa in Auckland. Aston Martin now offers a great way to "invest" $500,000.
come on david sort it out,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
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