Let’s agree on something right now. We’re going to talk about Aston Martin’s new ‘Second Century’ flagship, the DB11, without mentioning the name of their most famous fictional driver. We just won’t go there.
We can’t ignore the fact that you can easily see the lineage of the DB5 in the lines of this brand new, most powerful DB ever, though, but that’s just an Icebreaker.
There’s no way anybody in Her Majesty’s Service could ever fly under the radar in such an eye-catching machine. It’s just not possible. With sleek, aerodynamic lines, a forward-hinged bonnet, the legendary Aston Martin grille, LED headlights and sculpted taillights, you’re bound to be noticed as you arrive at the local casino. Valets will have no problem parking your car on the front row either, with auto-park assist and a 360-degree camera giving a birds-eye view of the surroundings.
If you do need to make your escape from your neighborhood evil genius, you’ll be well served by Aston Martin’s freshly-designed twin-turbocharged V-12. Cranking out 600 hp and well over 500 ft/lb of torque, all channeled through an 8-speed ZF automatic transmission, there’s no question whether you’ll be able to survive to Die Another Day.
You’ll probably scare The Living Daylights out of yourself as you accelerate to 62 mph in 3.9 seconds on the way to a 200 mph top speed, but Aston Martin has made sure you’ll bond with your car in no time. Stability at such extreme speeds is made possible by cleverly hidden aerodynamic bits, such as front wheel well gills that relieve high pressure air through the redesigned side strakes and a virtual spoiler in the rear decklid fed by C-pillar vents. A new electric steering system, torque vectoring through braking and the suspension’s active damping keep it all comfortably under control.
Aston Martin has collaborated with Daimler AG to fill the interior with technology fit for a secret agent. A huge 12-inch TFT LCD display in front of the driver serves up all the important mechanical information. A separate 8-inch display stacked on top of the center binnacle, controlled by a rotary dial between the seats, provides all your necessary infotainment. An optional high tech touchpad with character recognition, gesture support and multi-touch controls can replace the rotary dial and will satisfy the most gadget-hungry of owners. It’s all elegantly practical, with space for four passengers and their luggage on a weekend trip to play some Baccarat.
Owners willing to wait until the fourth quarter of 2016, and willing to spend a bit more than $210,000 dollars, will be rewarded quite handsomely with a sophisticated, dynamic machine that any self-respecting secret service operative would be proud to drive.
