First ride with the new Aston Martin DB12: Aston Martin cuts the rope

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Aston Martin made a roller coaster ride. Initial high-flying plans: The British sports car maker saw itself on equal footing with Ferrari, its hyper sports cars en masse, and the resurgence of the super-luxury brand Lagonda. The necessary technology should be provided by Mercedes sports subsidiary AMG, the money went public in 2018. However, the course collapsed after the initial peak like sales figures. Boss Andy Palmer (60) had to leave and former AMG CEO Tobias Moers (57) took over.

But he’s gone again. As it was feared, Aston Martin did not become the second sports studio in the Mercedes group. With the new DB12, the brand wants to swim freely again and the snow will be beautiful again. But they are not defeated by modesty, which is why Aston Martin immediately invents a new segment for the sports car: the Super Tourer. Aston Martin is set to become the UK’s first ultra-luxury brand. The affordable price tag is already on the DB12. More expensive than the McLaren GT or Ferrari Roma with at least 225,000 euros tax-free.

Reinforced Mercedes V8

At 4.72 meters long and 2.06 meters wide (even 2.14 meters including exterior mirrors), the DB12’s appearance isn’t exactly compact. Aston is also showing off under its hood: the DB12 McLaren GT with 680 hp (500 kW), the Bentley Continental and Ferrari Roma trail behind with 60 hp (44 kW) each. To that end, Mercedes-AMG’s V8 has been drastically revised: Larger turbochargers with complex cooling, sharper camshafts and modified compression deliver more power. The DB12 reaches the 100 km/h mark in about 3.6 seconds and has a top speed of 325 km/h.

“When developing the DB12, we had more prototypes and resources than ever before,” says engineer Simon Newton. Driving performance was the most important thing to benefit from the charisma of the Formula 1 team. The DB12 follows the transaxle concept with the engine at the front and the transmission at the rear for agile whistling through bends – weight distribution: 48:52 front to rear. An electronic rear axle differential, new adaptive Billstein shock absorbers, stiffer stabilizers and a body seven percent more torsionally rigid than the previous DB11 complete the chassis.

self contained interior

The concept works perfectly. The DB12 enters with an almost brutal fervor. Steering isn’t hyper-direct, which is especially comforting on the highway, but precise enough to quickly turn the 1685-pound coupe around the corner. Chassis adjustable: GT is first choice on highways; if it’s bumpy you can get along better with Sport or Sport+. Even at the sharpest setting, the DB12 isn’t bothersome. Only for the 8-speed automatic transmission to be at the dealership in August still needs tweaking.

Of course, luxury still plays a role: the interior is finely sheathed in leather, but the Mercedes impression is a thing of the past. The infotainment system with two 10.25-inch monitors and the operating concept are new from Aston Martin. Basically, everything is under your control, the analog controls for the climate feel solid, but the navigation system does not always work perfectly. Head-up display isn’t bad either.

And how does it continue? Surely with new partners: Chinese automaker Geely has increased its Aston stake to 17 percent. For upcoming electric models, Aston Martin is collaborating with Lucid. The California luxury electric vehicle provider will contribute to the technology platform. Good prospects – the current top model of the brand has 1111 hp.

Source: Blick