Aston Martin DB12 – Car Review

By Liam Bird

Aston Martin’s DB12 marks the beginning, say the Gaydon based manufacturer, of a whole new genre of car. What you see before you, despite what your preconceptions or even you prior knowledge and/or experience might suggest, is neither sports car, nor grand tourer. The DB12, Aston Martin claim, is the world’s first Super Tourer.

Quite what exactly that means, in my humble opinion, is difficult to quantify. Although I suspect a 0-62 time of less than 3.5 seconds, a 202 mph top speed, and a near £200k after options price tag (no one ever buys the base spec) all have something to do with such bold new classification.

“Grand is not enough”, declares the official press literature that accompanies the DB12, “this new generation of the legendary DB bloodline defines its own new category”.  I usually try to steer clear of any mention of double-ohs when writing about Aston Martin, it’s such a cliché. However, Grand is not enough?  If ever there was a potential title suitable for a certain not-so-secret agent flick…

“Altogether sharper”

Needless to say Aston Martin are keen to not let anyone form the opinion that the DB12 is just another sequel, a follow-up to what’s gone before. Their new Super Tourer, they say, “delivers a quantum shift and sets the benchmark for performance, ultra-luxury and style”. Part of that benchmark, presumably, is a best in class – isn’t this a whole new class? – power output from the DB12’s AMG sourced 4.0 litre V8 twin-turbo engine of 671bhp at 6,000rpm  and a gearbox-limited 590Ib ft of torque between 2750rpm and 6000rpm.

Yes, you did read that right: This is a DB12, but it’s got an eight, rather than a twelve, cylinder engine.

There is significantly more to the DB12 than just bold claims and big numbers. Aston Martin have payed close attention to those who felt the DB11 a little soft, perhaps a tad too boulevard cruiser for its own good. Aston Martin’s new co-owner, Lawrence Stroll, reputably labelled the DB11 slow!  Torsional rigidity has been upped by 7% overall thanks to a revised underbody, engine cross brace, front cross-member and rear bulkhead. The additional stiffness increases handling precision and steering feel, which together with the introduction of new generation intelligent adaptive dampers and extensive engineering of key components such as stiffer anti-roll bars, means the DB12 has altogether sharper driving dynamics and a greatly increased breadth of capability.

“Spectacular surround sound”

The cooling system has been designed to cope with increased thermal demands with an additional two auxiliary coolers added to the existing central main radiator. Those beautiful alloy wheels, now shod with Michelin Pilot Sport 5 S tyres made to Aston Martin’s precise specification, have gone up an inch in diameter from 20 to 21-inches, yet overall unsprung weight has been reduced by eight kilos. There’s another 27kg to be saved if you tick the options box for the carbon ceramic brakes.

And for the first time on an Aston Martin DB model, there’s an Electronic Rear Differential (E-Diff). It’s linked to the DB12’s Electronic Stability Control (ESC) system, and unlike a conventional Limited Slip Differential, it can go from fully open to 100% locked in a matter of milliseconds.

But biggest, most instantly noticeable improvement is surely the interior. Gone is the hotch-potch array of oh-so quickly dated Mercedes-Benz switchgear and gear-selection buttons that made the more recent, yet now past, Astons feel, dare I say it..?  I’ll say it quickly… A bit like very expensive kit cars. The DB12’s interior is world away from that.   For starters there’s Aston Martin’s new next-generation bespoke infotainment system and a spectacular surround sound system by new audio partner, Bowers & Wilkins. There’s a neat 911-like toggle-switch gear lever; weighty, tactile, roller switches control heating and ventilation, and volume; the seats are better; and everything that can be is swathed in the softest of Bridge of Weir leather.  There are proper switches for chassis and damper settings, ESP and exhaust valves (and thus sound), Lane Assist, and the parking sensors. The rear view camera is high resolution… I could go on. Finally Aston Martin have an interior that puts them on a level playing field with the likes of Bentley, and Ferrari.

“More responsive”

And the DB12 has a driving experience that does that too.

Simply put, the DB12 is a far sharper, far more responsive, and some might say, far more aggressive, car than Aston Marin Grand Tourers of old – I suppose that’s the Super bit of this new Super Tourer. Needless to say, it will play the luxurious and very swift mile-muncher role all-day, every day if you so wish – and you can cope with low 20s mpg, and modestly proportioned boot. Nevertheless, rotate the knurled drive mode selector button round to either Sport, or better still Sport +, and, as long as you’re on a smooth surface – Sport + stiffens those fancy dampers a tad too much – and the DB12 becomes very much the sports, nee super, car. It’s playful, it sounds fantastic, it’s easy to place, and goes like the proverbial slips off a shovel.

Inevitably, and in no small part thanks to its name and its badge, the DB12 will be compared with its predecessor the DB11. But, the DB12 represents such leap forward in both driver involvement and quality of fit and finish that it almost feels unfair to make such judgements. The DB11 was a very good Grand Tourer: the DB12 is so much more.

I’ve been very fortunate in the fact that I’ve driven significantly more than what is probably my fair share of Aston Martins: I can honestly say that the DB12 – the first of the Super Tourers – is, by far, one of the best.

Aston Martin DB12
Engine: 3,982cc 32V Twin-turbo V8. Petrol
Transmission: 8-Speed, paddle-shift auto, e diff, rear-wheel drive
Power:  671 bhp @ 6,000 rpm
Torque: 590 lbft @ 2,750 – 6,000 rpm
0-62 MPH: 3.5 Sec
Max Speed: 202 mph
Weight: 1,685 kg (dry)
CO2: 276 g/km (NEDC)
MPG: 23.2 (combined)
Price: from £185,055