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Aston Martin DB11: New car revealed in full
Wait is finally over as car is revealed at Geneva Motor Show
After months of heated speculation, spy shots and leaks, Aston Martin has finally revealed full pictures and details of its newest DB car at the Geneva Motor Show.
Official pictures of the hotly anticipated Aston Martin DB11 have leaked onto the internet a day before the car's official reveal at the Geneva Motor Show.
The DB11 debuts an all-new design language – abandoning the cookie-cutter cues introduced with the DB9 in 2003 for a bold new look that's still unmistakably Aston Martin.
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The vehicle wears a larger, wider grille underneath new, more muscular and sculpted ridges down the bonnet, with devil horn-like headlamps replacing the rounded ones of previous generations. A protruding chin-splitter sits underneath a second grille, while the side exit vent now feeds into the front wheel arch.
While we've already seen a clear shot of the front of the car after a prospective customer posted a photograph on Twitter, the only images of the rear, until now, have been disguised or questionable. The most detailed and accurate shot was posted to Autojunk.
Now it appears the Dutch website's photos were accurate and did indeed depict the production DB11. The new images show a rear end influenced by the DBX concept and James Bond's DB10.
There's a strong haunch, with the back building into a bulbous end with two buttresses feeding down into it, much as they do on the DBX. The lights are thin and designed into the wing - a similar idea to that seen on the DB10, albeit executed in a slightly different way. It sits on the same ten-spoke black-embossed alloy wheels as the Bond car.
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Aston claims the bodywork, while introducing a brand new design language, has also been thoroughly tested aerodynamically, meaning some clever tricks are present. For instance, the gill-like Curlicue on the wing releases high-pressure air from the wheel arch and directs it down the side of the car and through an "aeroblade" in the bodywork, removing the need for a bigger rear wing.
Underneath, Aston has confirmed that a 5.2-litre twin-turbocharged V12 will provide up to 600bhp. Mercedes-AMG power plants could become an option at some point, too, owing to Daimler's five per cent stake in Aston Martin and their clear interest in the new GT – it uses Mercedes S-Class switchgear in the cabin.
For now, the V12 fitted to the DB11 enables a 0-62mph time of 3.9 seconds and a top speed of 200mph. There's cylinder shut-off technology, too, for improved efficiency during times when not all 12 cylinders are needed and better CO2 figures. It's all sent to the rear wheels via an eight-speed ZF gearbox.
As for the inside, spy shots previously published by Auto Express showed dashboard displays and central interfaces taken from the Mercedes limo. In the production car, an eight-inch screen is controlled by a Mercedes-sourced scroll-wheel, with the option of a touchpad available. The user interface is plucked from Mercedes, but with an Aston makeover.
Other technology inside includes a Bang & Olufsen stereo, a 360-degree camera and auto-park assist. Passenger space is vastly improved over the DB9, with the front wheels pushed forward by 2.5ins, ensuring more room in the front and rear, and there are even Isofix child-seat mounts in the back. Customisation options are high both inside and out, according to the car-makers.
Top Gear reckons the company has nailed it, saying the work carried out by Aston's engineers means the DB11 should be a "true GT".
It adds: "The DB11 will breathe down the road from the off", pointing out the new dynamics that should be offered by way of adaptive damping, giving several different driving modes, and trick multi-link suspension over the rear axle.
Prices will start from £154,000 when it arrives in showrooms later this year, with any potential V8-powered version to be introduced at a later date set to undercut it.
The DB11 will be at the core of the Aston Martin brand over the next five years or so, as the company sets out to completely overhaul its product portfolio, says Autocar. As well as new additions, every model in the stable is set for a replacement. The DBX crossover concept revealed at Geneva in 2015 has been confirmed for production in Wales, signalling a bold new direction for the company as it flirts with a new customer base, and an electric version of the Rapide four-door – possibly called the RapidE – will go into production in 2018.
