Stunning DB11 Takes Aston to New Heights

V12-engined GT launches brand into new era – and is its best car in decades.

- James Disdale

IT’S been a long time coming, but finally Aston Martin’s DB11 has landed. We’ve been teased by the static models on motor show stands, and even had a brief spin in a disguised prototype (Issue 1,420), but this is the first time we’ve been let loose on the road in what’s arguably the British brand’s most important new car in a generation.

Designed as a replacement for the venerable DB9, the DB11 is Aston’s first genuinely all new model in 13 years. It features a state-of-the-art aluminium structure that will underpin future models, a sophisticated twin-turbo V12 and totally overhauled suspension; this flagship GT truly is a clean-sheet exercise for the marque.

However, you’re likely to forget all about the cutting-edge mechanicals the moment you clap eyes on the DB11. With its sleek lines, gorgeous curves and near-perfect proportions, it can stop traffic at 50 paces.

Everywhere you look there are beautifully executed details, such as the huge clamshell bonnet and the vents that cut into the front wheel arches. And what about those C-shaped LED rear lights, which Aston claims are the thinnest ever seen on a production car? Yet there’s genuine substance to go with the style.

In order to boost the DB11’s aerodynamic efficiency without corrupting the purity of its lines, the brand has come up with some clever engineering solutions, including its innovative Aero blade concept. This channels air into discreet ducts hidden in the C-pillars, before jetting out of small vents on the trailing edge of the bootlid. Here, a small, powered spoiler rises up and helps direct the air, cutting both lift and drag.