WHEN ASTON MARTIN UPPED ITS GRAND TOURING GAME

The DB11 redefined Gaydon's GTs, but now they're surprisingly affordable

- ALEX WOLSTENHOLME

Aston Martin's 'DB' lineage of sporting GTs began in 1948 with the DB1, the first product under the ownership of David Brown. By 2016 Aston was 12 years into production of the elegant DB9, but that car was starting to feel behind the times, and sales and profits were on the decline.

Then the DB11 arrived, with a new, more aggressive design by Marek Reichman, proven Mercedes tech and a snarling V12. The first car of Aston's revolutionary 'Second Century' plan also had a new aluminium platform, electric power steering, multi-link rear suspension and torque vectoring by braking.

We liked it - so much, in fact, that we named it a Game Changer at the 2017 Autocar Awards and one of our top five cars of the year.

Eight years later, dramatic depreciation means you can now pick up this era-defining GT for less than the price of a new Ford Mustang or Alpine A110 - in other words, a third of what it cost new.