ASTON MARTIN DB12

Upgraded DB11 is the first big play from Aston Martin in the Lawrence Stroll era

- MATT SAUNDERS

TESTED 12.12.23, DURHAM ON SALE NOW

Might this be the most significant facelift that any grand touring sports car has ever had? The Aston Martin DB12, which we first sampled in France last year, isn't quite all-new, but what it represents is quite easy to overlook.

This is really the first of Aston's major model introductions since Lawrence Stroll bought control of the company. The DBX SUV is really still an Andy Palmerera model. While there have been other low-volume, special-series cars since, the DB12 is the first big-ticket Aston to be designed and developed entirely under the Canadian's ownership - and also since the arrival of Ferrari expats Amedeo Felisa and Roberto Fedeli into their leading CEO and CTO roles at Gaydon. So this car should tell us exactly how and where 'the new Aston' really wants to progress and do things differently than it has previously.

Twelve follows (DB) eleven, then, in all ways but figuratively, with the number of cylinders under that newly pinched and ridged bonnet. Whereas the DB11 could be had with either 4.0-litre V8 or 5.2-litre V12 turbo power, Aston has concentrated its engineering effort this time on a revised version of that V8 from Mercedes-AMG, which develops significantly more than even the old DB11 AMR's V12 managed: 671bhp at 6000rpm and a healthy 15% more torque of 5901b ft from 2750rpm.

A redesign of key components within the bonded aluminium monocoque has brought a 7% improvement to torsional rigidity and, allowing for the weight saved under the bonnet, delivers an 85kg weight saving overall compared with the launch-spec DB11 V12, in a car that's slightly shorter but wider.