12 Sep 07
Road meets racetrack meets movie set in the new Aston Martin, the DBS, unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The Gaydon-built replacement for the Vanquish is mechanically a cross between the DB9 and the DBR9 that won the GT1 class at Le Mans in June, with styling previewed by the car James Bond drove in last year's Casino Royale.
When the DBS goes on sale next spring, your £160,000 gets you a hand-finished two-seat coupe with a 510bhp version of the DB9's 6.0-litre V12 engine. It has lower, stiffer suspension, a wider track, a manual six-speed gearbox, carbon ceramic brakes - a first for a roadgoing Aston - and carbon fibre panels for the boot, bonnet and door surrounds. carbon fibre is also used extensively inside.
The various race-inspired weight-saving measures keep the total down to a still hefty 1,695kg, which is 65kg less than the DB9 coupe or 180kg less than the Vanquish S. The DBS is 10bhp less powerful than the Vanquish S and its top speed of 191mph is 9mph lower, but at 4.3 seconds its 0-62mph time is 0.5sec quicker, and it's cleaner too. Compared to the DB9, the DBS is 0.4sec quicker to 62mph, 60bhp more powerful and 5mph faster.
The Cologne-built V12's inlet ports have been reprofiled, and extra air is directed to the engine when a bypass valve opens at 5,500rpm. Peak power is achieved at 6,500rpm, with maximum torque of 420lb-ft arriving at 5,750rpm.
The nose features a new five-bar grille, and there's a bigger power bulge in the bonnet, a carbon fibre rear diffuser, and wide wheel arches over 20" alloys. The adaptive suspension comes with a racetrack setting, and the stability control system has three modes: on, reduced and off.
Inside, leather and Alcantara sports seats are standard, with lightweight carbon-Kevlar seats also available. The space occupied by small rear seats in the DB9 is here a luggage area that can be fitted with a custom-built leather saddle-style set of bags. The steering wheel is new, and although the aluminium dashboard controls may look traditional, they're connected to a very 21st century combination of sat nav, climate control and MP3-compatible audio.
Check out the rest of our Frankfurt Motor Show coverage
