Special series The James Bond Aston Martin that you can buy
Brutal.Lamborghini Urus: nothing will ever be the same
Also, see here a photogallery with more images of the Aston Martin DBX
The DBX, already on sale for 187,000 euros, comes at a crucial moment for Aston Martin,
after two years with negative results since it went public in 2018. The situation was no longer favorable, with almost residual gains in the previous decades, but it got much worse and the losses in the first half of this year were 200 million euros.
It was necessary to find new investors and that led to the entry of Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, who
injected capital into the British brand and dictated the departure of the previous CEO, Andy Palmer, who was replaced on August 1 by Tobias Moers.
The German previously led AMG, where he achieved exponential growth in sales and financial results for the Mercedes-Benz super sports division and even maintained direct relationships with
Aston Martin, to whom AMG supplies the 4-liter V8 engine (used in this DBX). as in the Vantage or the DB11) in
addition to other electronic components and even some technical know-how.
The transformation was already underway and the first SUV in the brand's 107 years was considered key to its financial health, both for
its sales potential superior to that of any other Aston Martin, and for the higher profit margin in the SUV.
That's why a factory was built from scratch (in Wales) and a specific platform was designed for the DBX, which is expected to see
more versions in the coming years, such as a three-row seat (to further entice American and Chinese customers. ) and another with a more "coupé" rear,
in line with what Porsche (Cayenne Coupé), BMW (X6) or Mercedes (GLE Coupé) did.
But the crisis of the pandemic worsened the accounts and there was the change of leadership at Aston.
More than just raising the body
Making an SUV of this caliber - which will not be part of the bunch of Aston Martin models that James Bond will drive in his next film No time to die (April 2021) - goes far beyond
raising the ground clearance, which was done up to 19 centimeters, with a 9.5 cm variation margin thanks to the air suspension.
It was also necessary to create a new platform,
where various types of aluminum dominate.
According to Matt Becker, Aston Martin's CTO, the Porsche Cayenne Turbo was the rival they used "as a reference", with
the same 550 hp as the DBX
and also coming from a V8 engine of German origin, although in this case Mercedes -AMG.
We are not, therefore, before a
Lamborghini Urus or a Bentley Bentayga, but rather in a kind of intermediate point,
between those borders of enormous aggressiveness and an ocean of comfort.
But also a combination of the driving experience of a Gran Turismo like the DB11, with out-of-the-box sporty features like the Vantage, coupled with
livability / functionality and unprecedented off-road skills at Aston Martin.
This DB11 / Vantage fusion can be seen immediately in well-disguised proportions (very stretched hood and steep rear):
at 5.04 meters in length it is four cm longer than the Range Rover and its wheelbase (more than 3 meters) is the longest of this class.
But, the DBX is 19cm lower than the Range and five inches lower than the Bentley, because it has to offer circuit-friendly behavior.
Although
neither these, for which it has active stabilizer bars that mitigate the inertia of its 2.5 tons;
nor the 4x4
for which it is actually prepared, will be common scenarios for most customers.
A higher quality interior than the DB11
Other body highlights:
absence of flashy aerodynamic appendages
(most obvious being the small spoiler and deflector on the tailgate that conspire with the lower exhaust to draw air out from under the car and increase stability at high speed)
and doors without frames
(relatively small, but with a wide opening angle).
Everything has had to be done from a blank sheet (the project started in 2015) because there was never an SUV in Aston, so it is understood when
Becker confesses that "this was the most difficult car I have done".
Inside, the unknowns were not so great:
chrome surfaces, wood (mixed with synthetic fibers to have a fabric look), alcantara (it is the first car in the world to use it with a panoramic roof) and solidity / quality of materials they are not exactly a surprise.
But there is something where the DBX does not adhere to the new trends.
For one thing, he uses and abuses real fur
(there are 'vaquitas' everywhere, even on the speaker grills).
On the other hand, there are many buttons between the center console and dashboard, in addition to those that control the gearbox
(9-speed automatic, also from Mercedes).
Looking at the DB11, there has been a qualitative improvement of the linings in the interior and the multimedia software is faster and with more modern graphics (also here Mercedes-Benz helped ...).
Like the ones that show
the 10.25-inch infotainment screen (which is not touch so that no fingerprints are marked) and the
12-inch configurable
digital instrumentation
.
The rear legroom is very generous, realizing that in this area the width is insufficient for three adults to travel.
The boot has a volume of 632 liters, which means it is second only to that of the Porsche Cayenne
in this segment, ahead of the Bentley Bentayga (484 liters) and the Range Rover Sport (489), for example.
Rear wheel drive most of the time
For all these reasons and more (including the longest wheelbase in the class)
rigidity has been maximized
and the dual wishbone front and rear multi-link suspension in cast aluminum makes its contribution.
Although it uses light metal in its structure,
the weight of the DBX amounts to 2,245 kg (53% at the front thanks to the engine being mounted as far back as possible, almost on top of the front axle).
It's a 100% rear-wheel drive SUV most of the time,
shifting to 4x4 when there are worse grip conditions (it can send up to 47% of torque to the front wheels), and everything is managed between three differentials and the automatic gearbox (less smooth and fast than the 8-speed that other Aston Martins live with).
In the first few hundred meters it becomes clear that
we are sitting lower than normal in a model in this segment,
to which is added the relatively high waist line.
This idea combines well with other dynamic attributes, such as fast, precise, and communicative steering;
and the great body roll control that almost makes us forget that, compared to a DB11, for example, we are sitting 20-30cm taller.
In fact, electronic stabilizer bars are the most powerful on the market and without them this result would not be possible.
But there is still a bit of sway, which is intentional, as Becker confirms: "Too much stabilizing effect would create a feeling of artificial driving that we wanted to avoid."
The ability to assimilate irregularities in the asphalt is another positive point, but at low speeds the combination of aluminum in the suspensions and air springs produces more noise than expected.
Then the different driving modes make it possible to prepare the DBX for the terrain ahead: the GT
is the normal mode, very balanced.
Then we have the Sport (lowers the suspension by 15mm),
the Sport Plus
(-30mm),
Terreno
(+15mm),
Terrain Plus
(+45mm) and Individual.
To load heavier volumes (the boot floor is 80 cm above the ground) or to help people with reduced mobility get in / out of the car (even with the door sills lowered to a minimum),
the suspension can be lowered five centimeters with the car stopped.
Sound on demand, Aston Martin DNA
In the 4x4 section of this dynamic experiment with the DBX, we could see what was expected: that
the electronic aids
(help on steep descents, torque vectoring between the rear axle wheels),
the all-wheel drive, the different differentials, the high torque
(700 Nm),
the increased ground clearance and the possibility of disengaging the stabilizers
(to allow greater axle crossing) help overcome a series of obstacles that those who pay almost 200,000 euros for a car will not want to face.
Among them the water, with
a wading capacity of 50 cm
thanks to a breathing tube installed in the rear electronic differential, which can be important when you
have to enter a little in the water to leave or remove a boat.
(using its towing capacity up to 2.7 tons).
At the moment there is only one engine for the DBX,
the 550-horsepower four-liter V8, purchased from AMG and without any kind of hybridization
(all it does is deactivate half of the cylinders at low or no throttle load), which when receiving a particle filter and with different acoustic settings it sounds less threatening than in other applications, but just as loud and eloquent.
The turbos, electronic management, compression ratio and even the "firing" order of each cylinder were tweaked to give it a personal touch.
The driver can also generate less or more noise, in the first case in the GT driving mode (exhaust valves closed), in the second in Sport Plus
(open) in which the idle rises from 650 to 800 rpm.
Sporty ... enough
The Aston Martin name immediately refers to a world of intoxicating sensations brought about by outstanding performance.
And not because with almost 2.3 tons, it reaches 100 km / h in just 4.5 seconds and continues to push up to 290 km / h,
all with the gentlemanly ways we would expect from a James Bond car and without the expense of fuel. unbearable (just over 14 liters on average).
On fast roads (very fast ...) it
is less tense than the Porsche Cayenne, less breathless than the Lamborghini Urus, but with a behavior that implies more than that of a Bentley Bentayga or a Rolls-Royce Cullinan.
Then cornering, the biased rear-wheel drive tuning elicits some fun movements if that's the driver's intention, but with less tail wag than on Aston coupes.
It's not quite as nimble as the sportier rivals we've named (we don't have a steer rear axle here) or as tough even in Sport modes.
The Mercedes change meets, without enthusiasm, revealing the odd hesitation in downshifting or gear retention,
something that can be solved using the paddles behind the wheel.
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