The 2024 Aston Martin DB12 isn’t an all-new car, but it still has an enormous job to do. A job more important than the Valkyrie, more important than the DBX, and possibly more important than the F1 effort: Be a proper Aston in a post-Callum-and-Fisker world.
These days, Aston Martin is run by a Canadian, partially-owned by the Saudis, and builds cars primarily bought by middle-aged Americans who really liked Casino Royale. It’s certainly a change from the waxed-jacket-gentlemen-with-Holland-and-Holland-rifles image of the past, but it’s also a change from the liquid-nitrogen-cool-Tanqueray-city-boy era of the aughts. Fifteen years ago, you’d have bought a V8 Vantage because any old stockbroker would automatically go for a Porsche, only to never be let out at junctions. Ford-era Astons are ostentatious, but they were never vulgar or trashy.
Unfortunately, the Ulrich Bez-era Aston Martin we all adored has disappeared over the past few years. I get that following up a masterpiece can be tricky, but the DB11’s front arch is very poorly-resolved, the DBX is most certainly a vehicle, and the current Vantage just doesn’t look good.
The DB12 is unusual because it’s a facelift with a brand new DB name. The last time a DB car went through a heavy mid-cycle refresh, the DB9 became the Virage, which became the DB9 again. Same name in the end, because it’s largely the same car. Does Aston reckon that the DB12 is new enough to justify a new DB name, or did it finally realize that “DB11” is far too many syllables. You decide. Mind you, DB12 isn’t the only name attached to this new coupe.
Instead of the familiar “GT car” genre, Aston Martin is calling the DB12 a Super Tourer, which makes it sound like the DB12 will be launching two wheels off the curbing before trading paint with a caged Nissan Primera driven by someone named Gaz. Not exactly upper-crust, but certainly exciting. I guess touring cars aren’t the worst comparison considering the BMW 2-Series Active Tourer exists, but still. So, let’s see how super this big Aston claims to be.
Tweaked camshafts, a revised compression ratio, new turbochargers, and an updated cooling package extract 671 horsepower from that four-liter Mercedes-AMG-sourced turbocharged V8. On paper, the 3.5-second zero-to-60 mph time and 202 mph top speed it grants the DB12 renders a V12 unnecessary, but I can’t help feel that it won’t replace the DBS’ fire-breathing 5.2-liter lump. Fast cars are all about emotion, and although it’s hard to rationalize a V12 over an aggro V8, humans aren’t rational.
Mind you, 590 lb.-ft. of torque from 2,750 rpm all the way to 6,000 rpm could change some minds. Sustaining peak torque 748 rpm beyond crossover sounds absurd, and an updated rear end should work overtime to harness that twist. For the first time, Aston Martin is using an electronically-controlled limited-slip differential in the back of a DB car. Variable hydraulic locking should help this bad GT hook up, and it should keep the shorter 3:083:1 final drive ratio from simply spinning up one unloaded tire.
With the back end on (electronically-variable) lock, Aston Martin’s also paid attention to the front end of the DB12 by fitting a 13.09:1 fixed-ratio steering rack for consistency. Variable ratio steering racks are extremely convenient about town, but having your ratio change in a high-speed bend can make you wish you wore brown trousers. As for the fixed ratio Aston Martin chose, it should imbue this huge coupe with a certain playfulness without feeling like you gave an over-caffeinated weasel control of the rudder. More importantly, although the electric motor in an electric power steering system acts as a mass damper, killing feel, Aston hopes to bring back some sensation by rigidly mounting the steering rack to the subframe without any isolators. No squidgy bushings, no problem.
In contrast to the dramatic steering rack mount arrangement, the DB12 doesn’t have absurdly-grippy barely-legal tires. Instead, Aston Martin has specified the Michelin Pilot Sport 5, a more touring-oriented performance tire, successor to the road-focused Pilot Sport 4. Granted, these aren’t like other Pilot Sport 5s – Aston Martin and Michelin have collaborated on an OEM tire fitment to specifically suit the DB12 engineers’ desires. One of these desires? Quietness. Like many new luxury cars, the DB12 features tires lined with noise-attenuating foam.
On the inside of the DB12, the big news is that Aston Martin has finally upgraded to 720p. Alright, that’s unfair – the scaling of the new infotainment system is actually 1920x720p, which makes it kinda respectable. It supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and if you’re excited for the infotainment system in a 671-horsepower Aston Martin, you need to get outside and touch grass. More critical is the new Bowers & Wilkins sound system. I mean, it’s still Harman, which is still Samsung, but hey: It’s as British as Aston Martin is these days. In all seriousness, B&W-branded car audio systems are often decent, partly because of the caliber of components and partly thanks to a fondness for DIRAC. Goodbye and good riddance, Clari-Fi. Unfortunately, the B&W system is optional, which feels mildly insulting at this price bracket.
More important than base audio, everything you actually need to use in the cabin has a physical control of some sort. Want to kill the stability control? Touch a switch. Want to quiet your valved exhaust so you aren’t a dick to your neighbors? Touch a switch. Want to adjust the climate control? You already know what’s going on.
However, I was never worried about the interior of the DB12. I wasn’t worried about propulsion either – It’s an Aston, even the ugly ones have driven well. What Aston Martin really needs is a pretty face. Well, facelift can only go so far. The front wheel arch is still poorly-resolved and the floating roof treatment is still a love-it-or-hate-it proposition. However, Aston Martin went real big with this facelift, seemingly pulling inspiration not from past DB cars, but instead its hypercars of recent past. Vertically-stretched headlights and strong grille slats carry a touch one One-77 DNA, while the silhouette of the actual grille seems to share more with the Valkyrie than anything.
More importantly, that grille is smaller and more trapezoidal than the grille on the outgoing DBS, yet much larger than the trademark grille on the DB11. It’s the happy medium between, well, everything, and it’s framed well. A prominent lower valence sweeps cleanly across the front fascia in one fairly straight line, while slim air curtains scythe away at positive space. Chunky side skirts complement the pumped new fascia, while a gorgeous set of multi-spoke wheels are refreshingly monotone in a diamond-cut world. Sure, the DB12 looks damn near identical to a DB11 from the back, but it’s a sensible evolution. It might not be as beautiful as a DB9, but it’s pretty enough. Plus, it’s imposing and chunky in a way that reminds me of the old Vanquish from the early 2000s. I reckon that’s a job well done, as proper an Aston as any.
(Photo credits: Aston Martin)
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I’m just going to go ahead and assume they got Yuri from the Straight Pipes to design this, inspired by all the photoshopped massive grille thumbnails he was doing.
I have long been an Aston Martin fanboy. I admit it. I have always thought of Aston as purveyors of the ultimate “Gentleman’s Express“. Not flashy like a Lambo or Ferrari, more stylish than most Mercedes, more dignified than a Maserati.
However even I am bored by Aston Martin. Quite honestly every Aston Martin since
Jesus was a pupSean Connery had hair has been the same car in a different dress. I mean I still like it but at some point you have to move on.Jaguar faced the same problem and has handled it gracefully in recent years IMHO. We shan’t talk about Mustang which has become the Harley Davidson of cars.
Oh, side note: That “grill”. I haven’t seen it in person or even in a close-up photo, but I am sure Aston is using the same system BMW uses. That is, the grill has electronically controlled panels behind the grill face which remain closed for aerodynamic purposes (making the “grill” a comparatively smooth and solid nose) unless the engine needs extra cooling as when sitting in traffic. Most of the time the engine gets it’s cooling air from the slots under the grill.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTqCi4uqiQ8
“More critical is the new Bowers & Wilkins sound system. I mean, it’s still Harman, which is still Samsung, but hey”
Slight correction, Bowers & Wilkins is not owned by Harman / Samsung. Their ultimate parent company is Masimo.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowers_%26_Wilkins
That paint is very pretty.
Meh. I used to love Astons and they were always bedroom poster fodder for me as a youngin, but I don’t really jive with their exaggerated, ostentatious designs of the present. I get that an Aston isn’t meant to be subtle but some of their really lovely designs of the last 30 years or so (The Vanquish, V8 Vantage, DB9, etc) just have a level of timeless elegance to them that this, the DBX, and others just don’t.
Astons from the late 90s/early 2000s still look fantastic today. Do you think this will look fantastic in 25 years? I don’t. It’s very of the times, and while MORE IS ALWAYS MORE rampant conspicuous consumerism is all the rage with the disgustingly wealthy right now I don’t think it’s going to stay en vogue forever…and if economic conditions for the bottom 99% don’t start to improve drastically there will come a time when being so in your face about your wealth in public might not go over so well…
I was out for a bike ride today and saw a 2006 V8 Vantage. It’s perfect. Gorgeous and compact. Only a bit bigger than my Z4C but without all the styling.
I just checked at that’s a £25k car in the UK. If I sold both my cars and both my bikes I’d almost have enough. It would somehow cost more than all four to look after, but it’d look damn pretty on my driveway.
I’d probably have to put a sign up explaining that I’m not a massive Bond fan though. And you can’t drive one wearing a suit, ever.
I love Astons, I love the Bond movies, but any Aston wearing a license plate with any combination of Q, Mi6, or 007 is incredibly cringe.
That massive grille is loathesome, IMO. It’s adding lots of drag and even for the engine is greatly larger than it needs to be. Plus it’s a total eyesore. This “sports car” weighs as much as a midsized SUV and takes up the same amount of space in the road. If the goal is to have some fun on the back roads, I just don’t see the appeal.
Now a DBR1, THAT is a proper Aston. They need to make ’em like that again.
A perfectly cromulent throwaway toy for the rich playboy set. I used to drool into paper printed auto magazines over cars like this.
Is it a comment on the last decade’s amazing glut of automotive performance vehicles or my jaded outlook on life that I just don’t care any more.
Same. I was wondering if it was just me that just can’t be bothered anymore to care about the Ferrari going 0-60 in 2.9 seconds but the Aston does it in 2.85… Maybe because they’re so far into the realm of unattainable they’re no longer desirable? I’d trade 100 of these Astons for one cheap car that is playful and engaging to drive.
i actually like that poorly-resolved front wheel arch. but there are a number of individual characteristics on this car i like in the photos, while disliking the whole.
Love the exterior and interior colors. Why are my options on 90% of cars black, grey, dark grey, onyx, light grey, medium grey, charcoal, metallic grey, metallic black, pearly black, solid grey, stone, obsidian, and Fifty More Shades of Goddamn Grey???
“Be a proper Aston in a post-Callum-and-Fisker world.”
Enormous task indeed, and the designers are already failing at it as miserably as those poor sods at Peugeot who had to design a successor to the beautiful Pininfarina-designed 406 Coupé, stretching the design features to the point of rendering the car a sad caricature of itself.
This new DB12 handheld vacuum looks to be Aston’s most effective so far.
It has even greater suction than the DB11, through it’s enlarged nozzle with a very distinct and effective dust separator and debris catcher. This new updated version, which of course is still wireless, also has a new and larger touch screen for most auxiliary controls, while important functions are still controlled by physical buttons, like they should be on a Aston. The new color won’t attract all existing Aston customers, gone is the classic off-white and in it’s place a green hue reminiscent of vintage glass bottles. Maybe its designed to sit in the kitchen and not the closet?
Aston Martin has a stunning palette of available colors. I could care less about its powertrains. Aston Martin colours whet my palate and I’ll take my DB12, fresh off the pallet in Cosmos Orange, if not Elwood Blue !
“ Sustaining peak torque 748 rpm beyond crossover sounds absurd,”
Powertrain engineer here: what?
I mean, what? You’re referring to the point at which torque and power curves cross over if you use a particular set of non-SI units. Fine.
But that has nothing to do with whether the actual torque peak is absurd or not. One of the engines here makes peak torque at 10k rpm. Many engines are torque capped to protect the gearbox and have a torque plateau, there’s one over there that makes peak torque from 3.5k to 7k.
It’s nothing absurd or unusual.
The uncapped torque curve would tell us a lot more about the engine, this just tells us how strong the gearbox is.
Hi Captain Muppet, can you tell us a bit more about your work? I’m curious.
Also, love seeing real expertise in the comments.
I’ve spent the last 20-odd years mostly designing ICE for OEMs in Europe, with a bit of time in the US and Asia.
I’ll send a mail to tips@theautopian…
Beyond the effect on the drivetrain, torque spikes are a royal pain when managing traction as a rider/driver. I am very pleased with how flat torque curves have become on motorcycles.
Also as I understand it, peak torque is peak fuel efficiency so the broader the range the better.
That’s cool. A new thing. But now I feel depressed. What happened to my life. I work hard. I make smart decisions.
But some rich dope gets to drive this around while I worry about the next rent payment?
Fuck that car, right up the tailpipe!
And fuck it’s oversized wheels that make it look like Cookie Monster snacked on it from the ground up.
Sorry, ghost. Should’ve had the foresight to be born rich. I can relate.
Better luck to us next time, amirite?
If I had that “foresight”, I’d be designing and selling my own cars right now!
I feel blessed that I don’t feel any desire for weirdo stuff like that car. Happy for the folks who enjoy it, would rather spend my ducats on travel and beer.
Gawping or gopping? Both, ostensibly.