Riding Shotgun in an Aston Martin DBS Superleggera

 

From the outset I have to say this has to be the most exhilarating drive I’ve been on yet.

But before the drive, I was able to look around the mighty DBS. It still looks like a conventional Aston Martin, the grille and the general shape is still typical Aston Martin styling, inside I wasn’t blown away by the interior, but it was a nice place to be, a lot of owners really like personalizing their cars though the owner of this particular one had kept it very understated bar some red piping on the seats. The seats are mounted low and do a good job of keeping you comfortable but also keep you secure. Whilst the infotainment screen no longer rises from the dashboard it is at least modestly sized rather than consuming the whole centre console. I wasn’t sold on the digital readout for revs and speed though, the first car to need it was the Lexus LF-A because it’s V10 engine revved so quickly, a conventional needle couldn’t keep up. Here though, I’m not sure it’s necessary and the conventional Aston needles that go from 6 clock to 12 clock would have been preferred, make it feel more bespoke, you know?

Now for context, the fastest car I’ve been in prior was the TVR Cerbera 4.2, that has 360 BHP and weighs 1100 KG. This Aston Martin has 710 BHP and weighs 1693 KG, in the real-world figures like 0-60 and top speed are fairly irrelevant, in gear acceleration from 30-70 is the best indicator of real-world speed (okay the top speed is 211 MPH). It’s hard to describe the sensation of speed, I have no idea how fast or what gear we’re in as we power along this first straight, but my god is it exhilarating, the car just shrugs off the weight and headbutts the horizon. I get quite giddy when going fast, I think it’s that childhood fascination of speed, but I was able to maintain composure, this is the fastest drive I’ve been on in years.

One thing I was expecting was a diluted engine note, the DBS has a 5.2 Litre twin-turbo V12 as opposed to a 6 litre naturally aspirated V12 used in previous Astons, and most people will tell you turbos rob a lot of the exhaust note. But not in this car, it still has that great engine sound, a lot more subdued than the higher pitched and aggressive almost villainous sounding Ferrari and Lamborghini V12’s. Perhaps the best way of thinking of it is that the Aston is the more mature car.

The ride and handling were also excellent too, the DBS was more than adept at avoiding the various potholes on the local roads and for what is effectively a supercar, the ride was very good as well, comfy seats too.

Another feature I was impressed by is that in the boot you get 2 small boxes carrying tyre repair tools, which is very thoughtful considering cars don’t come with spares anymore. It’s a great bit of attention to detail that most owners would probably overlook. It is a very clever design overall, Aston have been clever in how they designed the car so that it wouldn't need a fixed rear wing to provide downforce and only the small spoiler and splitter are needed to keep it stuck to the road.

The only things I wasn’t impressed by was the radiator grille, but considering the engine and its 2 massive intercoolers need a lot of air, I’m not surprised it needs so much air, the door handles which are integrated into the door itself along with the lack of analogue dials but those are only minor gripe and the fact the back seats as in many 2+2 coupes are only good for small kids.

Overall, it was one heck of a drive, kudos to the owner for letting me tag along and look around the car, really interesting guy too. He used to own the first of 250 AC Schnitzer tuned MINI Cooper's with his and car no2 having 60 more BHP than the other 248 and was capable of keeping a Subaru Impreza at bay.

I think it’s fair to say this will be the most exciting drive of my life for a good while, at least until I either go on a supercar experience or work my way up to a 911 Turbo or a Griffith 500. Best keep working then.