Photo: Aston Martin
Porsche has one, Bentley has one, Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce will soon add high-riding models to their lineup, and even Ferrari is developing something in the same vein. Luxury SUVs with unapologetic performance are very popular in this day and age, and Aston Martin can’t help but also join the luxo-suv bandwagon.
Enter the DBX. Presented as a concept in 2015, the automaker’s first-ever SUV has finally been signed off for production. Exterior and interior design have been completed, and the next step for Aston Martin is to finish the St. Athan plant in South Wales. Series production, meanwhile, will start in 2019.
Until the big day comes, Aston Martin has to trial the DBX in pre-production form both on and off the road, in regular driving scenarios and the most inhospitable places in the world. All in all, the luxo-SUV is expected to become the automaker’s best-selling model yet. And according to Autocar, the production-spec DBX will carry a lot of the concept vehicle’s exterior design.
“There are aspects of the car that have changed dramatically — perhaps none more so than the fact that it is now a four-door — and, on a comparison basis, you will be able to pick out many details that have been modified,” declared chief executive officer Andy Palmer. “But in terms of the pure lines and the fundamental core principles of the car, you’ll recognize them."
Beneath the skin, the Aston Martin sport utility vehicle will be closely related to the DB11. Bonded and riveted aluminum will make up most of the platform and body shell, and all-wheel-drive is on the menu too. On the subject of get-up-and-go, the DBX will be initially offered with the Mercedes-AMG 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 and the Aston Martin 5.2-liter twin-turbo V12 tower-of-power.
A hybrid derivative will be offered too, but Palmer points out that a plug-in hybrid won’t make the cut. With the help of Williams Advanced Engineering, an all-electric DBX will also join the lineup. And hallelujah, Aston Martin won’t make the mistake of shoehorning a turbo diesel under the hood of the DBX.
I’m looking at you, Bentley Bentayga Diesel!
Until the big day comes, Aston Martin has to trial the DBX in pre-production form both on and off the road, in regular driving scenarios and the most inhospitable places in the world. All in all, the luxo-SUV is expected to become the automaker’s best-selling model yet. And according to Autocar, the production-spec DBX will carry a lot of the concept vehicle’s exterior design.
“There are aspects of the car that have changed dramatically — perhaps none more so than the fact that it is now a four-door — and, on a comparison basis, you will be able to pick out many details that have been modified,” declared chief executive officer Andy Palmer. “But in terms of the pure lines and the fundamental core principles of the car, you’ll recognize them."
Beneath the skin, the Aston Martin sport utility vehicle will be closely related to the DB11. Bonded and riveted aluminum will make up most of the platform and body shell, and all-wheel-drive is on the menu too. On the subject of get-up-and-go, the DBX will be initially offered with the Mercedes-AMG 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 and the Aston Martin 5.2-liter twin-turbo V12 tower-of-power.
A hybrid derivative will be offered too, but Palmer points out that a plug-in hybrid won’t make the cut. With the help of Williams Advanced Engineering, an all-electric DBX will also join the lineup. And hallelujah, Aston Martin won’t make the mistake of shoehorning a turbo diesel under the hood of the DBX.
I’m looking at you, Bentley Bentayga Diesel!
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