by Wallace Wyss –

When Aston Martin showed their DBX SUV prototype a year ago, I thought “well, it’s a nice idea but…”

Well, now they didn’t consult me. They went ahead and made it.

It is not quite as sleek (read coupe-like) as the prototype but still looks pretty sensational for an off road capable luxury car.

And it’s in the Aston tradition, maybe 40 plus years ago there were a few Aston Martin shooting brakes, sort of station wagon shaped Astons that gave you the speed and class but also some room for dogs and guns, essential to m’Lord’s country life.

And the trend is to have an SUV available in every luxury brand, already we have Rolls, Bentley, Lamborghini and Mercedes. Bugatti and Ferrari haven’t taken the big step yet. But this will give them something to think about because it has a go-fast engine.

It is going to be built in a state of the art factory in Wales.

The ‘engine is taken from the DB11 and Vantage, but re-tuned for the DBX – producing 542 horsepower (404 kilowatts) and 516 pound-feet (700 Newton-meters) of torque. The transmission is a nine-speed automatic connected to the SUV’s all-wheel-drive system that features an active central diff and an electric rear limited-slip differential.

I would expect Land Rover is a little nervous as they have a car in this category, the Range Rover Sport SVR. I haven’t compared prices but this Aston will be window stickered at $192,986, which includes the $3,089 destination charge.

The SUV was track tested at Silverstone and the Nürburgring where it achieved sub 8-minute Nordschleife lap times during their regular testing.

Here’s a take on the styling, bearing in mind I haven’t yet seen it in person.

FRONT: Traditional Aston grille is big and a good identifier. Angled front air intakes next to grille give it a race car look. Having LED lights around them gives a unique look at night.

SIDE: Side sculpturing avoids plainness of some of competing brands.

REAR: Good emblem and name placement. Rear slope of roof appears to reveal rear sunroofs. Duck tail spoiler a little too obvious.

IN SUM….
I say the more the merrier on bringing onto the market more of these luxury SUVs because the design features will trickle down to middle class cars.

And maybe I’ve seen too many James Bond movies but I think it’s great the brand survives….will James Bond drive one in the next Bond movie?

Let us know what you think in the Comments.

 
 
THE AUTHOR: Wallace Wyss is the author of 18 car books and currently practicing the fine arts, creating one off commissions of classic car paintings. He can be reached regarding commissions at mendoart7@gmail.com

 
 
 
 
 

 

 

Aston Martin DBX photos compliments of Aston Martin.