Is This the Greatest Aston Martin Ever Built?

Matt Bubbers June 9, 2016

If you’re going to build a secret test track, you might as well build it somewhere beautiful.

Bridgestone’s European Proving Ground located near Rome, surrounded by green fields, on the west coast of Italy is certainly beautiful. The local restaurants are incredible. Pasta grows on trees in this part of the world.

Aston Martin’s engineers and test drivers have come here to hone their DB11 in the last few months before it starts production.

The DB11 really can’t fail. Aston, a small British company, has poured everything into this car. It’s the first all-new model from Aston since the Vantage in 2005. The monsterous twin-turbo V-12 engine has been developed from the ground up. Aston is independent; it doesn’t have a parent company to subsidize R&D. The DB11 is not the product of a committee, but a hand-made machine designed and engineered by a small group of people, and it shows.

The engine has a deep base-y rumble. We’ve been warned this car is only 85 per cent complete but already you can see the making of something grand. It’s got exposed wires and rough edges, but the new interior is so much nicer than before. The cabin isn’t sports-car cramped, but luxury-car comfortable. The first moments driving this million-dollar prototype, one-of-one, should’ve been terrifying. But the DB11 is so easy to drive, so inviting from the first turn, you can’t help but be put at ease. It will be a continental cruiser like the DB5 and DB9 before it.

We’ve never seen leather broguing on car seats before. We’ve never seen a modern coupe so low and long. On the dry track at this proving ground near Rome, the DB11 runs the handling gamut. In GT mode, the suspension is soft and forgiving, letting the body lean through corners. It feels natural. Press the button for Sport+, and the throttle sharpens but not too much, and the steering feels more alert.

The torque provided by the new twin-turbos — all 516 lb- ft of it — give the car a meatier power range than any Aston V12 before it. The company claims a top speed of 200 mph, or 322 km/h. Driving this car makes you feel tingly — it’s exciting because it’s already obvious the DB11 is destined to be one of the great Aston Martins. The company has been running in stealth mode for a few years now, but it’s about to make a comeback. A big one.