Aston Martin has been very active in recent years. After delivering the DB11 and new Vantage, the brand has made it three in a row with this: the DBS Superleggera.
The Vanquish’s replacement is the fastest Aston Martin to date with a top speed of 211mph and it counts Ferrari’s 812 Superfast as its only main rival. One glimpse of the super-GT confirms that it looks the part, but what do the the critics think?
On the road
Under that gorgeous, immaculately sculpted bonnet is a 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12 with 715bhp and 900Nm of torque. It’s the same engine you’ll find in the DB11 and it’ll polish off a 0-62mph sprint in 3.4 seconds, racing from 50-100mph in fourth gear in just 4.2 seconds. The Ferrari 812 Superfast betters it on all those metrics: with a 6.5-litre V12 producing 788bhp and 718Nm to hit 62mph in 2.9 seconds. The 211mph top speed is the same in both cases though.
Auto Express (AE) wasn’t up for a game of Top Trumps though and seemed to prefer the Aston’s ‘less frenetic’ feel and slower steering out on the road, describing the DBS Superleggera as ‘more of a long-gaited GT car’.
The weekly car mag adds that the steering is ‘sweetly weighted but quick off-centre’, which can make the car feel a little artificial as the chassis occasionally struggles to keep up but ‘it’s nowhere near as hyper-sensitive as an 812’s’.
Evo says the DBS Superleggera always feels like a big car and that narrow snaking B-roads are likely to be an uncomfortable experience. However, it noted how immediately easy the DBS Superleggera is to drive, from ‘the surprisingly supple ride to the seamless shifts of the auto ’box and the light and very quick steering’. Evo adds: ‘Even a small application of throttle is enough to surge past slower moving traffic; the DBS is a hilariously effortless overtaker.’
Interior
The Sunday Times’ Driving section believes that compared to the 812 Superfast, the ‘sumptuous leather-clad interior feels the more special place to sit’.
Evo was impressed by the cabin’s soft, expensive-feeling leather and the Mercedes-derived infotainment system’, which is a vast improvement on Aston’s previous efforts. However, they reckon some of the switchgear feels out of place in a car with a ticket price this lofty.
Verdict
Autocar went all in, awarding it five stars, adding: ‘as long as [Aston] keeps making cars like this as brilliant as this, all will be well. A rather wonderful automotive archetype has just been preserved for a new generation here.’
Auto Express held back half a star but had equally high praise, writing that the DBS Superleggera feels ‘every inch the super-GT with incredible performance and a fitting soundtrack. There’s enough dynamic ability without unduly compromising comfort, too. Aston’s latest platform is coming of age, and the DBS proves this emphatically’.
The Sunday Times’ Driving dished out four stars, labelling ‘super GT in name, super GT in nature’ and ‘one of the most complete cars Aston Martin has yet produced’.
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