Aston Martin DBS review (2008 onwards)

What – Aston Martin DBS
Where – Cheshire and Derbyshire
Price – £160,000
Available – Now
Key rivals – Ferrari F599 GTB, Lamborghini Murcielago LP640, Bentley Continental GT Speed, Mercedes CL65

Summary

More power, sharper handling and brilliant brakes create a car that is less cruiser and more bruiser and Aston's best GT ever.

Likes: Looks, ride, handling, brakes
Dislikes: Hard to read instruments, gearlever, clunky sat-nav, switchgear

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First impressions

When launching a new car most manufacturers are content with a grand unveiling at a motor show followed by a mass-media advertising bombardment. The world got its first glimpse of the Aston Martin DBS as it barrel-rolled across the silver screen in Casino Royale. The car's muscular appearance caused as much speculation in the motoring press as new Bond Daniel Craig's did in the gossip columns but it was a lengthy wait before the production model was ready for the road and its full specification revealed.

It would be easy to think of the 'S' as a DB9 that has been the subject of a rigorous training programme to bring it up to fighting trim. Its intentions are signalled by the adoption of the motoring equivalent of lycra and training shoes; spoilers, scoops and carbon-fibre. A wider stance, beefier wings and bigger wheels work together to distance it from the DB9 but the bling rear lights and renaming the key an 'Emotion Control Unit' are rather over the top. Aston Martin would rather you thought of this car as a road going version of its Le Mans winning DBR9 racer. Perhaps the truth is somewhere in between.

A deep front airdam with carbon-fibre splitter directs air into the engine and over the front brakes, reprofiled front wings and side-skirts send it flowing smoothly along the sides. Venturi tunnels channel the airflow underneath the car where it exits at the rear through a carbon-fibre diffuser underneath the bumper, improving downforce in tandem with a large but neatly integrated spoiler on the trailing edge of the bootlid. The latter, along with the front wings, bumpers and bonnet are all crafted from carbon-fibre. Ditching the rear seats, new carbon-ceramic brakes and the use of lightweight trim materials have dropped the kerb weight of the DBS by 65kg, compared to the DB9.

Performance

As any athlete knows, breathing is the key to performance and the 6.0-litre now sucks in larger quantities of air into reprofiled inlet ports and a bypass valve opens at 5,750rpm to cram in yet more; raising peak power to 510bhp at 6,500rpm. This propels the lighter DBS through the 300bhp-per-tonne barrier and into genuine supercar territory. The 0-62mph time drops half a second to 4.2 seconds and top speed is now 191mph. The punch is savage enough to the beat the reprogrammed traction control, which now features a track mode, in the first couple of gears, despite rear tyres a whisker under a foot across.

Peak torque remains unchanged from the DB9 and is generated slightly higher up the rev range at 5,750rpm but despite this the engine remains remarkably flexible, pulling without complaint from 30mph in sixth gear. As it does so the engine note changes pitch from a mellow Brian Blessed bass grumble at low revs through a refined baritone once various exhaust valves pop open at 4,000rpm and finally a thundering tenor just before the 6,800rpm redline. The clutch is pleasantly light and the weighting of the accelerator pedal is spot on. The Graziano manual six-speeder needs a firm hand and a high transmission tunnel means quick up-shifts are forborne for fear of a fractured elbow.

Watch our video roadtest of the Aston Martin DBS

Ride and handling

The transaxle gearbox and an engine that Aston Martin describes as being front-mid mounted means that 85% of the DBS's weight is carried within its wheelbase, endowing it with remarkable agility for its size. An increase in track has improved stability over the DB9 and thankfully the well-weighted steering isn't super-quick with an unfashionably relaxed three turns lock-to-lock while remaining accurate enough to perfectly place what is a rather wide car. There is the merest hint of nose-heavy hesitation on initial turn-in but as the rest of the car follows this transforms into a poised, neutral stance, allowing the line to be adjusted on the throttle. Care is needed however since just a touch too much will see the tail stepping out.

If the poise and grip of the DBS make it nimble and chuckable in a way a car this big just shouldn't be, this pales in comparison to the brakes. For the first time on an Aston these are carbon-ceramic and offer staggering stopping power. Little wonder with front discs nearly 16-inches across but truly remarkable is their smooth, snatch free operation, as good in a tailback as on a mountain pass. Also outstanding is the body control and absorbency of the ride, regulated by dampers that continuously shift between five possible settings according to driving style and road conditions. Nothing but the worst broken surfaces test it and only with the optional track mode engaged will it become harsh.

Interior

This is where things go slightly awry for the DBS which gets a redesigned centre console, carbon-fibre door-cappings and handles and in our test car, the option of a superb pair of sports seats. Made from carbon-fibre and Kevlar these save yet more weight at the expense of backside braziers and side airbags. Pews aside however the makeover is less successful than the modifications made under the skin. The fit and finish may be beautiful but this, as the saying has it, is only skin deep. The buttons on the centre console are tiny and hard to decipher.

The dials, fashioned on posh watches and admittedly very attractive, are similarly illegible; a supplementary digital speed read-out is a licence saver. The switchgear is still Ford derived and the alloy gearlever is not only rather ugly but was already pitted and scarred, presumably through contact with wristwatches and wedding rings. It could also do with being an inch taller. That said, the driving position is spot on with the wheel and pedals dead ahead - not always a given in a supercar - and the latter perfectly positioned to heel-and-toe. Visibility is good enough not to make oblique junctions a chore and allow the car to be placed accurately in corners.

Economy and safety

Large, multi-cylinder petrol engines are never going to be at the vanguard of eco acceptability but remarkably the DBS actually emits fewer grams of CO2 per km than the less powerful DB9. Obviously at 388g per km it is still going to receive an annual drubbing come tax time but Aston says it is committed to reducing emissions model by model. Combined mpg is 17.3mpg, rising to the 20s at a steady cruise, giving a useful 250 mile range from the smallish 78 litre tank. Driver and passenger airbags are standard but hopefully those superb anchors which additionally feature emergency brake assist and brake force distribution functions will prevent these ever having to fire.

The MSN Cars verdict: 5/5

Aston Martin has cleverly created some clear air for itself in its markets. The Vantage has a V8 against Porsche's flat-six and the DB9 offers four seats and a V12 for the same price as a two-seat, eight-cylinder Ferrari F430. At £160,000 the DBS seems quite a hike in price from the DB9, particularly considering that recently announced upgrades to the latter bring it close in terms of power. But compare it to the Ferrari F599 or Lamborghini LP640, both of which cost an additional £40k for arguably negligible real world performance gains, and the well sorted chassis, supple ride, superb brakes and elegantly muscular styling mean Aston has pulled off the same value for money trick once again.

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Ratings out of five: Aston Martin DBS
Performance*****
Ride & handling*****
Interior***
Safety****
Price***
Practicality**
Fuel economy***
MSN Cars verdict***** 

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Driven: Lamborghini LP640
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Watch our video roadtest of the Aston Martin DBS