Aston Martin is about to be the next supercar manufacturer to jump onto the SUV bandwagon, as exponential market growth and bold profit margins have proved just too much to resist for the British manufacturer. We’ve known about the DBX for a while now, and the company’s plan to put an SUV of some description into its performance car line-up (the Rapide is hardly a family workhorse) is not surprising, but this prototype is our clearest idea of what the DBX will actually look like when it’s put into production next year.
As one of the first body-on prototypes to start real-world testing, the model seen in these images is still quite removed from the eventual production model, but we can instantly see that this will be a four-door, two-box (or sorts) SUV with a sloping rear roofline and high-waisted windowline. The overall shape is much sleeker than many high-end SUV rivals such as the Bentley Bentayga, having a profile more akin to the Maserati Levante or BMW X6 thanks to that long bonnet and sloping roofline.
The incoming production car itself will have little to do with the DBX Concept that was first previewed at the 2015 Geneva motor show, too. That car’s lifted two-door coupe body has clearly made way for a more standardised four-door body shape.
Officially confirmed as being named DBX, Aston Martin's first luxury SUV starts its testing programme tackling the demanding terrain of a Welsh Rally stage. www.astonmartin.com/DBX#AstonMartinDBX
Posted by Aston Martin on Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Chassis guru Matt Becker has also had an important role in the initial phases of development, ensuring that the DBX still feels like an Aston Martin to drive on the road, where most will doubtless spend a majority of their time.
The DBX will be revealed in full later in 2019, where it will soon after go into production at Aston Martin’s new manufacturing facility at St Athan in Wales. This new factory will not only produce the DBX, but also be capable of developing and building Aston’s forthcoming range of Lagonda and electric vehicles too.
This article originally appeared at evo.co.uk
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