OPINION. Why the Aston Martin DB11 might be worth the wait

Following in the footsteps of both the 12-year old DB9 and the Spectre-only DB10, will Aston Martin’s new DB11 really live up to the hype? After a (very) quick spin in the prototype, our man thinks it will

Due to land in the Middle East just after Summer, the wait for the new Aston Martin DB11 is almost over. But our collective foot tapping and itchy fingers every time we read about its new twin-turbo V12 was too much to bear, and so we jumped on a plane and talked ourselves into driving the ride and handling prototype before anyone else.

Residing behind the high walls and security fencing of Bridgestone’s proving ground near Rome, the Aston Martin guys let crankandpiston.com take its hand-built, one-off test mule for a rather rapid spin around the 3.9km test track, wet handling track and even a faux English country lane complete with patchy surface, dips and bumps.

But here’s the big question: will Aston’s new headline act really be worth the wait? Oh I should say so. With 600bhp and 700Nm (516lb ft) from its new 5.2-litre, twin-turbo V12 being driven through a transaxle-mounted ZF eight-speed auto box, the prototype alone already proves a worthy successor to the ageing DB9 and while I got nowhere near its 322kmh top end during our run, I can vouch for it’s 3.9 second claim to 100kmh.

This one still had some fine-tuning to do on the suspension that includes Aston’s first attempt at a multi-link rear end, but unlike this car’s repulsive blue leather interior, we’re pretty sure Mr Bond – fresh from his time with the limited edition DB10 – will approve when it’s released in July. And chances are, so will we.