Aston Martin DBS Makes Its Official Debut
James Bond approves.
By Chris Haak
08.17.2007
Tomorrow, Aston Martin will officially unveil its new DBS model, which was James Bond’s mode of transportation in the film Casino Royale at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California. The car is the newly-independent Aston Martin’s flagship model, and is motivated by a 510 horsepower V12 (derived from Aston’s V12 racing engines in the DBR9 and DBSR9) connected to a rear-mounted traditional six-speed manual transaxle. Other performance-related features include ceramic brakes, 20 inch alloy wheels, and an exhaust bypass valve that opens in the higher RPM ranges.
The DBS is a two seat car with a bonded aluminum structure. Befitting of the Aston Martin name, it has a gorgeous exterior and exquisitely detailed interior. The interior features Semi-aniline leather and Alcantara surfaces, Matrix alloy fascia trim, Iridium Silver centre console finish, and Carbon fiber door trims and door pulls. Navigation, of course, is standard, and the map data is stored on an integrated hard disk for quick access times.
Aston Martin has built itself into an impressive aspirational luxury brand. Although production volumes are substantially larger than they have been in past years, it’s still basically a boutique company that produces beautiful, well-regarded automobiles. Without even sitting in the actual car, it’s obvious that Aston Martin has given its flagship an incredible attention to detail – look at the interior photo above.
Meanwhile, keep saving your pennies. The car is expected to cost about £160,000 (€235,000 or $317,000) when it goes on sale in early 2008.
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