The DBS replacement is part of a wider refresh of Aston Martin ICE cars
Next generation of Aston’s flagship will be a more extreme proposition to mark it out from the DB12
Aston Martin is preparing to transform the V12-engined DBS grand tourer into a bonafide supercar that is obviously distinct from its V8-engined Vantage and DB12 siblings.
The reinvented DBS will crown a reinvented Aston Martin sports car line-up; the DB11 has already been replaced by the DB12, the Vantage will also soon be heavily reinvented and the DBX SUV will receive an overhauled interior – complete with a touchscreen for the first time – during 2024.
While the DB12 is available only with a twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 supplied by Aston Martin shareholder Mercedes-AMG, the DBS is tipped to serve as a celebratory swansong for the firm’s own venerable 5.2-litre V12, which was ramped up to 759bhp for the final-edition DBS 770 and could be in line to receive even more grunt to do battle with Ferrari’s upcoming 812 Superfast replacement.
The replacement for the DBS will be “completely different” to both the DB12 and the Vantage replacement, Aston Martin chief creative officer Marek Reichman told Autocar earlier this year.
As for the name, Long noted that ‘DB’ models tend to sit at the “core of the line-up”, suggesting that flagships such as this merit names beginning with V (like Valhalla and Valkyrie), and Autocar understands a revival of the Vanquish badge is on the cards.
There has been no official announcement on the future of the DBS, which is bowing out in its current form with the 770 Ultimate edition, but Long said the brand “will always have a flagship”, and its desire to reinforce its sporting prowess means a top-rung supercar is clearly all but a necessity.
Long added: “The focus on performance as a pillar of the brand is critical. Historically, we’ve been a performance brand as well as a luxury brand, and we’re moving back to that.”
Crucial to Aston Martin’s desire to cement its status as a maker of top-drawer sports cars as well as more luxury cars will be ensuring that each of its front-engined models has its own distinct character and capabilities.
“Rather than having products with two levels of power output and performance – and that includes dynamics and braking and all the other aspects of what makes a proper performance car – we now have to bring these power levels that give our cars the edge,” said Long.
Clearly, as the DB12 has replaced the DB11 with more of a focus on long-distance refinement in its remit as a ‘super tourer’, the DBS successor will lean towards the other end of the performance spectrum, putting an even stronger emphasis on speed and agility.
Long also emphasised that V12 engines are “synonymous” with Aston Martin. “People still love the twelves,” he said. “As much as the electrification revolution continues, [a V12 engine has] a different use case, and it’s still very much a huge emotional connection for our customers.”
Indeed, Stroll has said that “there’s still room for a V12 in our sports car generation” beyond the current DBS. A power increase over the DBS 770 could nudge the new supercar towards the 800bhp mark, which would make it the most powerful pure-ICE road car that Aston Martin has yet produced.
That power increase will no doubt be matched by a comprehensive chassis overhaul building on the set-up deployed on the fearsome DBS 770, with uprated dampers and a boost in rigidity at both ends helping to improve cornering performance and giving the supercar a broader scope of ability on track.
Indications that the DBS replacement will be a tangibly different car to the DB12 suggest it will be styled to emphasise its flagship billing, no doubt taking influence from track-bred range-toppers like the Vantage V12, DBX 707 and DBS 770, which are obviously marked out as hardcore propositions by carbonfibre bodywork elements and extensive aerodynamic packages, as well as larger intakes and bigger brakes.
It will be a closer match for the DB12 inside, however, as Aston Martin is planning to roll out its new, self-developed cockpit design across its next generation line-up.
