With DBX’s unveil drawing closer, Aston Martin’s first SUV has entered the closing stages of the most comprehensive test regime of any Aston Martin and today, the luxury British marque can confirm the beating heart of the most versatile product in its illustrious history.
With extensive everyday real-world driving and high-performance track evaluation taking place at locations worldwide - including the brand’s two key engineering centres at Silverstone, UK and the Nürburgring, Germany - Chief Engineer Matt Becker’s team have focussed their development work to ensure the broad dynamic capability required of DBX.
While conducting durability testing at the demanding Nürburgring race circuit, DBX has delivered cornering speeds on par with the brand’s most focussed sportscar Vantage, while achieving braking figures greater than the marque’s Super GT, DBS Superleggera. This brutal combination of performance for an SUV has already seen Aston Martin’s engineering team regularly achieve sub 8-minute Nordschleife lap times during their regular testing regime.
DBX will feature a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, tuned to deliver the exhilaration of a modern GT. While recognisable from its application in the brand’s existing Vantage and DB11 sportscars, DBX’s V8 engine surpasses the performance credentials of these V8-powered models delivering 550PS and 700Nm of torque.
High speed testing has already proven DBX to repeatedly exceed 180mph, with final top speed and acceleration figures being set within the closing stages of the testing process.
As highlighted in today’s video release, DBX’s vocal chorus has also been honed by the brand’s dedicated acoustic team. With a focus on creating a broader, more solid acoustic note, DBX’s exhaust system has been tuned to reflect a deep bass with increasing mid-tones, creating true auditory exhilaration, particularly in more sporting drive modes.
DBX’s testing programme continues apace, with Matt Becker, Aston Martin’s Chief Engineer commenting: “We have concentrated our work to ensure that the calibration and tune of this 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 delivers both the everyday usability and refinement expected by SUV owners. However, we have also focused heavily on matching that with the engaging driving dynamics that are commanded by our brand and inherent in every Aston Martin and early indications of the car’s overall performance have been incredibly promising.
The next few months will be extremely important to us, as we continue to hone the powertrain credentials and a dynamic setup that will help make this the most exciting SUV on the market”.
DBX is set to be unveiled this December.