The new Aston Martin DB11 is all set to succeed the 12-year-old DB9, confirmed officials from the company. The DB11 is expected to be the first vehicle in an entire new range of upcoming Astons including 4WDs in the family cars.
Andy Palmer, CEO of Aston Martin spoke to AutoExpress and revealed the logic behind the nomenclature. He said, ‘The current car’s 12 years old now, so arguably we’ve missed a step’.
The DB10 was a concept vehicle to be used in the new James Bond film and instead of naming the new model as DB10 which would result in skipping a generation, the company decided to call the upcoming model as DB11 which is expected to combine the features of DBX and DB10 crossover concepts.
The engine to be deployed in DB11 is expected to be the same as that used in the current Aston Martin V12. However, the turbocharged version would be used for added efficiency and power, according to car experts. Some experts, however, think that a V8 version could be developed to fit into the new DB11 by leveraging on Daimler’s expertise and relationship with Aston Martin – Daimler has a 5% stake in the British car company.
The most recent twin-turbo V8 unit that has been deployed in the Mercedes-AMG-GT is expected to find its way into the DB11. The interior of the all-new DB11 is expected to feature Mercedes switchgear and also a dashboard similar to that in an S-Class. Another deterrent to increasing sales of Aston Martins is the absence of a navigation system sourced from German stakeholder, says CEO Palmer. The new DB11, hence, is expected to feature this kind of navigation system.
The DBX crossover is expected to the first of the company’s new line-up of family 4WD Astons, according to CEO Palmer. He added, ‘It’s not probably going up and down any mountains, but it might have to pull your boat out of the harbor or drive across a muddy field and so our current assumptions are that it will be a 4×4’.
