DB12

[Calinours]

BenAstonV12 said:

cayman-black said:

franki68 said:

Good write up in autocar , beat the Ferrari Roma in the opinion of the writer .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xcDpc_iWcc

Really important benchmarks for the DB12. These are the two main competitors most people will cross-shop against, speaking personally as well. Romas are depreciating, Maserati are already offering discounts of MSRP for new GTs, will be interesting to see how the values look for DB12s once more come on the market. Good to see such positive reviews. Bodes well for the rest of the cars coming this year.

Watching that video, I don’t think the writer/presenter placed the AM above the other two at all. The conclusion at the end was Ferrari for a spirited drive and Maser for a long run and clearly for carrying rear seat passengers. The only thing he liked about the DB12 was the looks/brand thing - purely subjective. He also thought the DB12 perhaps the most brutal/characterful. Is that what an Aston should be? Perhaps. My 1980 V8 would surely agree..

I’m very pleased so many like the new front end looks. I don’t, IMHO the value engineered and very ugly new shut lines are a step backward, but I hope it sells a zillion.

It’s also, IMHO clear that the ‘generally perceived’ failings of the previous car have been the focus while delivering a more in vogue and cheaper to produce car with a front end based-on-but-not-quite DBS as opposed to the focus being on creating something more new and unique - all while reducing production costs. Yes money has been spent on new infotainment - but It is hard to believe that even at at this stage the all new sat nav still effectively doesn’t work at all.

[Calinours]

Jon39 said:

Calinours said:

I’m very pleased so many like the new front end looks.
I don’t, IMHO the value engineered and very ugly new shut lines are a step backward, but I hope it sells a zillion.

I might have misunderstood this, Calinours, but I thought your 1980 V8 also has the same front bonnet shut line.
I do take your point though, when comparing the one piece DB11.

A better engineering/appearance solution seems to be the VH Vantage/DB9/DBS/Virage, where the bonnet overhangs the front of the car (no forward shut line), but does not have the additional expense of being one piece incorporating the wing.

Well, I guess that’s correct, but we are then comparing a brand new car



to one designed in the 1960’s.



but being more fair and comparing the brand new car merely to an 6yr old solution (as opposed to a 60yr old one)…



it seems obvious the giant grille on the new car could have been accommodated, but wasn’t - probably for reasons of cost, and probably the same reason the V12 was dropped.

So much for super duper ultra luxury…

Where there is a will there is always a way. Jaguar had a solution even back then, used to great effect on the E-type..

[Calinours]

LTP said:

You can't compare cars of yesteryear to ones developed in the current regulatorry environment, particularly Pedestrian Protection.

I’m pretty sure that it wasn’t me who did… I tried in fact to compare to the DBSS - which as far as I can tell looking at current and upcoming EU directives/regs, was designed to the exact same standards.

I just cited the Jag as an additional example of the fact that if there is a will, there is a way. They solved the (yes, then a purely aesthetic/engineering) challenge back in the day much to the approval of a certain Mr Ferrari.

The new car hasn’t just reverted to shut lines between wings and bonnet (as VH cars), it has gone right back to having a horizontal shut line last seen in AM cars of yesteryear.

Yes, there are ever tighter legislative and other drivers which make things a challenge, however the DBSS proved it could be done. Sorry but the DB12’s fri tail looks are clearly driven by a desire to reduces costs. The market and only the market will decide whether Mr Stroll is quite the genius he clearly thinks he is.

For the record, I sincerely hope he is a genius, a Canadian able to sell snow to a Eskimo (or Inuit, or native of Norrhern North America or whatever the correct term is these days).

Edited by Calinours on Saturday 20th January 18:16

[Calinours]

CSK1 said:

Calinours said:

DBS Superleggera really looks good and probably a great buy right now. Interior is a bit outdated but if you have CarPlay it doesn’t really matter.
I could live with an outdated interior if the exterior looks that good and with a great V12 engine to boot!
I saw a light green metallic DBS 770 Ultimate at my dealer recently, it was just stunning.

Absolutely. Cheapest is now £120k and a good few around £130k. Just 50k to trade a DB11 for a genuine massive 800hp (simple remap), and crushing 900Nm (engine and trans) real Aston Martin engined carbon braked and bodied beautiful last of the line V12 monster. Such a bargain.

Which true petrolhead really gives a toss about the sat nav? Jeez. At least it works…. How much would Aston Installations together with a decent trimmer charge to hide that ugly central display and install something rotating and cool? - a shedload less than the extra £100k needed for a DB12, that’s for sure.

Were I in the position to buy or sell anything - this is absolutely where my money and DB11 V12 would be going.

Edited by Calinours on Saturday 20th January 20:33

[Calinours]

M1AGM said:

RichB said:

EdTheRed said:

Just took delivery of DB12 Volante today, my third Aston. Absolutely gorgeous... for the first 68 miles.

Electrics glitched out and then then engine light came on as the soundtrack changed from a beautiful V8 growl to a knackered rotovator chewing stones. Have decided to reject it and get my £250k back. Delivery was delayed a couple of months due to "manufacturing issues", but it seems Aston need to spend another few months getting this car right before sending it out.

When one rejects a car the dealer usually does everything humanly possible ot ensure you keep the car and they fix it. What was your experience like?

In my experience you have to give the dealer the opportunity to fix the issue(s). If they cannot resolve the problem or it keeps reoccurring you can reject the vehicle.

Having said that I’d be mightily pissed off if my £250k Aston died in less than 100 miles and not sure I’d ever have trust in it again.

I completely agree with this. You have to give the company an chance to fix. Several chances in fact. It may not be a new car or engine, but it’s a new infotainment system as required by this new era, developed by as ever a plucky little company trying to buck the odds.

For all our sakes, to all the new DB12 owners, be understanding and give the beleaguered company a fighting chance…

[Calinours]

Of all the photos and colours I’ve seen, that colour and spec does seem to bring out the very best in the DB12. I’m very happy you are loving your intro to AM ownership and very much enjoying your car!

[Calinours]

KevinBird said:

quench said:

Shhh! Don't tell anyone: Aston slipped in a FWD platform this time around. They figured no one would notice, just like when BMW did it with their 1er.

FWD is a Q option

Wouldn’t even be the first FWD Aston… The Cygnet didn’t suffer from torque steer either

[Calinours]

Jon39 said:

Calinours said:

KevinBird said:

quench said:

Shhh! Don't tell anyone: Aston slipped in a FWD platform this time around. They figured no one would notice, just like when BMW did it with their 1er.

FWD is a Q option

Wouldn’t even be the first FWD Aston… The Cygnet didn’t suffer from torque steer either

I am replying to your original broadcast at 10:38am. Need to wait 16 minutes, before replying to your 10:54 am repeat.

One Cygnet might have torque steer, if you could stop the wheels spinning.
Thinking a little further, maybe ignore that. It could be rear wheel drive.

You answered your own question Jon. The V8 Cygnet used the V8 Vantage S engine, transmission and running gear. As an fellow owner (of a V8VS - not the rarer and more expensive Cygnet) I can confirm that the V8 Cygnet is indeed rear wheel drive.

The double post thing happens often. I’m often deleting a second post that appears. It must be the way I use the mobile phone browser while out of UK or some other bug resulting from the more than likely half baked and completely non tech savvy way I use my mobile phone.

Back on topic after another Jon meander, I thought that the poster commenting on torque steer maybe meant to say that the tendency of the rear to come a little unstuck under power had improved but just used an incorrect term. Not everyone is familiar with all the terms the automotive journalists all pretend to know so much about..

Edited by Calinours on Saturday 27th January 12:30

[Calinours]

Finally a DB12 review from a motoring journo who’s view I respect….


https://youtu.be/A-jYWLehd6M?si=z1AveAJM8kgHzFYj

Harry liked it very much, he loves the looks, the power and especially the interior for all sorts of reasons. He’s not so impressed with the noise, the mirrors (?), and the overt aggression, thinks it a bit less of a full GT than DB11, no surprise there. A very useful review.

Said he’d already driven the new Vantage and hinted that it’s going to be impressive…

[Calinours]

Note from OP - thanks very much to all you guys who have actually bought one and are being kind enough to upload your comments on here. Apart from one dubious poster, it’s great to see that the vast majority of comments from owners are positive and you guys are happy. Well done AML, we are now very much looking forward to the Vantage next week

[Calinours]

LTP said:

Jon39 said:

Aston Martin are now an Exclusive, High Performance Ultra-Luxury Brand, supplier of rare bespoke motor cars to the discerning few and Royal Warrant holder since 1982 (don't you know).
<snip>

You raise an interesting point. Have the warrants been reissued? As far as I'm aware, all royal warrants attributed to HM the late Queen ceased on her death and the subsequent coronation of Charles as king. Any warrants from the Prince of Wales would now have to be reissued by William

The warrant was from Charles as POW - he’s always been an AM fan, like many of his age he was smitten with the DB5 in the 1964 bond film when he was 16, the reason his mum bought him a DB6 Volante for his 21st, which of course he still has to this day. He’s had others, most long since sold for charity, notably a 1988 V8 Vantage as a 40th from middle eastern royalty.

[Calinours]

These AM handbrakes are all a bit odd. I have two, one where you just pull up hard and push down to apply the beake , then pull up with button pressed to release. The older stuff is a little more tricky, as described above pull up and hold button until latch and then just pull up to unlatch and push down!

All legacies of 1950s to 1960s stuff, helpfully continued for us all to the 2000s by AML

Edited by Calinours on Thursday 8th February 20:39

[Calinours]

Minglar said:

Back on topic after all the handbrake talk……

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/aston-...

BRM.

A clear win for the Aston here, is this a first ?

While I’m not so sure it would have edged the Roma in better conditions, AML will rightly be very chuffed to chalk this one up.