Tuesday 31st January 2006

New Aston breaks cover

DBS design revealed by Corgi toy

---

Official DBS sketch

More details have emerged of the Vanquish's replacement, the DBS.

And it's no thanks to Aston Martin, whose plans for the car's launch are months away yet. Instead, Autocar captured the car because Corgi Toys, which has produced a model of James Bond's latest car, showed its model of the DBS at a London toy fair last week. All Aston has officially revealed is the design sketch (see pic).

The new DBS is important to Aston because it means all its cars are based in the same VH platform, and all will then be built at the company's new factory at Gaydon. This will cut the company's costs, keeping owner Ford happy.

However, judging by the pictures in Autocar, the car loses the brutality of the Vanquish and appears scarily similar to the DB9 and V8 Vantage, which means it'll look terrific -- but is it time for a new look for Aston?

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[paulie-mafia]

Aston need to do something new design-wise. I love the shape, really I do, but they're in danger of ending up with a BMW-like range based on the same car in 3 different sizes. Aston has a very stong heritage and definitive styling cues, but surely they could do something a bit different moving forwards? If not they'll end up as stale as Jaguar!

[dinkel]

[pedal2metal]

[pic www.mi6.co.uk/livenews/images/corgi_toy_fair_2006.jpg [/pic]

[stace3610]

That looks like a Vantage to me ...

Stace.

[dinod]

stace3610 said:

That looks like a Vantage to me ... Stace.

Thats not fair! How could you miss the butch front spoiler? Surely that makes it look entirely different than the rest of the range and allows them to charge double the price???

[Skodaku]

Agree with Paulie. I still love Astons but the current range is starting to get very "samey". We have an Aston dealer locally and, although it's nice to look in the showroom, I'm starting to lose sight of the differences. Use the same platform by all means, but please let's have some innovation in body design. Some more Phoooarrh Factor, please. We have a red Ford GT running around here and that is a real head-turner. I recently saw one of the last of the V8 Vantages and that is still stunning both visually and aurally. As the man said; "It's a brute in a Saville Row suit". Enough said.

[runnersp]

I was beginning to think i was the only one who thought aston was going a bit stale. They are very good looking cars, but they really should look into making them a bit different, and perhaps make the gearbox work, which seems to have been rather difficult on the Vanquish...

[bunglist]

Sorry Aston, but i do have to agree, the designs are becoming stale, but astons still are one of the best looking cars on the planet.

Perhaps a new design team is needed, or perhaps slip some drugs in there coffee.

[:J:]

"More details have emerged of the Vanquish's replacement, the DBS."

Oh dear, why does everybody say this ??

I loose all faith in stories like this when they open with something that is not true !!

It is also leads to the sort of comments posted above !!

>> Edited by :J: on Tuesday 31st January 14:59

[Twincam16]

For a company with such a rich design heritage, I'm surprised Aston seem intent on milking the DB6 continuously (I mean, the DB7 was a 'modernised' DB6 and all Astons since have just copied it).

What about harking back to the DB2 and featuring a dramatic slatted grille that goes halfway up the bonnet? Or adding a bit of DBS/V8-style angular brutality with a bit of front-end reverse-rake. And as for the Kamm-tail back end - the rear profile of nearly all Astons has been identical since the DP racers of the '60s, so what about smoothing it off or reintroducing the tail fin?

I get the idea that Aston Martin design directors thought the DB7 was so perfect that they couldn't possibly better it. Look guys - the Lamborghini Miura was perfect but it didn't stop them releasing the Countach, which was also perfect, but in a different way.

Also, am I the only one who thinks that Astons are getting a bit too 'bling'? The Vanquish especially - for a start, it looks like a Dodge Viper that's raided an expensive jewellry shop. The gearchange is a jerky mess (aren't Astons supposed to be smooth, unruffled Grand Tourers?) and there's that name 'Vanquish' -it's trying too hard. 'Vantage' suggests a discreet gentleman's advantage over the opposition. 'Vanquish' is a name I expect a huge and vulgar Dodge pickup truck to have.

>> Edited by Twincam16 on Tuesday 31st January 15:00

[paulie-mafia]

Just had a squiz at Autocar in the newsagents - they've got a double page spread dedicated to it, with the close ups of the model annotated with comments like "higher swage line", "narrower grill" etc. Despite the myriad changes, it looks just like a shorter DB9 with a smaller glasshouse and higher waistline!

[errek72]

Look on the bright side, you won't have to guess what the Zagato version will look like.
(the same with a Z on the sides)

[runnersp]

:J: said:

It is also leads to the sort of comments posted above !! >> Edited by :J: on Tuesday 31st January 14:59

True as that may be, you've got to admit that not much has changed with Aston in recent years.

>> Edited by runnersp on Tuesday 31st January 15:27

[paulie-mafia]

errek72 said:

Look on the bright side, you won't have to guess what the Zagato version will look like. (the same with a Z on the sides)

hahaha, yeah plus 4 round tail lights and 2 humps on the bootlid!

[kenel]

So there it goes again, the "follow Jeremy factor". I own a Vanquish and think the gear box is a dream. But then I also though the SL AMG55, which I also owned, was not a great car, all heart, no soul. Jeremy on the other hand thought it was wonderful until he was proved wrong. So what is wrong with the Vanquish gearbox? Please provide real evidence not heresay or the lemming factor.

[Swoll]

kenel said:

So what is wrong with the Vanquish gearbox? Please provide real evidence not heresay or the lemming factor.

Might be wrong, but I seem to remember Clarkson driving the Vanquish S and showing fairly conclusive evidence that the gearbox was a touch slow witted in a TG report.

Perhaps I could drive yours and make my own mind up.......

[paulie-mafia]

Swoll said:

kenel said: So what is wrong with the Vanquish gearbox? Please provide real evidence not heresay or the lemming factor. Might be wrong, but I seem to remember Clarkson driving the Vanquish S and showing fairly conclusive evidence that the gearbox was a touch slow witted in a TG report. Perhaps I could drive yours and make my own mind up.......

yeah i remember that - think he was trying to do a hill start or park on a hill or something? still, that was one of the early ones and i understand that they've since revised the software. regardless, they do make a beautiful, spine-tingling noise though!

[runnersp]

kenel said:

So there it goes again, the "follow Jeremy factor". I own a Vanquish and think the gear box is a dream. But then I also though the SL AMG55, which I also owned, was not a great car, all heart, no soul. Jeremy on the other hand thought it was wonderful until he was proved wrong. So what is wrong with the Vanquish gearbox? Please provide real evidence not heresay or the lemming factor.

I'm just going with what i saw on Top Gear and on 5th Gear when they tried to do some sort of speed record and the car broke down a few times. My comment was also directed at the fact that it wasn't a nice six speed manual, which is more my kind of thing. But then again we lemmings are known to be Luddites...

>> Edited by runnersp on Tuesday 31st January 17:28

[cy88]

Of course, the actual DBS when produced will also have painted-on spokes, an opaque one piece plastic moulding to deal with all the windows, and welded shut doors.

Come on lads, its only a model....of a car that doesn't even exist yet ... by a toy manufacturer ..... as a merchandising exercise.

[Chris71]

Twincam16 said:

For a company with such a rich design heritage, I'm surprised Aston seem intent on milking the DB6 continuously (I mean, the DB7 was a 'modernised' DB6 and all Astons since have just copied it). What about harking back to the DB2 and featuring a dramatic slatted grille that goes halfway up the bonnet? Or adding a bit of DBS/V8-style angular brutality with a bit of front-end reverse-rake. And as for the Kamm-tail back end - the rear profile of nearly all Astons has been identical since the DP racers of the '60s, so what about smoothing it off or reintroducing the tail fin? I get the idea that Aston Martin design directors thought the DB7 was so perfect that they couldn't possibly better it. Look guys - the Lamborghini Miura was perfect but it didn't stop them releasing the Countach, which was also perfect, but in a different way. Also, am I the only one who thinks that Astons are getting a bit too 'bling'? The Vanquish especially - for a start, it looks like a Dodge Viper that's raided an expensive jewellry shop. The gearchange is a jerky mess (aren't Astons supposed to be smooth, unruffled Grand Tourers?) and there's that name 'Vanquish' -it's trying too hard. 'Vantage' suggests a discreet gentleman's advantage over the opposition. 'Vanquish' is a name I expect a huge and vulgar Dodge pickup truck to have. >> Edited by Twincam16 on Tuesday 31st January 15:00

I really love Astons, but can't deny everything here is true. I think for an individual whether you go for the best looking car on the panet in either sports car/GT/supercar or (possibly with te Rapide) luxury tourer style is an acceptable decision, but for a brand its a bit, well, the same. If nothing else, you can't help feeling the significant difference in price between the models loses some of its justification when they are so similar both in appearance and structure.

Plus I found the idea of a Dodge Vanquish quite ammusing.... which song includes the rap "you wanna ride in my Aston Van-juish?"?

Bling bling baby.