DBS, just some pixs , not mine

[andyuk911]

[Murph7355]

Gear stick looks like a prop out of Terminator!

[bmt216a]

Which is quality !

[nickco201]

I'm sure for a few thousand $ works service could come up with something in piano black perhaps....

[mc_blue]

Looks nice but the Vanquish still has more impact.

[noble3r]

all the reports that i've read suggests the car doesn't deliver, they say its very nervous on the edge.

i'll have a black one please

[jus]

noble3r said:

all the reports that i've read suggests the car doesn't deliver, they say its very nervous on the edge.

With respect -- absolute rubbish. Having spent a good length of time with one myself. Also, I further submit into evidence, the following (includes Tiff Needell choosing a DBS over a 599...): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1qEuNxC1fI

[:J:]

jus said:

noble3r said:

all the reports that i've read suggests the car doesn't deliver, they say its very nervous on the edge.

With respect -- absolute rubbish. Having spent a good length of time with one myself. Also, I further submit into evidence, the following (includes Tiff Needell choosing a DBS over a 599...): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1qEuNxC1fI

Not nervous on the edge, but meant to be a nightmare in the wet !!

[Murph7355]

:J: said:

Not nervous on the edge, but meant to be a nightmare in the wet !!

Isn't that when you take the Range Rover?

Or ease up on the right foot

We bemoan the intrusions of electronic trickery that make all cars equal (even the cheap stuff). And then moan because we can't modulate our ten ton right boots when it drizzles. It's not Playstation

[jus]

Personally I found it roaringly good fun in the wet, because it's just so mental... all that torque has you managing wheelspin and manhandling the arse all the way, and it's a riot!

[SAGPACK]

jus said:

Personally I found it roaringly good fun in the wet, because it's just so mental... all that torque has you managing wheelspin and manhandling the arse all the way, and it's a riot!

Just re-read your write up on the DBS you had for a few days Jus, you certainly didn't seem to have any issues with the DBS's handling....money no object,if you could have one right now would you? And if so what colour; Casino Royale, Black, Lightning, Royal Blue or would you prefer the Quantum of Solace grey that's supposedly coming out....oh, and I've just seen a Frost White one with black/anthracite wheels for sale at Romans???

[Pugsey]

:J: said:

Not nervous on the edge, but meant to be a nightmare in the wet !!

Nightmare no, exciting YEEEEEES. For heavens sake it's RWD with really rather a lot of splendid BHP thingies, surely that's what we WANT and EXPECT from a car like this? I do worry about some people you know...............

[jus]

SAGPACK said:

jus said:

Personally I found it roaringly good fun in the wet, because it's just so mental... all that torque has you managing wheelspin and manhandling the arse all the way, and it's a riot!

Just re-read your write up on the DBS you had for a few days Jus, you certainly didn't seem to have any issues with the DBS's handling....money no object,if you could have one right now would you? And if so what colour; Casino Royale, Black, Lightning, Royal Blue or would you prefer the Quantum of Solace grey that's supposedly coming out....oh, and I've just seen a Frost White one with black/anthracite wheels for sale at Romans???

Well, question was already answered after that weekend... I've got one coming in March/Apr in Quantum However, I might switch at the last minute to a V12 Vantage, depending. Will wait and see!

[runway78]

Gunmetal Grey is one of THE Aston Martin colours however the DBS in black is just on another level. Offsets incredibly well against the clear rear lights and helps the Kahn-stylee bodyskirts and bumpers blend in better. IMHO of course.

[XaveOxf]

I've driven the DBS and loved it. Very powerful, easy to handle, and great gearbox. Much better than the DB9S in my opinion.

I just had to be very careful with the ground clearance...

These are DBS pics from my blog: www.supercarstories.co.uk

[:J:]

Pugsey said:

:J: said:

Not nervous on the edge, but meant to be a nightmare in the wet !!

Nightmare no, exciting YEEEEEES. For heavens sake it's RWD with really rather a lot of splendid BHP thingies, surely that's what we WANT and EXPECT from a car like this? I do worry about some people you know...............

Well, it came from someone with a lot of experience of the car in the wet, so as you are worried about them, I shall pass on your concerns

I think the guy who ended up at the bottom of Lake Garda knows a thing or two about driving Astons.......and look where he ended up when he had a DBS on a wet day !!

As you seem to know better from your own experience of driving a DBS in the wet, over the opinion of experienced drivers that have done many miles in the wet, then I take my hat off to you and bow out gracefully

Edited by :J: on Thursday 2nd October 20:46

[SAGPACK]

:J: said:

Pugsey said:

:J: said:

Not nervous on the edge, but meant to be a nightmare in the wet !!

Nightmare no, exciting YEEEEEES. For heavens sake it's RWD with really rather a lot of splendid BHP thingies, surely that's what we WANT and EXPECT from a car like this? I do worry about some people you know...............

Well, it came from someone with a lot of experience of the car in the wet, so as you are worried about them, I shall pass on your concerns

I think the guy who ended up at the bottom of Lake Garda knows a thing or two about driving Astons.......and look where he ended up when he had a DBS on a wet day !!

As you seem to know better from your own experience of driving a DBS in the wet, over the opinion of experienced Aston drivers that have done many miles in the wet, then I take my hat off to you and bow out gracefully

Edited by :J: on Thursday 2nd October 19:16

I've just bought a DBS and I had read all the reports about it being a bit of a handful in the wet etc but when I test drove it, yesterday, I had requested that I didn't want a go unless it was raining and lo...the heavens opened and it absolutely p*ssed it down! Excellent said me, and promptly took it out.
Well, the accompanying dealer rep (who happens to be a good mate and fellow car nut) said; 'I know you've had some fast stuff but please remember....' and I said; 'what?...that it's got 510bhp....?' And he said 'yes' in a slightly trembly voice. Anyway, substantial leptons later the point had been made that the DBS is like any other high performance vehicle, respect it, the driving conditions ie prevailing weather, traffic volume, road surface etc etc and it's a damn fine motor car....drive like a t**t and you'll run the risk of dropping it down the road! I'm getting on a bit now so no longer feel the need to go everywhere like my arse is on fire and the fact is that you have the power to slow down and drive to the circumstances....everything I've read about the guy who fell into the lake said variously that he was either giving it some beans or that he was proceeding like a nun on prozac and the end result either way was a very close shave with the grim reaper (he swam up from the sinking car quite a distance so I recall?)...I wasn't there (before everyone points that out) so I don't know but I really don't think AM has produced a successor to the 996 GT2 (widow maker) and that DBS owners are all going to be getting acquainted with autumnal hedgerows! Having said all that b*llocks I'll let you all know in a couple of weeks/days because I pick mine up on Saturday and the weather forecast is for lots of the wet stuff!! O goody

[:J:]

You are right, driving to the conditions will keep it in check, but I can't imagine that when Aston went to the drawing board with the DBS in mind, they started with a design brief for a car that would be fine to poodle around town in.

I guess that other peoples opinions of the car in the wet were formed whilst using it as it was designed to be used and based upon comparisons with other cars of the same design/power.

I don't know, the proof is in the pudding I guess, and what with not being in the privledged position you are in, I will unfortunately not find out for myself anytime soon

Like you say with the guy that ended up in the lake, nobody actually knows what happened, or how how he was driving, apart from himself. So any comments are based purely upon speculation. After speaking to him at Goodwood, it turns out that it was only the car hitting the bottom of the lake that actually woke him up again from being passed out !! Scary stuff and lucky man !!

Seems odd though that the dealer knew you were fully experienced in driving such machinery, yet still felt the need to say something about being careful in the wet ?

Edited by :J: on Thursday 2nd October 20:43

[SAGPACK]

:J: said:

You are right, driving to the conditions will keep it in check, but I can't imagine that when Aston went to the drawing board with the DBS in mind, they started with a design brief for a car that would be fine to poodle around town in.

I guess that other peoples opinions of the car in the wet were formed whilst using it as it was designed to be used and based upon comparisons with other cars of the same design/power.

I don't know, the proof is in the pudding I guess, and what with not being in the privledged position you are in, I will unfortunately not find out for myself anytime soon

Like you say with the guy that ended up in the lake, nobody actually knows what happened, or how how he was driving, apart from himself. So any comments are based purely upon speculation.

Seems odd though that the dealer knew you were fully experienced in driving such machinery, yet still felt the need to say something about being careful in the wet ?

Edited by :J: on Thursday 2nd October 20:42

It was a customer car ie not owned by the dealer, it was on SOR, so despite having previously owned some equally fast stuff he just wanted me to be careful and not deliberately provoke it I think he would prefer I did that when my name's on the V5 which is fair enough...especially since I had already agreed a price/deal but, subject to me being satisfied at the end of the test drive. Finally he did point out that the throttle can be pretty sensitive and to an extent he was right, you don't need to give it much travel before serious leptons are being dispatched under the rear wheels

. To be fair it was more sensitive to throttle inputs than my Vanqish was and I remember when I bought that the AM Exec advised caution in wet conditions and using no more than 3500 to 4000 rpm on upshifts when it was raining hard. At the end of the day as I think Pugsey said; it's a rear wheel drive 500+ bhp GT so it's never going to be a 997 Turbo or a ScoobyEvo-4-wheel-steer-GTR-all-wheel-drive thingy that goes like a cat with dynamite strapped to its tail, it's a bespoke GT with all the individual idiosyncracys (or a word like that!) that those type of cars stand for.....I suppose that if I wanted a completely safe GT express train I'd probably have looked at a Bentley GT Speed....but hey, that's not in the same league IMHO.

[:J:]

Ah, the Vanquish, in the last of the S spec, my favorite of the 'modern' Astons

I am not trying to put the car down (although it does look a lot like it), it's just that how it 'reportedly' behaves in the wet, would have been drawn from a comparison with other 500+bhp cars that are also RWD.

I understand a car with that much power and RWD will inherently be a handful in the wet if pushed, it just seems that in comparison, the so called 'experts', seem to think the DBS is just not as good as others in the same situation.

Like you say, you are in no rush to go driving it around like a wally, so I am sure you will never have to find out for yourself

Edited by :J: on Thursday 2nd October 21:16