Aston Martin DB11 AMR 2018 Review

The new Aston Martin DB11 AMR arrives in Australia later this year with a quite a point to prove.

As the first proponent of Aston Martin’s newly-devised AMR performance division, the DB11 AMR promises more power and precision than the outgoing V12 DB11 Coupe that it replaces.

It is also a car tasked with addressing the foibles of the original DB11. And there were a few; in regular conveyance, the DB11 worked OK, but the harder you pushed, the more it squirmed.

A troublesome rear axle is regularly cited as the cause, the British V12 lacking the precision and confidence to truly inspire its driver to push on.

Aston Martin obviously agreed.

“Since its initial launch back in 2016, the DB11 range has matured rapidly and intelligently," explains Aston Martin’s global boss, Andy Palmer. “[However], we felt the V12 could reveal more of its sporting potential while remaining the consummate GT."

It’s the last part of that sentence – remaining the consummate GT – where the AMR’s origins can really be traced. All told, it supersedes the outgoing V12 by offering a sharper and more responsive drive, but is far from the highly-fettled, performance-honed special its name might suggest.

First, the AMR division took the regular DB11’s 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12 and added an additional 23kW – for an outright 470kW and 700Nm. Then, it tinkered with the shift pattern on the car’s eight-speed ZF torque-converter automatic transmission, and added a new exhaust set-up that enhances sound when Sport mode is engaged.

Doing this improved the GT’s official nought to 100km/h time from 3.9 seconds to 3.7 seconds, while improving the speed ceiling to 334km/h (up 13km/h).

Then, engineers went about cultivating a more responsive dynamic skillset. They resisted the typical path of stiffer spring rates or parts bin enhancements such as rear-wheel steering. Instead, they re-mapped the existing adaptive dampers, added stiffer suspension bushes and updated the car’s limited-slip differential.

Despite the intervention of carbon-fibre, everywhere – including plenty of optional add-ons – the AMR tips the scales at a portly 1870kg.

Cosmetically, the Aston Martin DB11 AMR receives a thorough once-over in the form of more gloss black highlights and exposed carbon-fibre, a ‘smoked’ front grille, prominent front splitter and forged 20-inch wheels that save 3.5kg of weight on each corner.

A limited-run batch of 100 DB11 AMRs, like that driven here, feature the marque’s signature edition trim, which injects searing lime highlights inside and out.

Internally, the AMR model brings a sports steering wheel, monotone leather and Alcantara upholstery with a bright lime-coloured central strip and ‘AMR’ logos on the head restraints and kick plates.

The cabin of the DB11 AMR feels like a lesson in Aston Martin interior design as much as anything else, with stakeholders persisting with familiar switchgear and signature PRND gear selector buttons adorning the dashboard centre fascia.

This spells good and bad.

First, the interior has an intimate craftsmanship about it, reflecting a claimed 200 man hours spent on each individual vehicle. It looks, feels and smells magnificent inside, the decadently lined finishes appearing as though you’re in a quality Italian leather shop.

It is a fastidiously comfortable cabin, too. Big, broad chairs and a low-set driving position imbue the driver with confidence, and the three-stage seat warmers prove an instant winner in New Zealand’s cooler climes.

There are a few niggling complaints, however. There was an annoying rattle emanating from behind the dashboard of our $469,800 DB11 AMR Signature Edition, despite only 1700km on the odometer.

And the car’s switchgear – pinched from the Mercedes-Benz parts bin under Aston’s alliance with Daimler – lacks intuition and feels poorly integrated.

In fact, the entire centre fascia feels fussy and presents poorly, with myriad buttons and switchgear. You could say the same thing of a new Porsche 911 Turbo, but at least in that case everything feels uniform and cohesive.

Clearly, however, the intricate details of the cabin fit-out pale into insignificance when you thumb the AMR’s starter button.

The 5.2-litre blown V12 fires to life before settling into its menacing, signature idle.

There is truly no replacement for displacement in terms of sound, and the Aston maintains a hugely satisfying tune despite the intervention of two turbochargers – which are usually akin to Pavarotti performing his tenor with a cold, but in this case, do not dilute the V12’s awe-inspiring soundtrack.

Like its regular DB11 before it, the AMR performs quite adeptly in road-going duties. The car’s comfort bias is best exploited in the softest damper setting, where all but the harshest of bumps are ironed out proficiently, and the body feels well controlled over a mix of sweeping corners.

The V12 has power and torque in every circumstance. Officially, peak figures of 470kW and 700Nm are reached from 6500rpm and 1500rpm respectively, and the eight-speed automatic does a decent enough job of translating that power into speed, despite uneven accelerator pedal feel.

All told, you don’t particularly notice the extra 23kW during in-gear acceleration and, as before, the car’s stability control system is on constant standby – even during third- and fourth-geared bursts of heavy acceleration. But boy does it sound good.

While the engine noise really captures you, the ever-present road noise does not. In fact, the constant tyre roar from the AMR’s Bridgestones is particularly intrusive on New Zealand’s coarse-chip roads network.

On a short road loop, the AMR begins to show its penchant for long, sweeping corners, building into a rhythm and confidence at moderate speeds.

Perhaps this is also a reflection of the driver. The AMR doesn’t feel like a car you can jump in and find yourself at home; its large footprint, portly kerb weight and slightly remote steering takes time to gel with.

The V12’s heft is particularly accentuated in the company of the existing V8-powered DB11, whose AMG-sourced twin-turbo engine is some 95kW down on power, but equally, 100kg down on weight.

The V8 is immediately the lighter and more engaging car of the two, particularly during quick changes in direction.

Aston Martin is clearly on an upward trajectory with its new products, and no vehicle signals that more than the arrival of its new DBS Superleggera (and less relevant in this example, the Vantage).

At the Aston Martin DB11 AMR launch on New Zealand’s South Island, motoring.com.au treated the DBS as a yardstick.

Sure, the direct comparison of two cars separated by a not insignificant $100,000 – the AMR costs $428,000, the DBS $517,000 – wouldn’t normally be made, except today we are tracking both back-to-back at the Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell.

First the DBS. It is sharp, confident and almost maniacally fast, using the V12 as its major calling card and supporting it with hunkered down dynamics and a lightness that belies its kerb weight.

Next, it’s the DB11 AMR. It struggles to match the agility, surefootedness and confidence of its more extroverted, in-your-face sibling – which makes sense, since the DBS comes with stiffer springs, recalibrated dampers, firmer suspension bushes and a wider track and wider rubber.

It means that, for one, the AMR’s front-end simply isn’t as responsive, there doesn’t appear to be the same level of lateral adhesion, and the steering requires a couple of mid-corner adjustments in tighter corners.

More than that, it is difficult to get into a rhythm once the tempo has been raised. I find myself apologising to the instructor on several occasions because the car has abruptly pulled down a gear as I wind on the accelerator, and that shrink-wrap feel of the DB11 AMR’s cohorts is simply missing.

But then, Aston insists the AMR isn’t solely about performance. It’s also about maintaining the DB11’s GT appeal and addressing the foibles of the original.

The new Aston Martin DB11 AMR goes some way in doing that, but amid the British sports car maker’s brave new landscape – and the product onslaught of seven new models in seven years – this particular car feels as though it is carrying remnants of the old guard.

As before, the V8 feels like the pick of the DB11 range.

How much does the 2018 Aston Martin DB11 AMR cost?
Price: $428,000 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12 petrol
Output: 470kW/700Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 11.4L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 265g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not yet rated