Aston Martin DB11 V8 2017 Review

Aston Martin is a marque with a storied history. No, make that chequered.

Fans proffer its performance credentials, Le Mans victories and the fact it’s the chosen marque of all the pukka James Bonds... For the nays: near bankruptcy, reliability and longevity issues. on-again off-again development and incompetent or absent management…

Indeed, the most British of marque’s cars have (almost) always been beautiful, but... There’s has always been a but.

With the arrival of the DB11, and now the DB11 V8, the but has gone. Thanks, in a large part to an injection of Daimler technology and AMG’s finest under the bonnet, this is now a no-excuse, must-drive Gran Turismo coupe of the finest calibre. Yes, it’s that good…

Best of British
We drove the Aston-engined V12 DB11 as part of our Best of British celebration back in late 2016. That car heralded the arrival of a new generation of Astons that seeks to reshape the world’s opinion of the marque.

Over the next six years, Aston is promising a new model every 12 months – quicker if you count limited-edition “specials”. It’s talking battery EVs, a new generation of sports cars, SUVs and a resurrection of the famed Lagonda uber-luxury marque.

Queue the strains of Land of Hope and Glory, last night of the proms style…

With refreshed and capable management, a decent war chest and new production and R&D facilities, Aston is on a roll – and for once it looks like staying on it.

The DB11 V8 is the best proof yet.

Its V12 counterpart was the first fruit of the collaboration with Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler that has dragged Aston kicking and screaming into the 21st Century in terms of the electrical platforms, safety systems and other ‘hidden’ component sets. Now, the DB11 V8 moves that tie-up one step further along.

Although in the DB11 V8, the 4.0-litre twin-turbo hot-vee engine features unique inlet and exhaust systems (and a new, more compact wet sump), in its basic form it is the same prodigiously powerful eight that graces AMG’s 63 models and GT sports cars. Yes, inside the latest British lion beats a Jerry-built heart.

A V8 was first offered in an Aston DB model in 1969. And although the 1994 DB7 initially arrived with an inline six, that was replaced by a V12 and the two cars were not sold alongside each other. Thus, it’s nearly 50 years since Aston offered a choice of powertrains in a DB variant. The new V8’s been worth the wait.

Same but different
Mechanicals are essentially all that separate the two DB11s. In terms of cabin design and layout and standard equipment, there’s very little to differentiate the V8 from V12. Both retain a 2+2 layout that’s unashamedly biased towards the front-seaters.

Aston’s ‘crystal’ push-button start is in the centre of the car along with P, R, N, D buttons for the autobox. There are clear links to Daimler in some of the switchgear and the infotainment system too will be very familiar to Benz buyers.

But there’s a sumptuousness to the materials and finishes that could only be Aston in the DB11. Beautifully stitched leather covers almost every surface. And the centre stack features one of the most beautifully executed piece of carbon I’ve seen. Alternatively, it can be timber should you choose. The carpet pile is deep and rich.

If a Porsche 911’s cockpit is an operating theatre, the DB11’s cabin is part luxury speedboat, part private jet. It’s a factor that sets the tone for the marque.

Outside you’re unlikely to be able to pick the difference. The small V12 badge is gone from the front quarter and the 9.0x20 front and 11.0x20-inch rear wheels have a different finish but are the same pattern.

Indeed, even the most significant visual difference between eight and 12 frankly requires at least a diploma in Aston-spotting. Hands up who picked the change from four to two bonnet vents? Or the fact the headlight bezels are now black instead of bright.

Step change
The changes that really count are under the glamorous and even better-in-the-metal skin.

Overall, at 1760kg the new DB11 V8 is 115kg lighter than its V12 stablemate. Although wider (it’s a 90-degree bank angle, versus the 12’s 60-degree vee), the new V8 engine is substantially shorter and is bolted into Aston’s trademark bonded and riveted aluminium chassis at what purists would term a front mid-mounted position.

That’s just a fancy way to say the engine is mounted hard up against the firewall, and entirely behind the centreline of the front axle.

It’s enough in combination to shift the static weight distribution from 51/49 per cent front/rear to 49/51.

And it’s a change that DB program boss Paul Barrett says started the dominos toppling. In the end, Aston’s engineers changed most chassis and drivetrain settings. The result is a purer car in terms of its performance in the corners. And a real eagerness at turn-in plus exemplary manners – even when you’re pushing on.

At times during our drive I had to keep reminding myself that this large 2+2 was a GT and not a pure sports car… But we’re getting ahead of ourselves…

Less power but who cares?
The new V8 has substantially less power than the V12 it supplants (375kW v 447) but there’s far less difference in the engine measure that counts in the real world – torque.

In the DB11, the V8 pumps out 675Nm from just 2000rpm and has much of that down to 1300rpm. The V12 registers a max of 700Nm at 1500rpm.

Roll-on acceleration even in the higher gears of the excellent ZF eight-speed auto is impressive. From normal highway speeds when there’s barely 1100rpm on the clock, there’s zero lag and fulsome acceleration. With 2000rpm in hand, that mumbo increases logarithmically.

There’s certainly never any impression that the V8 is playing second fiddle to the V12.

Aston claims the V8’s 4.0sec 0-100km/h time is 0.1sec slower than the V12. We’d like to see accurate in-gear roll-on times – they could embarrass the ‘flagship’. Fair enough, top speed is an easy win to the bigger car but largely irrelevant – 300km/h v 322 is not something I’d lose sleep over.

An Aston trademark, the DB11’s gearbox is rear mounted and the engine and transaxle are linked by an alloy torque tube within which runs a carbon-fibre propshaft.

In contrast to AMG’s GT which uses a similar configuration, the Aston’s gearbox is a very polished conventional auto. There are no twin-clutch foibles at low speed and in this sort of car, the theoretically faster shifts and more positive engagement of an automated manual are not missed, nor needed.

The ZF’s changes are crisp and delay-free and using the steering column-mounted alloy paddles is a joy when the road tightens up and you want to play racer – especially when Sport+ mode is selected.

And it’s this sort of going you’ll appreciate the V8’s soundtrack. There’s no shortage of mechanical tunes in the cabin once the revs rise – all 100 percent genuine, Aston engineers are quick to point out.

There’s been significant effort to create a unique sound signature for the AMG-sourced V8 in its new English seat. Ironically, Aston says it’s set out to tone down the AMG’s bass notes and nurtured the mid and upper frequencies to create “a more European” engine note.

Sportier GT
In the evolution from V12 to V8, Aston has also been able to give the ‘junior’ DB11 a sportier feel. The hardware changes include a new rear upper control arm plus stiffer rear sub-frame bushes to reduce “yaw overshoot” (the propensity for the rear of the car to feel unsettled as turn is initiated). This translates as better steering precision and a more planted chassis feel.

Smaller pistons in the front brake callipers reduce pedal travel and add a little heft. For mine they are perfectly weighted and offer great feel. The pedal placement is not ideal for left-foot braking but this is after all a GT.

Software tweaks are much more involved. They include retuning the electronic power steering to increase steering weight – especially in the sport modes. There have also been changes to the rear axle’s torque vectoring system. As Barrett categorised it – dominos.

The Mercedes-Benz collaboration has yielded benefits beyond better infotainment and heated and cooled seats. The DB11 V8 sports multi-mode chassis and powertrain settings. Aston retains the GT, Sport and Sport+ increments in the V8 but says it has responded to initial customer feedback to further delineate responses.

The DB11 V8’s adaptive dampers are by Bilstein and are not related to the AMG set-up. Conventional springs are used.

The suspension and steering are tuned using a button on the left-hand side of the multi-function steering wheel. The engine, gearbox and exhaust valve are linked via a corresponding button on the right.

Proof of the pudding
We drove the DB11 V8 in the Catalan heartland near the Spanish-French border. Relatively light traffic on B- and C-roads aren’t the traditional terrain of GTs but the new Aston revelled.

Across a wide range of roads from smooth multi-lane highways right through to a very narrow tarmac road that wouldn’t look out of place in Rally Catalunya, the DB11 V8 was bloody good. In fact, better.

There’s a tactility to the steering I didn’t expect. Response is linear and the car, despite its large footprint (at 4750mm x 1950mm on a 2805mm wheelbase, the DB is approaching BMW’s M6 in size), can be placed with real accuracy.

The sheer footprint required attention when the roads got narrower but here’s a car that deserves the ‘shrinks around you’ cliché.

The GT DNA of the DB11 should make it less at home in the really twisty, tight stuff, but there was never a dynamic concern on our spirited test drive. If Aston can retain or perhaps even improve on this in the upcoming (smaller and lighter) Vantage sports car, Porsche better look out.

Road noise could be a spoiler for Aussies looking for a little pampering. There was significant intrusion from the otherwise faultless bespoke Bridgestone S007 Z-rated rubber on a couple of coarse-chip sections of road – it seems this is one area where Aston still has work to do.

Not so the ride and roadholding balance – although the DB11 V8’s body is well tied down, with minimal roll and yaw, that hasn’t been done with detriment to the ride. Indeed, on the northern Catalan roads it was impressive.

It’s not always all about the drive, however, and there are blots on the DB11’s copybook that could sway some buyers. The V8 is the first Aston to feature blind-spot monitoring, but that’s the extent of its active safety technology.

No lane keeping, no pedestrian sensing, no autonomous emergency braking -- not even any adaptive cruise. Sure it’s all coming thanks to the Daimler tie-up but it’s hard to believe any marque can offer a near-$400K GT car without these increasingly mainstream technologies.

Less is more
At around $368K, the DB11 V8 is in the order of $35,000 cheaper than its 12-cylinder stablemate. By the time you’ve ticked a few dress-up options, that difference will be swallowed up – it’s hardly going to be a decider for potential owners.

Of more consequence is the disparate nature of the cars. While they share a badge and many mechanicals, at their hearts the V8 and V12 are quite different.

The V12 is for the buyer that wants the biggest. In this case, he or she won’t, however, be getting the best.

The DB11 V8’s communicative steering and surefooted handling are standouts – and are both factors that will make you want to use more of the twin-turbo eight’s performance.

Clichéd as it is, this a genuine case of less is more.

2017 Aston Martin DB11 pricing and specifications:
On sale: October
Price: $368,000 plus on-road costs
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V8
Power: 375kW @ 6000rpm
Torque: 675Nm @ 2000-5000rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 9.9L/100km
CO2: 230g/km
Safety rating: Not tested