Aston Martin DBX revealed

The Aston Martin DBX — an all-new luxury SUV that opens a new chapter in the British car-maker’s 106-year history — has been revealed in Beijing, China.

Aston Martin’s first SUV is expected to quickly become the historic brand’s best-selling model, providing it with a much-needed cash injection to continue building supercars like the Valkyrie and Valhalla.

"I can’t emphasise enough how incredibly exciting and significant DBX is for Aston Martin," espoused Aston Martin Lagonda CEO, Andy Palmer.

Arriving in Australia from mid-2020 with a starting price of $357,000 plus on-road costs, the Aston Martin DBX’s vital statistics read more like those of a sports car.

Under the bonnet there’s a twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 generating no less than 405kW of power and 700Nm of toque, imbuing the big new Aston Martin with enough hustle to pin occupants firmly into their quilted tan-leather seats at full-throttle.

The DBX won’t be the world's quickest SUV – that mantle belongs to barking-mad Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, which can hit 100km/h in just 3.7 seconds – but the British SUV will take only 4.5sec to hit Australia’s national highway speed limit. Top speed is listed at a rapid 291km/h.

Lured by the world’s fastest-growing vehicle segment, Aston Martin is entering uncharted waters with its sleek and sophisticated new four-door model, but many loyalists will argue that an SUV is not a pure manifestation of the brand's core sports car ethos.

Aston Martin's Australian and New Zealand manager, Kevin Wall, begs to differ and points out that Porsche attracted similar criticism when it released its first SUV in 2002, the Cayenne, which has since been joined by the smaller Macan. SUVs now comprise half of all Porsche sales, bankrolling the development of its sports cars.

"I don’t believe 106 years developing some of the finest sports cars in the world will water the brand down. I think it only enhances our brand and I think Porsche would agree," he told carsales.

"There's a percentage of our buyers who need four- or five-door vehicles. This will appeal to them."

Wall said "60-plus" Aston Martin DBXs have been secured for Australia, with first customer deliveries expected to take place next June or July.

However, he's already requested another 30 vehicles from the St Athan factory in Wales and expects the DBX to be a sell-out before it arrives Down Under, whether or not a larger allocation can be secured.

"I've asked for additional supply," said Wall. "If we're not sold out by New Year's Eve, we will be by February," he added.

A ‘clean-sheet’ vehicle based on an all-new bonded aluminium platform architecture shared with no other model, Aston Martin says it designed the DBX from scratch – unlike the Porsche Cayenne, which shares its platform with the Volkswagen Touareg, Audi Q7, Bentley Bentayga and Lamborghini Urus.

The use of aluminium is designed to make the high-riding wagon lighter, although it still has a kerb weight of 2245kg, and also makes the construction "incredibly stiff", benefitting dynamics and efficiency on and off road, claims Aston Martin.

Adaptive air suspension can raise the vehicle's ride height by 45mm for off-roading and drop it by 50mm for ease of access, while adaptive dampers and a 48-volt electric anti-roll control (eARC) system that can generate up to 1400Nm of force per axle should enable a very flat cornering attitude.

Aston says the DBX can achieve sub 8:00-minute lap times at the Nurburgring Nordschleife, where the current production SUV record is 7:49.369, held by the Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S.

Another benefit of the triple-treat adaptive chassis is its ability to deliver luxurious ride comfort when cruising, says Aston Martin.

For now, there’s only one DBX powertrain – an Mercedes-AMG sourced 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 tuned to deliver 405kW/700Nm, matched as standard with Daimler’s nine-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive.

There's an active centre diff that apportions torque between the front and rear axles, while the rear axle also gets an electronic limited-slip differential that can split torque between the rear left and right wheels to ensure optimum traction out of corners.

Although the British SUV looks designed to carve up twisting mountain roads, the AWD wagon is also a mud-slinger, insists Aston Martin. After extensive testing on a Welsh rally stage, the company says those wishing to go off-road will be satisfied with its performance.

Aston also claims the DBX’s new bespoke steering system will connect man and machine like never before. We'll wait until we drive it to make a call on that one.

Owners can let the world know of the DBX's performance capability via an adjustable exhaust system and there's even provision for towing; the DBX will come with 2700kg of braked trailer capacity.

Wall said the optional tow pack, which can be installed at the factory or retro-fitted at the dealership, will be available in Australia and is receiving plenty of interest from local customers.

The DBX’s V8 features cylinder deactivation to increase efficiency but no Australian fuel consumption figures have been revealed and Wall wouldn’t comment on the local likelihood of hybrid or EV versions of the DBX.

However, electrified DBX variants are a matter of when not if, given Aston Martin has dubbed the new Welsh factory its 'home of electrification'.

Aston Martin reckons the interior of the DBX, which combines a full-length panoramic glass roof with frameless door glass to deliver a light and bright cabin, has class-leading headroom and legroom.

The "luxuriously handcrafted" interior of the DBX leverages Aston's sports car knowledge to package the front seats in a space-efficient manner that in turn improves rear seat room as well, says Aston.

Acres of full-grain leather from the brand's long-standing upholstery supplier, Bridge of Weir, will be standard in all Aussie vehicles, while an electric roof blind and headlining are offered in Alcantara suede-like finish, adding a bit more razzle-dazzle to the cabin -- as do metal, timber and glass accents.

Of course this is an Aston Martin and if your pockets are deep enough you can customise just about anything. The upholstery is offered in a fabric made from 80 per cent wool and there's even a flax composite extracted from the same plant as linen, which creates a unique patina not unlike carbon-fibre.

Aston is making a fair bit of noise about its "elegantly crafted bridged centre console" which features plenty of storage cubbies.

All models come with a 10.2-inch digital instrument cluster, replacing traditional analogue dials, and the dashboard is punctuated by a large, integrated 12.3-inch LCD screen with Apple CarPlay functionality. There’s also a 360-degree top-down parking camera and an ambient cabin lighting system with 64 colours.

Three-zone climate control (two zones up front, one for the rear) is part of the package, while heated seats front and rear are also offered.

The British sports car company's first-ever SUV has a substantial boot (632 litres) that can be expanded via the 40:20:40-split and folding rear seat back, allowing for the loading of bikes, boards and long objects – something that current Aston Martin don’t allow.

There's a number of accessory packs, such as snow, event and pet packages, all of which will be offered in Australia.

Aston has gone above and beyond with some of the accessories, the snow package including a roof-mounted ski racks, snow chains and even boot warmers. The event pack features a picnic basket, blanket and portable seats, while the essential pack is for families, bringing rear seat entertainment screens and even a heated front cup-holder to keep your coffee warm during the school run.

Wall said there would be only one set of optional wheels, but a number of other options including carbon-fibre highlights and an upgraded stereo.

"The car comes very well equipped," he insisted, noting that every conceivable safety system will be fitted as standard.

One of the major talking points around the Aston Martin DBX will be the design, which we reckon is certainly eye-catching but not as polarising as some of its rivals, such as the Lamborghini Urus.

The performance/luxury SUV shows off a flowing, sporty body shape, creating an exotic, non-conformist appearance, and shares visual links with the Vantage sports car – including the aggressive front-end design and duck-tail styling at the rear.

Where the Lamborghini Urus may be perceived as too aggressive by certain cashed-up buyer demographics and the Bentley Bentayga too ugly, Aston Martin reckons the design hits a sweet spot that will deliver widespread appeal.

Despite the hefty $350K-plus asking price, Wall believes the DBX will entice new customers to the Aston Martin brand. Internal estimates suggest that up to 70 per cent of DBX buyers will be first-time Aston owners and that many of them will be female buyers.

"It's not targeting males exclusively, the design of the SUV," says Wall, who confirmed females were targeted from the beginning of DBX development in 2015.

"It went through our Female Advisory Board and right from the word go it was designed very much with a female focus in mind."

As well as more female buyers, Wall expects interest from "…parts of the Porsche market and the top-end of the Range Rover set".

"It’s a small and unique market segment but it's got room to grow," he said.

Aston Martin has established a new factory to manufacture the DBX in Wales, where two all-new Lagonda ultra-luxury models -- an SUV and a sedan to rival the Rolls Royce Cullinan and Ghost – will also be built in the near future.

So the British sports car brand is gambling the family fortune on the DBX and its second car plant, but Wall believes unexpected demand for ultra-luxury SUVs like the Bentayga and Urus prove it will be a success.

"I think DBX is critical," admitted Wall. "The fact of the matter is we're late to the party. [But] Bentayga and Urus have probably performed better in Australia than we thought. They've created a market.

"I was in Melbourne yesterday and the landscape has changed so much in the last 24 months. To my eye there's one thing that’s missing and by the middle of next year it won't be missing any longer.

"If it doesn’t fire in this country it won’t fire anywhere," he said.