Next Aston Martin DBS to be a V12 supercar

Aston Martin is readying yet another wild supercar to line up alongside its incoming Valhalla and the extreme Valkyrie hypercar.

According to Autocar, the current Aston Martin DBS Superleggera will be reinvented for the next generation as a hard-core ‘bonafide supercar’ in a dramatic bid to redefine it from the current front-engined Vantage and DB12.

According to reports, while the DB12 will only ever be offered with Mercedes-AMG’s twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8, the next DBS will continue to be powered by the current model’s twin-turbo 5.2-litre V12 – with even more power than the 566kW DBS 770 Ultimate.

The DBS replacement is tipped to be renamed the Vanquish, but it’s not yet known if it will switch to a mid-engine supercar layout to rival the Ferrari 296 GTB.

In the past, it was expected the new DBS would stick to its front-engine, rear-drive layout and continue to evolve into an even more powerful rival for the Ferrari 812 Superfast.

But fuelling rumours that it will adopt a mid-engined supercar layout is Aston’s own chief creative officer Marek Reichman, who announced the next DBS will be “completely different” to the model it replaces.

Another rumour is that it might stick to its current format but feature a full carbon-fibre body and an aggressive aero package that will pick up where the ultra-limited Valour left off.

If so, development costs could be shared with the current DB12, with both cars sharing the same cabin architecture.

There’s still no word when production will end for the current DBS 770 Ultimate, but it’s thought a new concept for the Vanquish could be shown next year.

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