SPY PICS: Aston Martin DB12 spotted

Aston Martin may be rebranding and altering its image to broaden its appeal and entice younger entrepreneurial buyers, but that doesn’t it means going completely electric – not yet.

Indeed, the latest spy shots of its DB11 successor, widely expected to be badged as the Aston Martin DB12 when it debuts in 2024, has been spotted in Europe wearing plenty of camouflage and the most intriguing element is the presence of big fat exhaust outlets… and the fact it’s refuelling at a petrol station.

Details on the new British grand tourer are scarce and not even the DB12 name has been officially endorsed by Aston Martin, but speculation that Aston Martin’s new flagship GT would be the first of a new generation of EVs from the hallowed performance car brand appear to be quashed by the new photographic evidence.

The filthy-dirty prototype’s shape is almost identical the current DB11’s with the same rear-end design and overall silhouette, but eagle-eyed readers will note the bigger grille and smaller headlights up front, which should make the DB12 visually closer to the Valhalla plug-in hybrid supercar.

Former Aston CEO Tobias Moers last year promised the brand’s lusty V12 engines would remain in active service until around 2026 or 2027, and now it seems likely the new DB12 will retain its 12-cylinder rumble – albeit potentially in electrified hybrid form to mollify emissions regulations.

Either way, expect the new Aston Marton DB12 coupe to be more powerful (and more expensive) than the $420,219 model it replaces, in which a 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12 pumps out a reasonably spicy 470kW at 6500rpm and 700Nm at 1500rpm.

Bear in mind the same engine in the more aggressive Aston Martin DBS is good for a whopping 566kW.

The DB12 may not get an all-new V12 but an evolution of the current 5.2-litre twin-turbo donk, partly because Aston Martin – which has a technical alliance with Mercedes-AMG – is not as flush with cash as it would like to be despite raising just over a billion dollars of capital to stay afloat in mid-2022.

Aston Martin will mark its 110th birthday on January 15 and, to celebrate, it has promised to release a limited-edition supercar in 2023, which is expected to come in addition to the upcoming DBS 770 Ultimate that had been tipped to be its final V12 model.