DBS Carbon Edition

[George H]

Revealed at the Frankfurt motor show.


http://site.astonmartin.com/eng/thecompany/news?a=...
http://www.astonmartin.com/cars/dbs-carbon-edition...

Seems a bit pointless to me, although the Flame Orange is a fantastic colour.

Edited by George H on Monday 12th September 17:40

[George H]

I have to agree, vastly overpriced.

I'll take a standard Volante over this. Not a fan of the black alloys, black grill, or smoked rear lights. Or the carbon bits in the interior. But I do love that colour, something about Aston's in orange, just works extremely well.

Jockman said:

Wonder if they will continue offering a 2 + 0 seating arrangement on the coupe only

That is only with the lightweight seat option isn't it?

Edited by George H on Monday 12th September 19:24

[George H]

Jockman said:

No idea Georgeous, though it was on my DBS prodrive on Saturday. I think my seats were indeed lightweight but definitely not deep bucket seats. Bit wierd really since the seat hubs are still there but no leather seats, just a parcel shelf bracket at the foot of each hub.

Obviously unavailable on volantes

Is it a no cost option? Does it save any weight, or in fact serve any purpose?

If you have to pay for it, may as well get the 2+2. Judging by Vanquish prices, 2+2 seem to command a bit of a premium. Would seem silly not to go for it really, despite them being pretty much completely unusable.

[George H]

Speedraser said:

Why, oh WHY, is it apparently auto-only??? Why not let the buyer choose a manual 'box if he (or she) wants it??? It's an Aston Martin, for crying out loud -- being able to choose one's spec is part of the appeal, and the gearbox is such an important part of the car.

I would guess it is down to emmisions. Easier to maniuplate the tests when using an auto as opposed to a manual. Plus, how many DB9/DBS manuals are sold compared to the TT2. I would guess about 5-10% manuals?

[George H]

Speedraser said:

That shouldn't matter at all, though -- since the DBS is available with a manual, it has already been through the certification process with both transmissions. "Special Edition" status does not require any further testing. FWIW, I'm told that in the northeast US (where I live), manual 'boxes in the DBS still sell well (whereas a manual DB9 is quite rare -- in that 5-10% range). The V8V, unsurprisingly, also sells very well with gear lever and clutch pedal.

I didn't mean testing it again, I meant companies average emmisions through sales. I.e. trying to reduce them by not offering the more polluting gearbox option.

I suspect, as Jockman said, that it is the beginning of the demise of the manual gearbox. I wouldn't be surprised to see the new DBS doesn't even have the option.

[George H]

JohnG1 said:

I am driving a 911 turbo with a pdk box at the moment. In standard settings at 31mph you are in 5th gear. Switch to sport+ mode and you'll still be in first gear.

In standard settings you can be overtaken by a hot hatch. But it gives great mpg.

What exactly do you mean by great mpg? Is that comparable to a V12V, or a normal car?

[George H]

JohnG1 said:

What mpg do normal cars get anyway? I've only ever owned sportscars and Aygo for shopping!

No idea, I just go by anything 25 or higher is good.

I get about 14-16mpg average in the Aston, 28-30 average in the Polo, and anywhere from 10-20 average in the ML depending on the roads.