Aston Martin announces MY22 updates
More power for the DB11, extra equipment for the DBX... and a nice new configurator to build them on
With Aston Martin headlines currently being dominated by 1,000hp projects like the Valkyrie and Valhalla, it was about time the rest of the range received a moment in the limelight as well. So, alongside the announcement of a new configurator - more on that shortly - Aston Martin has confirmed a raft of MY22 upgrades for the front-engined cars.
For the DB11, the V8 now gets another 25hp, matching the Vantage F1 Edition with 535hp. It means top speed edges up from 187mph to 192mph. For the V12, the 'AMR' model has been dropped; that car will now be just the V12 DB11, ostensibly to simplify naming and "focus the offering to customers." Odd though, as the AMR replaced the V12 when it was launched three years ago, only for the V12 to now replace the AMR. That's actually the same car. The DBS Superleggera has become just the 'DBS' for the same reason. That car, along with the 22MY Vantages, will get new designs of 21-inch wheel, too. The DBX now gets wireless charging as standard, as well as new Sports Plus seats. Should buyers wish, they can also have 23-inch wheels, which must have presented some challenges to the vehicle dynamics team. How do you get a car to ride properly on wheels that big?
All these upgrades can be seen virtually by prospective Aston customers in the new configurator; potentially mindful that some customers may no longer wish to visit dealerships to spec their cars, the brand has reworked the configurator using gaming technology. Apparently the F1 safety car is having an impact on traffic to the site, too, so it made sense to upgrade the offering. Aston's configurator has been developed with MHP and "offers a highly personalised and visual experience, providing the ability to explore all options and custom features at an unprecedented level of detail and in real-time." So, if there's some time to kill in your working from home schedule...
Notable in the entire MY22 Aston Martin line-up will be three interior "trim environments" offered for the first time. They are 'Create', 'Accelerate' and 'Inspire', bringing together combinations of materials to exhibit "a different design character to suit a customer's individual journey." They aren't compulsory, however, so if you really want Spicy Red with Bitter Chocolate upholstery in your DBS then go right ahead.
Phase one of the configurator has been launched now, and is well worth a play on; its roll out presumably means that the 2022 model year cars are available to order as well. And if you're thinking that means it might be the time to grab a MY2021 car and avoid the wait, join the club: this Vantage Roadster hasn't lost any money yet, so is available right now for £150k. And doesn't Liquid Crimson Metallic look brilliant?
Slightly worryingly I still have seen a DBX on the road. I know it was a little late to the party but I've seen 2 Rolls Cullinan (gross), at least 3 Lambo Urus and loads of Bentley thingys.
Slightly worryingly I still have seen a DBX on the road. I know it was a little late to the party but I've seen 2 Rolls Cullinan (gross), at least 3 Lambo Urus and loads of Bentley thingys.
But irrespective - I fear for the value of new cars like this in 4 or 5 years time as the knowledge of the inevitable future extent of the reduction in use both of capability and access increases. Why buy this or new M car etc. if it won't be viewed as anything but a polluting dinosaur and black boxes are fitted retrospectively with active speed monitoring? Of course you can lease and if there is a hit the finance company gets the pain, but I imagine they will soon be factoring in greater depreciation?
I just don't get the giant mouth thing. who looks at nature for inspiration and thinks Great White Shark? No. Swordfish? No. Eagle? No. How about
Yes!
This big news in this announcement includes:
1) Stupidly large wheels
2) Name tweaks
3) A small increase in hp
4) A new configurator – which has nothing to do with the cars themselves
Is there anything actually interesting in this? No.
What are Moers and Stroll actually doing to Aston Martin?
1) Moers killed Aston’s new, in-house V6 that was very far along its development (engines were running on the test bench). Moers sees no point in an Aston Martin actually having an Aston Martin engine, so they’ll just continue buying Benz engines. Shameful. A Benz-engined “Aston” is NOT an Aston. Would a Ferrari with a Benz engine be a Ferrari? Obviously not.
2) Moers has declared that there will be no new combustion-engined replacements for the DB11, DBS or Vantage – apparently, only the mid-engine cars will have ICEs. So they’re abandoning what Aston has always done so well – front-engine sports/GT cars. They’re spending huge money to enter the mid-engine car market – which other companies do so well. I understand that the move toward electrification is coming, but not even a front-engine hybrid??? Also, the very large US market will be buying ICE cars for a long time to come. Neither Europe nor the US is anywhere near having an electric infrastructure capable of charging the number of electric cars being discussed in the time frame being advocated.
3) When Moers went to Aston, many speculated that he left AMG because he didn’t like, and was opposed to, the plan to replace the turbo V8 with a hybridized 4-cylinder. That was supposed to be reassuring to Aston enthusiasts. Turns out, per his own words, that Moers himself was the architect of that plan. Oops.
4) He killed the manual ‘box in the new Vantage.
Moers at Aston Martin is an automotive catastrophe -- one of the worst, most destructive things to ever happen to a great marque.
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