Yesterday

Aston Martin DBS Superleggera | Spotted

A new Vanquish is wonderful, no doubt - but a DBS is as third as much...

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The expansion of the Aston Martin range continues apace. The DB12, Vantage and DBX now all have their ‘S’ derivatives, bringing a little more spice to the design and the driving experience. Which means there’s only one model left to potentially benefit from a leaner, meaner special edition: the Vanquish. 

It could be spectacular, because the V12 flagship is the best car that Aston Martin makes. Maybe the best it ever has, in fact: monumentally fast, epically capable, hugely entertaining and massively desirable, it’s everything and more you’d hope for from the ultimate series production Aston. Anything beyond what the standard car offers, be that an S or a related badge, has every right to be astonishing. And a great foil to the Bentley Supersports…

The extra power and panache of the range-topping Aston Martin has come at a cost, however: the Vanquish costs from £330,000. You can bet that £400,000 is very easily achieved with options, especially if Q is involved. Those in the classifieds are from £350,000 and, well, that’s patently a huge amount of money. It’s certainly enough to be wondering what the next best thing might cost and, wouldn’t you know, the old DBS Superleggeras are beginning to hover around £100,000…

Be in no doubt, the Vanquish is the superior car. It’s even faster, even better to drive, and boasts an interior from another planet compared to the DBS. But the Superleggera was a damn fine car in its own right; there was some concern about how it might cope with twin-turbocharged V12 torque (and 725hp), given the previous Vanquish - fun though it was - didn’t boast brilliant traction. We needn’t have worried: seldom has 664lb ft felt like just the right amount of pulling power. The DBS was as assured and accessible as a modern super GT needs to be, with the wild side most definitely retained. Plus it was utterly stunning to behold; you wouldn’t be alone in thinking the Superleggera was a more arresting design than the new Vanquish. 

Time waits for no man, however, and no Aston Martin; with the earliest DBSes now seven years old, a reasonable amount having been made and a replacement now out there, they are more affordable than they used to be. The original RRP was £225,000, meaning most would have been comfortably beyond a quarter of a million once they left the showroom. You can bet some would have been even closer to £300,000. 

Full disclosure: this one isn’t a third as much as a new Vanquish. If we assume that figure is £350,000, that means £116k - just like this one. But with just about every DBS out there in grey, black or white, and almost always with black wheels, some colour looked too good to ignore; sombre really didn’t do the looks justice. This is much more like it, to our eyes at least, a beautiful blue (help us out, Aston people) really bringing it to life. Maybe the wheels aren’t the sexiest ever; silver rather than black is the important thing here. 

It’s a 2019 car with just 20,000 miles, for sale approved used at Aston Martin Nottingham for £128,000. Or not very much more than a 911 Carrera with the right options comes out at these days. Of course this won’t be the end of a Superleggera’s depreciation journey, though it’s surely going to be less severe from now on - the Vanquish before this is currently from about £70,000 secondhand. The DBS was a significant step on from that, too; there’s no reason why good ones shouldn’t remain desirable for a very long time yet. Or at least until those epic Vanquishes come down quite a bit more…

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SPECIFICATION | ASTON MARTIN DBS SUPERLEGGERA

Engine: 5,204cc V12, turbocharged
Transmission: 8-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 725@6,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 664@1,500-5,000rpm
0-62mph: 3.4 seconds
Top speed: 211mph
MPG: 23.0
CO2: 285g/km
Year registered: 2019
Recorded mileage: 20,539
Price new: £225,000 (before options)
Yours for: £128,000

See the original advert here

[ettore]

I really like these and the £ is starting to look very tempting.

Completely agree on the colours though - why are people so bloody dull! These cars needs colour, both inside and out.

[Motormouth88]

Nice colour combo, comically underwheeled in that spec though and a naff wheel design to boot.

[Andy83n]

Such a beautiful car and I'd argue that the interior will age better than that of the new Vanquish

[GreatScott2016]

Beautiful from the front, but average looking from other angles. Lovely to see silver wheels, adds a touch of class, but I agree they look a little on the small size and the design is nothing special. Give me a Vantage please

[andy43]

Lovely. Proper colour, proper wheels.
Just needs a good buff

[Wills2]

21" wheels cannot be seen as comically under wheeled.

[andy43]

Wills2 said:

21" wheels cannot be seen as comically under wheeled.

They look a little small because they’re silver not black so they can actually be seen.
I think it looks fabulous but then I would - I got my Grancabrio wheels redone in silver from black

[Herebegeese]

To a non Aston enthusiast it’s baffling how many models and overlapping names there are.

Terrible branding which surely can’t help values

[RSbandit]

Had one of these for 12 months and 4500 miles, recently traded it as I needed to scratch the 911 GT3 itch…in an ideal world I’d have kept it but such is life! Such a charismatic looking and sounding car in the flesh, those rear haunches are so pumped gives the car a really purposeful stance. Road trips to Germany and Ireland were where it really excelled eating the miles in total comfort. On quick twisty b roads it wasn’t as sure footed but this was to be expected given its GT credentials. Lots of fond memories though and certainly wouldn’t rule out another one in the future maybe in Volante form…cost me less than £1k pm for the time I had it not bad for a V12 flagship Aston imo.

[georgeyboy12345]

Motormouth88 said:

comically underwheeled in that spec though and a naff wheel design to boot.

What on earth are you on about? Are you mad?!

[cayman-black]

Wow i just love that, what a car.

[trails]

Looks amazing in isolation, but by 'eck they look massive on the road...not that I can afford one anyway

[fantheman80]

georgeyboy12345 said:

Motormouth88 said:

comically underwheeled in that spec though and a naff wheel design to boot.

What on earth are you on about? Are you mad?!

Nope I agree, they look like they’ve put the wrong wheels on, too small, plus hiding in the arches.

[nismo48]

cayman-black said:

Wow i just love that, what a car.

+1

[Water Fairy]

As above I dislike the wheels and the mat finish is awful, plus a simple black interior at this price point is so dull

Nice car though, obvs.

[Robertb]

A friend had one of these (one of the ‘Q’ DBS59’s) and I went in it a few times. I was always surprised by how refined it was. Compliant ride and quiet at a cruise, and of course blisteringly quick and rowdy when asked!

Would be a fabulous GT, in the proper sense.

[WPA]

Lovely car and so nice to see silver wheels

[alscar]

Looks lovely and like the simplicity of the wheel design - in silver too.
Mileage is about half of the expected annual average “ Aston “ mileage.
Personally would prefer the roof in the same body colour.
Lot of car and value for the money.

[pycraft]

I think this does remind me of how good an idea the back of the new Vanquish is. The DBS just looks too much like a DB11, and who wants to spend double for a car that looks like the "base spec" version? If you're stuck behind a Vanquish, you are in no doubt about what it is.

As to this car, all things considered I'd have a DB11 for that reason - they look the same so there's no real "bragging rights" advantage, and I can't see myself ever needing the extra power the DBS offers. And I can be completely objective about that since I can't afford either.

[Filibuster]

Motormouth88 said:

Nice colour combo, comically underwheeled in that spec though and a naff wheel design to boot.

I especially like these small-ish wheels!