Driver's Notebook: Spy vs. Spy
August 1, 2006
The dramatic, angled nose juts toward the ground in a grimace.
"This is an aggressive car, in terms of its surface lines," says Reichman. The
sculpted exterior pays close heed to the Aston Martin tradition, echoing both
the recent classics like the DB9 and the Vanquish, the latter which will be
phased out with the introduction of the DBS. For those who mist up at the
thought of losing the world-class power of the Vanquish’s roaring tiger of a
V-12, not to worry: That same 12 cylinders will be barely contained—but will be
there—beneath the DBS’ bonnet. "Bond exudes a toughness. I wanted this to exude
that toughness. I wanted this car to be aggressive," says Reichman.; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
The interior cocoons passengers in the finest
hand-stitched leather, while shiny metallic buttons operate the ignition, the
oil slick, the smoke screen, and the seat ejectors. (Click image to enlarge)
If the DB9 has a yoga-slinky body, the DBS is a bodybuilder on
his second cycle of the juice. This car is 2 inches wider than any previous
Aston and 1.5 inches closer to the ground than the DB9. The spoilers and the
carbon fiber elements around the rear fenders and exhaust add to the racecar
appearance, as do a few extra scoops in the hood and vents at the front grille.
The added intakes and skirting, all racing-inspired, give the car a tuner look.
When asked about this resemblance, Reichman points out that the DBS is basically
a racecar in the guise of a street-legal speed machine—a look the tuner cars are
trying to emulate. "This is the benchmark," he says.
Aston Martin expects to produce a limited number of these 500+ hp marvels when the DBS goes into production. With a price somewhere between $200,000 and $250,000, the car is expected to compete with the top-end Porsche 911 Turbo for the customer who wants more than an engine strapped to an aerodynamic shell. But Aston Martin buyers are a different lot. It is a gentleman’s car for gentlemanly pursuits at very high speeds.
And a Bond car would not be a Bond car without at least one gadget: Push a concealed button and out pops a tray from the dashboard holding one of two Walther PPKs with silencers. But don’t look for that feature on the window sticker—unless you have a license to kill, of course.
Aston Martin
www.astonmartin.com
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