The New DB12: An Aston Martin with a bit of Ferrari? | Henry Catchpole - The Driver’s Seat

The new Aston Martin DB12 is a crucial car for the British company. Why? Because it represents the first of a new generation. A new Vantage is also expected before long and Valhalla is waiting in the wings as well. What’s more, Aston is keen that these new cars should better reflect a company that has a Formula One team - and a rather good one at that. As such, greater performance is the order of the day for Alonso’s new company car and although there is no longer a V12 option the familiar turbocharged V8 has been pumped up to produce a startling 671bhp and 590lb ft of torque. Can the rest of the car cope with that? Well, let’s just say that this is a DB with an E-diff for the first time and it looks like it’s got the tyres for the job, with wide new Michelin Pilot Sport 5 S rubber wrapping the new forged wheels. This more sporting bent to the car is intended to position the DB12 (and Aston as a whole) directly between Bentley and Ferrari. A new skew towards the famous Italian marque i