New Aston Martin DB11 model comes with 503-horsepower V8 and customized software and suspension tuning.
Remember when Aston Martin began offering its smallest car, the Vantage, with a V12? Well, it works the other way, too. Aston Martin’s DB11 grand tourer can now be ordered with a V8 under its long, sculpted hood.
The twin-turbo 4-liter V8 is the first Mercedes-AMG engine to find its way inside of an Aston Martin. Power is rated at 503 horsepower and 498 lb-ft of torque (only 18 behind the V12 DB11). Flat out, the V8-engined DB11 can get to 62 mph in 4 seconds and hit a top speed of 187 mph. To make the V8 more Aston and less AMG, Aston Martin’s engineers have equipped it with custom air intake, exhaust, and wet sump lubrication systems. They also installed new engine mounts, created new ECU software, and reprogrammed the engine and throttle mapping to make the V8 feel and sound more like an Aston Martin power plant.
Fewer cylinders means less weight – 254 pounds less, to be exact. With the V8 up front, the DB11 tips the scales at 3,880 pounds. Aston Martin tailored the DB11’s suspension around that decreased weight, tweaking the suspension bushings, geometry, anti-roll bars, springs, dampers, and ESP software. According to the automaker, the “the V8 appeals to those customers drawn to a refined and comfortable GT with a more sporting bias.”
To stand apart visually from the V12 DB11, the V8 model features dark headlamp bezels, a unique wheel finish, and two vents on its hood (as opposed to the four that its more powerful sibling has).
Both versions of the DB11 are available with the same standard equipment levels and color and trim options, as well as the same Option Packs, Designer Specification packages, and Q by Aston Martin – Collection options.
The V8 DB11 is already on sale. Prices start at $198,995. Deliveries will start rolling out in the fourth quarter of this year.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
