I’ll never forget a particular moment from our 2017 Best Driver’s Car competition. Aston Martin had sent a vehicle dynamics engineer out from the U.K. to observe the festivities, and I offered him a ride as I took the then new Aston Martin DB11 up California’s Highway 198. Halfway up the hill he said something like, “Yeah, we should have added on more suspension settings.” Although it’s a lovely grand tourer, the DB11 just wasn’t sporty enough, didn’t have sufficient body control (or brakes), and as such placed last at BDC. It’s a true shame, as the big, sexy, twin-turbo V-12 was a lovely thing. Yeah, I said was.
Something else happened on the way to the DB11’s funeral—Aston Martin released the DB11 V8. Packing a bellowing 503-horsepower, 498 lb-ft, 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 from none other than AMG, this car invalidated its big sibling. Not only does the V8 version weigh some 250 pounds less than the V-12, but in what essentially amounted to an early refresh, Aston Martin’s engineers changed much of the car’s suspension, specifically at the rear. The result was a machine that offered performance nearly identical to that of its more expensive sibling, but also one that was better to drive. Aston took note.
The DB11 is dead. Long live the DB11 AMR.
Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer explained that the fabled British brand sold 4,200 DB11s in only 18 months—not bad at all. But the DB11 is gone, having been replaced by the DB11 AMR. The headline story is that power is up. The AMR version now makes 630 ponies, a healthy margin over the DB11 and V8’s top power of 600 hp. Torque remains the same, which is problematic as the V-12 engine produces “only” 516 lb-ft of twist, just 18 more than the AMG’d V-8. Still, with the 30 additional horses, top speed climbs from 200 mph to a lofty 208. That’s 1 mile per hour more than the rival Bentley Continental GT, as Mr. Palmer would like you to note. It’s also worth mentioning that the AMR makes 4 horsepower more than the Bentley, though the Conti’s torque is 664 lb-ft. Aston claims a 0–100 km time of 3.7 seconds, and as we got the previous iteration to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds, sure, why not? Most important, the exhaust note is now nastier.
Although extra power is (always) great, the real news is the revisions Aston Martin made to the DB11 AMR’s suspension. Essentially, all the tweaks Aston made to the V8 have been applied to the AMR, with consideration given to the extra weight of the big V-12. As vehicle line director (and father of the mighty V12 Vantage) Paul Barritt explained, handling starts at the rear. As such, most of the major rejiggering done by chief engineer (and former Lotus engineer) Matt Becker and his team started out back. The goal was to achieve better handling without giving up too much in the way of ride quality. Remember, all DB11s are grand tourers at heart. For now, Aston’s sports car is the Vantage—until the arrivals of the Vantage S and the as of yet unnamed mid-engine car.
Visually, chief creative officer Marek Reichman’s team nipped and tucked and hemmed, and the changes are subtle. Bright shiny pieces have been tinted black, exposed carbon fiber is available as an option on almost every exterior part (mirrors, roof, roof strake, splitter, diffuser, and sills), and the wheels have been replaced with sportier, 20-inch forged numbers. Even the Curliques—the large slashes on the front fenders that flow out of the wheel arches—sport less chrome. The dark motif continues inside, with what Aston calls “monotone leather” and lots of Alcantara, all set off by a lime stripe. No major surgery was performed because—let’s face it—the DB11 started off great looking. As I wrote previously, “The DB11 is beautiful. Deeply, willfully, unabashedly beautiful.” Plus, it’s one of those designs that is aging fabulously. Anecdotally, a friend of mine who used to dislike the looks texted me the other day to tell me the DB11 has “grown on” him.
These changes might not sound like much, but they all add up to something quietly lovely. I first saw the new cars in the metal at Aston Martin’s technical center located across the street from the front straight of the Nürburgring Nordschleife. I was there to run a parade lap with about 40 owners and their Astons to kick off the 24 Hour Race. One owner brought along a now defunct DB11, and the contrast between the old and the new was striking. Sure, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but give me the AMR, please. Especially in the black Designer Specification, one of three available. The car I drove all over northwestern Germany as well as on the ’Ring was the AMR Signature Edition in Stirling Green and lime livery, limited to 100 examples.
Right off the bat it was apparent that the AMR refresh handles better than the DB11 it replaces. In the old car, the standard suspension setting was essentially useless. It was one of those cars that you immediately had to put into Sport; otherwise, the ride was just too floppy. For fast driving, you had to go into Sport Plus, and if you took the big girl (4,194 pounds) to a track, you had nowhere left to go. As the Aston engineer said, the car needed an additional setting. The DB11 AMR now has that. Default suspension is pretty sporty; Sport mode is just fine for burning up your favorite back road; and the renamed Track mode is stiffer still, offering even more body control.
As for the increased power, I’d say the AMR feels 5 percent more potent than the DB11. I didn’t notice much difference in terms of acceleration from low speeds or a stop, though from higher speeds, the AMR did seem to pull harder than before. The transmission feels much better. The AMR still uses the tried and true ZF eight-speed auto, but the shifts bang off crispier than before, even though I spent most of my time in full manual mode using the large paddle shifters. During my few hundred kilometers inside the AMR, I was in either Sport or Track mode and the big difference between the two is that shifts are harsher in Track. Some days, I’d like that; other days, not so much. What I enjoyed every single day was the improved, more aggressive exhaust note. Grrr, yourself, sir. We had a few miles to stretch the DB11 AMR’s legs on an unrestricted section of the autobahn. I saw an easy 175 mph, and the DB11 AMR was chomping at the bit to go faster. Not only is hell is other cars, but my exit came up quick!
Although it still isn’t a sports car, the DB11 AMR packs meaningful performance upgrades for the British grand tourer. It’s beautiful, powerful, and elegant, and now—with a bit more hair poking out of its shirt—the AMR is a compelling proposition. Before, there wasn’t enough daylight between the AMG-engined DB11 V8 and the big V-12 in terms of power, plus the lighter V8 drove better. Now, the handling advantage goes to the AMR. It’s one iteration more sorted out. The only reason not to get the V-12 might be the price, a hefty $244,086 when it goes on sale in the U.S. this July. But you know what? If I had the money, I’d have a black DB11 AMR. Aston Martin has done what the company does best: built a beautiful beast that appeals most passionately to the irrational angels of our being.