2023 Aston Martin DB12 at the Goodwood FOS

During the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed I have filmed the 2023 Aston Martin DB12. The new Aston Martin DB12 is the latest offspring of the DB bloodline, the grand tourer branch of the family tree that?s marking its 75th anniversary this year. The successor to the DB11 will arrive in showrooms in the third quarter of 2023, priced from around ?185,000. It?s a major overhaul of the DB11, rather than all-new ? but don?t dismiss this as a light makeover. There are significant changes to engine outputs, chassis hardware and a brand spanking new interior to address many of its predecessor?s shortcomings. It?s not been given the new DB12 badge for nothing. The 2023 DB12 ushers in the next generation of Aston Martin sports cars: vehicles developed under new chairman Lawrence Stroll and the growing influence of the Geely group. Note how the newcomer fuses classical styling and traditional sports car engineering with a new digital heart; this is the first Aston to qualify as a connected car and the DB12 ushers in the company?s all-new infotainment system boasting over-the-air updates, apps and remote services for the first time. Based upon the latest iteration of the familiar lightweight Aston architecture, the DB12 is heavy on its use of aluminium, including pressings and extrusions bonded together to save weight and increase strength. Special attention has been paid to the stiffness of the structure, which is said to be 7% more rigid than the DB11 (the better for handling, refinement and durability). Interestingly, the car is a smidge shorter and narrower than the outgoing DB11; a rare feat in this day and age, when bloat is the norm, rather than the exception. Not that the 1685kg kerbweight qualifies the DB12 as a true lightweight (especially since it?s quoted dry, without 100 or so kilos of fuels and lubricants). Drive is again sent to the rear transaxle via a carbonfibre propshaft, the eight-speed automatic slung out back for a 48:52 front:rear weight distribution to the benefit of handling balance. Expect a dynamic leap forwards, as Aston Martin has overhauled the front wishbones and multi-link rear suspension with new adaptive Bilstein DTX adaptive dampers whose bandwidth has increased fivefold. Result? Wider parameters of comfort and sportiness with a choice of GT, Sport, Sport+, Wet and Individual modes. The V12 option is quietly dropped from the DB12, leaving just Daimler?s 4.0-litre V8. It?s the Mercedes-AMG unit recently discontinued in the C63, but earlier diktats inked in Stuttgart that the British application could not stretch the parameters of power are well and truly rescinded. Here the twin-turbo lump produces a brawny 590lb ft of torque (up a third on the outgoing DB11) all the way from 2750-6000rpm, the same peak revs as maximum power of 671bhp. As those numbers suggest, the DB12 will be no slouch: sixty is dispatched in 3.5sec (gotta love the Imperial 0-60mph; Europe?s 0-62mph takes a tenth longer) and v-max is rated at 202mph. That extra performance is credited to larger-diameter turbos, reprofiled cams and other detailed tuning to the AMG engine. Engineering sources confirm there is room for hybridisation in the coming years. It?s a significant step up in power, necessitating greater thermal management. That swollen Aston grille feeds radiators hungry for cooling air; Aston claims a 56% increase in the surface area of open apertures (not a 56% bigger grille), necessary to manage the thermal needs of the seriously thuggish 4.0-litre V8, which is mounted so far back in the engine bay that the company calls it ?front mid-mounted.? Out go dated Merc Comand systems in favour of Aston Martin?s first inhouse set-up. We?ve had a quick play and can confirm that the user experience, logic and design are simple and effective. Most welcome of all is how they?ve layered the tech unobtrusively in the background: the screen is a modest 10.25 inches in diameter, so it doesn?t overpower the leatherbound luxury of the cabin. Join my Notification Squad: click the Bell ? Make sure you like and comment the video, but also subscribe to the channel! *Michael - Automotive Mike* Socials: ?? https://www.facebook.com/AutomotiveMike ?? https://www.instagram.com/automotive_mike