Expert opinion
It perhaps seems a little cheeky to slap a ‘Superleggera’ badge (it means ‘lightweight’ in case you need to brush up on your Italian motorsport terms) on a car that weighs almost 1,700kg. In fact, Aston possibly agrees, having dropped that bit from the model’s name in 2022.
Naming issues aside, the DBS is most certainly pretty super, even if no longer technically Superleggera. Following on from the 2012-2018 Vanquish as the range-topping ‘regular’ Aston Martin (i.e. not a limited-run car or track-only special), the Superleggera introduced turbocharging to the DBS recipe.
So although the V12 had shrunk to ‘just’ 5.2 litres from 5.9, its twin turbos helped it produce a whopping 725hp – enough for 0-60mph in the mid-3-second bracket and a top speed of 211mph (its Vanquish predecessor was out of puff at 183mph). And that 200mph-plus can be bragged about in the pub whether you’ve got the coupe or the Volante convertible model – both have an identical top speed.
This DBS also focused more on Aston’s motorsport heritage – it got more downforce than any previous production Aston. In the past, picking a V12 Aston over a V12 Ferrari had always meant compromising a little on performance and agility. With this generation of DBS, that was no longer the case.