Jeremy Clarkson gets behind the wheel of the Aston Martin DB11 on The Grand Tour
This week, we were treated by a very picturesque episode as Clarkson, Hammond and May embarked on a road trip across Italy, starting in Tuscany and working their way through to Florence, Bologna, Modena and Verona, finishing off in Venice.
No road trip is complete without the cars, of course. James was behind the wheel of the Rolls Royce Dawn, Richard was behind the wheel of a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, and Jeremy had his hands on the Aston Martin DB11. The focus point for this then, is the mighty Aston.
The DB11 is the all new replacement for the DB9 and it comes with three running modes – Sport, Sport Plus and GT.
Aston Martin claims that not a single part of the DB9 has been carried over to the new car. However, the big, long GT is still unmistakably an Aston Martin.
Veering off track slightly, the “DB” in DB11 stands for David Brown, the man who bought the Aston Martin brand in the 1940s for a pittance and steered it through its most storied era. You never know, this may crop up as a question at your local pub quiz. Anyway, back to the DB11…
Upfront there is a 5.2l twin turbo charged V12 which produces 600 horsepower. The most powerful engine ever fitted to a DB road car, it rockets the DB11 from 0-62mph in 3.9 seconds and on to a top speed of 200mph.
Aston Martins are not designed to do track work. They’re designed to look good and that’s it, as Jeremy points out. With that being said, the DB11 is a different story, as this has an aluminium chassis and some aero-trickery with an air rear-wing (what it calls “AeroBlade” intakes), giving this a lot of a grip, with immense traction control.
The biggest change might actually be found in the interior. Thanks to a partnership with Mercedes-Benz, the DB11 offers a completely refreshed navigation system and infotainment system. However, as Jeremy words it, “the centre piece looks like a lady part, and the door lining looks like a footballer’s kitchen worktop.”
But the exterior, from every angle you look it, is a beautifully crafted piece of machinery, with prices starting from £154,900.
Finally, the question that surrounds the third episode of The Grand Tour, is it brown, orange or sunburst orange?
