We start with the bad news: As previously reported, Aston Martin’s glorious-sounding naturally aspirated V-12 engine won’t be making the transition to the new DB11. The engine that has powered all of the company’s larger products since 2003, and was essentially two Ford Duratec V-6s joined at the crank, is soon to be retired and we will not hear its heavenly wail again. Black armbands will be issued.
Let’s cheer ourselves up by skipping straight to the better news, namely that the DB11has resisted the trend of reduced cylinder count and is keeping a V-12, in this case a new twin-turbocharged unit that Aston has developed itself. (We’ll have to wait until the replacement for the smaller Vantage to meet the first AMG-powered Aston.) The new 5.2-liter V-12 shares bore centers with the old 5.9-liter engine and will be built at Aston’s engine plant in Cologne, but everything else about it is claimed to be new. We suspect that the engine’s 600 horsepower—60 more than the DB9 GT—will help most potential buyers move on quickly from the pain of losing the old naturally aspirated engine. It also produces 516 lb-ft of torque, available from 1500 rpm to 5000 rpm. By contrast, the DB9’s max of 457 lb-ft arrived at a lofty 5500 rpm.
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