Aston Martin is expected to launch the recast DB11 late this year, redesigned inside and re-engineered under the skin to be what CEO Lawrence Stroll says it “should have always felt like.” The automaker boss also having said the transformation will be enough to consider the coupe a new car, it’s no surprise to hear CarBuzz found a trademark application for the name DB12. An automaker spokesperson told Auto Express, “Aston Martin regularly files international trademark applications to protect names for possible future use.” If the DB12 name ends up as retail fact, 2023 will welcome the first even-numbered DB-series production car since the end of the DB6 in 1971.
The DB11 has been on the market for six years, debuting to a burst of appreciation for replacing the 14-year-old DB9 with new design language and the afterglow of the one-off DB10 from “Spectre.” Since then, despite Aston’s solid order books, the middle-child DB11 perhaps wanted for attention through the turmoil in the executive suites and model reorganization.
Stroll’s assessment of the coming coupe having “no similarity to the current cars” applies least of all to the exterior. Prototypes spied in Sweden and at the Nürburgring show standard modifications, tweaks to the grille and lower intake in front, redrawn side strakes, and what’s likely to be a new treatment for the taillights. The biggest and most obvious change might be the hood, the current clamshell supplanted by a traditional panel enclosed by nosecone and fenders. We anticipate both the Mercedes-sourced 4.0-liter V8 with 503 horsepower and the brand’s 5.2-liter V12 making 630 hp to stay in circulation, both benefiting from the obligatory power bump. With electrified Aston Martins due around the same timeframe as the launch of the DB12, it’s possible the V8 version of the coupe comes to market with a 48-volt hybrid system.
The jewel of the interior remodel might be the new infotainment system. Still built on Mercedes technology, a reskin will mean English superluxury polish complete with “a proper English accent” and possibly upgraded tech such as wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
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