Aston Martin has announced that its new ‘special’ DBX S performance SUV is now available to order in the UK, which is the most powerful SUV the brand has ever produced.
Powered by a 727hp 4.0-Litre V8 petrol engine with powertrain technology transferred from the forthcoming Valhalla supercar, the introduction of the DBX S means that Aston Martin now once again offers the most powerful ICE-powered SUV on the market – this high-riding Aston having 12hp more than the V12-powered Ferrari Purosangue.
This isn’t the first time that the British manufacturer has used the ‘S’ moniker for a new high-performance version of an existing model – Aston has been using the suffix since the launch of the Vanquish S sports car in the noughties.
The DBX S makes use of the same twin-turbocharged engine as the DBX 707 – the previous high-performance range-topper – but with several improvements that boost the power output by 20hp. Aston has also made the DBX S up to 47kg lighter than the DBX 707 thanks to a new optional carbon fibre roof and optional 23-inch magnesium alloy wheels.
Despite these changes, the manufacturer says that the new ‘S’ can complete a 0-62mph sprint in 3.3 seconds, which is the same sprint time as the DBX 707 and a tenth of a second off the Ferrari Purosangue’s 0-62mph sprint time. That said, Aston claims that the DBS S is 0-3 seconds faster in a 0-124mph sprint than its ‘707’ sibling.
This all-wheel drive SUV makes use of a nine-speed automatic gearbox. Aston adds that steering tweaks have made the car’s handling more responsive, and that the car’s turning circle has been decreased by around half a metre down to 12 metres.
On the exterior styling front, this ‘S’ version has a revised jet black front grille design, a splitter, diffuser and side skirts finished in black and red, and a revised rear bumper that sits above vertically-stacked quad mount exhausts that reportedly make the V8 engine louder.
Inside, the seats are trimmed in Alcantara leather (semi-aniline leather upholstery and red seatbelts are optional) and an ‘entirely bespoke’ infotainment touchscreen is mounted on the centre of the dashboard that Aston says it has designed in-house. A 14-speaker sound system comes as standard, but the car can otherwise be specced with a 23-speaker Bowers & Wilkins system for an extra fee.
That sums up what we know about the new DBX S. The SUV is now available to order in the UK, though Aston Martin is yet to confirm the model’s pricing. The DBX 707 currently costs £205k, and the price tag of the new ‘S’ is likely to exceed that number.