27 September 2017
Review

Thanks to a corporate tie-up with shareholder Daimler, the Aston Martin Aston Martin DB11 can now be had with a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine made by Mercedes-AMG.

The slightly cheaper alternative to the Aston Martin DB11 V12 produces 503bhp and costs £13,000 less than its sibling in the UK, but it's also been developed to appeal to more sporting tastes than the twelve-cylinder model, having stiffer suspension settings, stiffer mountings, retuned steering - and weighing 115kg less than its sister model.

Aston Martin claims that only a tenth of a second separates the V8 from the V12 on 0-62mph acceleration, and also says the new 'budget/economy' version is still good for 187mph. Matt Saunders got our first taste of it on the road, and took a view on the age-old 'less is more' dilemma.

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Matt Saunders

Matt Saunders Autocar
Title: Road test editor

As Autocar’s chief car tester and reviewer, it’s Matt’s job to ensure the quality, objectivity, relevance and rigour of the entirety of Autocar’s reviews output, as well contributing a great many detailed road tests, group tests and drive reviews himself.

Matt has been an Autocar staffer since the autumn of 2003, and has been lucky enough to work alongside some of the magazine’s best-known writers and contributors over that time. He served as staff writer, features editor, assistant editor and digital editor, before joining the road test desk in 2011.

Since then he’s driven, measured, lap-timed, figured, and reported on cars as varied as the Bugatti Veyron, Rolls-Royce PhantomTesla RoadsterAriel Hipercar, Tata Nano, McLaren SennaRenault Twizy and Toyota Mirai. Among his wider personal highlights of the job have been covering Sebastien Loeb’s record-breaking run at Pikes Peak in 2013; doing 190mph on derestricted German autobahn in a Brabus Rocket; and driving McLaren’s legendary ‘XP5’ F1 prototype. His own car is a trusty Mazda CX-5.

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david RS 27 September 2017

And, the V12 doesn't make

And, the V12 doesn't make anymore a wonderful music.