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So maybe it won't come standard with a defibrillator in the glovebox, but with a tux, a Walther PPK and a blindingly beautiful companion, the new Aston Martin DBS could very well complete the look of those with obsessive James Bond fixations.
Or it could just be the newest wicked machine to roll out of the Aston foundry.
We got our first glimpse of the DBS in last year's rebirth of the Bond franchise "Casino Royale". The global success of the film all but committed Aston to actually rolling out the beast for sale to the public (or at least the filthy rich).
And soon it will. Unveiled at this past weekend's Pebble Beach Concourse, according to AutoWeek, the DBS will arrive next spring with the same 6.0-liter V12 as the existing DB9, but producing 510bhp rather than 450bhp, although the 420 lb-ft torque rating is identical. Thankfully, Aston's loathed manumatic transmission is ditched in favor of a traditional three-pedal, six-speed gearbox.
Pricing will be announced at the Frankfurt Auto Show next month, but considering the substantial performance enhancements, including the increasingly ubiquitous ceramic brakes, expect it to fall well north of the DB9's $165,000 sticker.
Set on the path to development well before Ford cut the marquee loose, the DBS is intended to bridge the gap between the luxo-GT DB9 and the race-ready, leMans-derived DBR9. With hyper aggressive styling and unrepentant performance aspirations, Aston execs probably hope the deletion of the Vanquish from the 2008 lineup will go unnoticed. With everything else going on, it should be an interesting year for the quasi-British manufacturer.
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