We review the Aston Martin DB11 from price to economy and all its features

ASTON MARTIN has dodged more bullets than Bond over the years.

Bankrupt seven times, it got lucky seven times.

But now Britain’s coolest car firm has a clear blueprint for survival: 007 cars —
renewed every 007 years.

First up is the 200mph DB11, see the road test below, the catalyst for the biggest overhaul in Aston’s history.

Next year we’ll see a new Vantage, think the love child of Bond’s DB10 from Spectre, below right, and the Vulcan.

That will be followed by a new Vanquish in 2018, DBX crossover in 2019 and then a
luxury Lagonda saloon. We’ll also see an all-electric RapidE.

Hang on, that’s only six confirmed cars.

I’m hearing noises of a SECOND crossover.

So who is the brains behind all of this?

The name’s Palmer — Andy Palmer — and he’s a bullish, straight-talking Brit with petrol in his veins. He was poached from Nissan.

Palmer said: “This is not a pipe dream.
We have the money. We have £700million in the bank just for new products.

“We are working on what we call our Second Century Plan, brackets s**t or bust.
To make this brand work we have to invest, invest and invest and create a new line of
vehicles and expand the portfolio.

“Rather than doing a DB9 and walking away for a few years before we do something else, we’ll do a new car every year, each having a seven-year life.

“Copy and repeat, copy and repeat. It’s not rocket science.

“Then you have a natural replacement cycle. The cash generated from selling those
cars will fund the new cars.

“And then you start straightening out history so you don’t have boom and bust,
boom and bust.”

Palmer’s masterplan is also peppered with two “Specials” every year.

‘We don’t pay to be in Bond movies – we never have’

Big-money, limited-run poster cars like the Vulcan that also push the development of
advanced technology.

Palmer said: “We did the GT12, 100 units, £250,000. Sold out.

“Then we did Vulcan, 24 units, £1.8million.
Sold out.

“The GT8, 150 units, £160,000. Sold out.
“And the Zagato Vanquish, 99 units, £500,000. Sold out.

“Obviously, there’s more coming and the next one is the AM-RB 001. Which is, let’s
say, very expensive.

“I’ve had 400 formal requests for 150 cars. Sold out.
“So these Specials also help to fund the development of the new cars.”

Sports car sales will be capped at 7,000.
They’re made at Gaydon, Warks.

The DBX and Lagonda will be built at a new factory in Wales, also with a capacity
of 7,000 cars. That will push job numbers to 2,700.

Palmer has targeted 10,000 sales a year by 2020 — up from 3,700 last year. At that rate,
Aston would sell 80,000 cars in eight years.

It hasn’t sold 80,000 cars in its entire 103-year history.

Palmer said: “Obviously, our marketing platform is Bond. And Bond is great.
But Aston is more than just Bond. We also have racing.

“And we love making beautiful cars.
Hand-crafted and beautifully British.

“Everybody in the company loves the brand, even the accountant. If you didn’t,
you’d walk 100 metres next door and get paid more for doing less.”

So, what will Bond drive next?

Palmer said: “We don’t pay to be in the Bond movies, we never have. So we are
honoured when we are chosen.

“But we would love to be in the next movie and the next movie and the next
movie. It’s really good for us around the world.”

Any thoughts on the next Bond?
Palmer: “I auditioned . . . but no, apparently not!”

He’s also a comedian.
PUB FACT: Aston has featured in 12 of
the 24 Bond films.

Road Test: Aston Martin DB11

NOW here's some intelligence on the DB11: It's almost brilliant.

It looks dramatic. It looks cool (if a bit overdesigned).

It's jet-fighter fast. That morningfresh 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12 fires from 0-62 in 3.9, all the way up to the magic 200mph mark.

And the interior is a triumph. Gorgeous to look at, more room than the DB9 (they only built ten DB10s, just for Bond), and the satnav actually works. And the telephone doesn't sound like a toilet either.

That's because all the electric wizardry has come from its tie-up with Mercedes, which is a good thing.

So, why only almost brilliant then? That engine. It's awesome on a dry road, feeding 600bhp and 700Nm of torque to the rear wheels. And it growls gloriously, much better than turbo rivals.

But in the wet ... it's properly lairy. It's too much.

All that extra torque from the twin turbo makes the DB11 far too twitchy on greasy roads.

Trust me, you'll see a flock of DB11s nesting in hedge bottoms this winter unless customers have lessons.

I'm told Aston will transplant the ever-so-slightly less bonkers 4-litre twin-turbo V8 from the Mercedes-AMG GT later. But it still won't have the 4WD insurance of an Audi R8, Porsche 911 Turbo S or a Bentley Continental GT.

And there's another thing. Two switches came off in my hand. Yes, it's an early-build test car but it still costs £155,000. It's not a Dacia.

Head honcho Andy Palmer is a stickler for quality and he needs to address that.

But back to those looks. Even the Aston Martin badge on the bulging bonnet is a piece of handcrafted jewellery. The 20in wheels and shoelike brogue detailing on the leather are taken straight from the DB10. And there's some seriously clever aero at work here, most notably the Aeroblade on the rear deck.

It takes air funnelled through ducts by the rear windows and jets it out like an invisible spoiler. Very neat.

I'm also loving those LED tail lights, the thinnest out there, with the fog and reverse light sat down low on the rear diffuser, like a race car. Like I said, almost brilliant. Stand by for a DB11 convertible next year.

VERDICT: It's time for an upgrade, Mr Bond.