New Aston Martin DB11 leaked ahead of 2016 Geneva Motor Show

Aston Martin’s DB11 successor to the legendary DB9 will get an all-new 600bhp, 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12 engine

The brand-new Aston Martin DB11 has been revealed in a sneaky picture, apparently taken at a customer clinic ahead of the car’s reveal at the Geneva Motor Show next month.

It’s the first time we’ve seen the car undisguised, and proves the brand has ditched the cookie-cutter design that featured so heavily over the last decade. The car will replace the ageing DB9and go on sale later this year.

From the image, posted by @Rudybenjamin13 on Twitter, we can see the new LED headlights in all their glory. The huge grille gives the front end a wide, purposeful stance, while the deep ridges in the bonnet emphasise its muscular look.

Unfortunately, it appears we’ll need to wait a little longer before we’re treated to a full view of the DB11’s rear, though the camouflaged spy shots shown here hint at an even bigger deviation from the Aston we know so well.

Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer told Auto Express last year: “We have the issue with some people saying the cars all look alike – that’s solved in the next generation of cars.”

The leaked image comes just over a month after Aston Martin teased us with a 30-second YouTube video, confirming the car would use an all-new 5.2-litre twin turbo V12 engine.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slg6L4gm1aQ]

The film shows the new engine starting up, with ‘V12’, ‘5.2’ and ‘twin turbo’ etched in the top. Power and performance figures have not yet been announced, but this brand-new turbo is expected to be one of the most powerful V12 engines the brand has ever produced. Discounting super-rare models like the One-77 and Vulcan, that could mean in excess of 600bhp and a 0-62mph time of less than four seconds.

Anyone worried about the loss of Aston’s glorious naturally aspirated V12 needn’t be concerned. Even from our sneak preview it’s clear engineers have worked hard to ensure this new twin-turbo unit has all the aural sensation associated with its predecessor – with a familiar roar on start up.

As we revealed back in September last year, Aston’s new sports car will bear the DB11 moniker, after the DB10 name was used by James Bond in his latest film Spectre.

Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer revealed all to Auto Express, while also explaining the reasoning behind the move. “The current car’s 12 years old now,” said Palmer, “so arguably we’ve missed a step.

“DB10 was a concept car that was already agreed for the [new James Bond] film. But calling it 10 meant we were always going to skip a generation [for DB9] and call the next one 11. So we decided to call [the Bond car] 10 – up to that point it was DB8, I think.”

Spy shots give first glimpse of new DB11

In addition to the leaked image, the long-awaited successor to the DB9 has also been caught testing around the company’s HQ in Warwickshire.

These pictures allow us to see the full shape of the Brit-built supercar from every angle. The front-end retains the signature Aston grille design but with a pointer nose shape and sharper headlamps.

Side on, you can see the long bonnet and jutting lip spoiler below. The windscreen is more steeply raked than the DB9, and distinctive lines can be seen running down the wings.

We can also see an air scoop behind the wing, likely more a styling feature as the DB11 will be front-engined. That pronounced shoulderline then leads round to curvy rear with hints of Jaguar F-Type, and we can see an electric boot spoiler protruding upwards. Twin exhausts and a neat diffuser design complete the look.

Inside, as we’ve seen before, dash displays and central interfaces are lifted from Merc’s S-Class Coupe and grafted onto the dashboard, presumably to allow the prototype to be driven. It’s not clear yet whether Aston will develop its own display designs, but aside from that we can expect the British firm to maintain a truly luxurious cabin design.

Pricing details are unconfirmed as yet, but we could expect a V8 model to sit at a similar £150,000 starting point as the current DB9, while the V12 could nudge £170,000.

You can read the full story here: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/aston-martin/db9/90946/new-aston-martin-db11-leaked-ahead-of-2016-geneva-motor-show

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