Aston Martin DBS V12

The Aston Martin DBS is the latest supercar to be announced by the British marque and is set to become the latest weapon of choice for the new James Bond (played by actor Daniel Craig) in the upcoming 'Casino Royale (2006 film)'. Aston Martin CEO, Dr. Ulrich Bez summarised the philosophy that was the driving force behind the conception of the new Bond car in the Press Release (see below), explaining that “The DBS is not of the understated elegance of a DB9, nor the youthful agility of the V8 Vantage. It is explosive power in a black tie and has its own unique character which will equal that of James Bond.”

The exact specification is still 'top secret' but it is known that the DBS will be powered by the same 6-litre V12 engine found in the class leading Aston Martin DB9 (450 bhp), however performance has been up-rated to "well over 500 bhp"[citation needed]. This coupled with a number of suspension improvements (some of which can be seen on the DB9 with the additional 'Sports Pack') and a number of composite replacements to the cars' bodywork (which makes the DBS a full 150 kilograms lighter than the production DB9) should make the car the fastest ever to come out of Aston Martin Headquarters in Gaydon.

The car sits in Aston Martin's current range as a transition model between the 'standard' DB9 and the DBRS9 (550 bhp, 0-60 mph < 4 sec (est.), the racing GT version of the DB9 that is available to private customers from Aston Martin Racing, a satellite company based in Banbury, England, that produces high performance cars for the International GT1 series and private buyers. The DBRS9 was designed as a "bridge for teams and drivers looking towards international GT racing." - Aston Martin Racing.

The DBS has been unveiled sporting a brand new exterior colour, a graphite grey with a blue tint which has been dubbed 'Casino Ice'. The car has been tuned to give a louder exhaust note and includes a number of new features. Rumours suggest that only a limited run of 300 will be produced and there is no indication of pricing at this time.