The new Aston Martin DBX S

Supercar of the SUVs?

Aston Martin has announced a new DBX flagship, the DBX S. Powered by an engine with technology transferred directly from the forthcoming Valhalla supercar, the DBX S has even more power and reduced weight. 

DBX S continues a long tradition of Aston Martin’s utilisation of the ‘S’ suffix to denote a special, high-performance version of an existing model; the first being Vanquish S which made its public debut at the Paris Motor Show in 2004. DBX S proves that lighter variants with more power and performance are still very much part of Aston Martin’s production and continues a lineage of notable high-performance models. 

At the heart of the new DBX S is an upgraded version of the company’s 4.0-Litre Twin-Turbo V8 engine. By using turbo technology transferred directly from the upcoming Valhalla supercar, power is raised by a further 20PS to 727PS. The result is a 0-100kph time of just 3.3 seconds and the top speed remains unchanged at 310kph/193mph. 

As with its DBX707 stablemate, DBX S distributes its power between the front and rear wheels in variable proportion – including an ability to send 50 per cent of its torque to the front and up to 100 per cent of its torque to the rear wheels alone – through a 9-speed ‘wet clutch’ transmission, which removes the need for a conventional torque converter, delivering extreme performance on launch from standstill. 

From the front, the new DBX S has a pure black vaned grille and new side sills have distinctive up-turned air splitters which help channel and direct the airflow along the side of the car.  The most obvious visual changes to the new flagship DBX are at the rear, dominated by quad exhausts now vertically stacked and available in both gloss and matt finishes. 

The interior has a bespoke ‘S’ theme; the most notable feature being the distinctive herringbone design which comes as standard on the seating. Seating, headlining, centre console, lower instrument panels and upper trim is finished in lightweight Alcantara, the seat bolsters are in semi-aniline leather. 

‘S’ has long had an association with Aston Martin, and DBX S proves that lighter variants with more power and performance are still very much part of the marque’s story, and are set to last into the foreseeable future. DBX S is available to order now, with deliveries expected towards the end of the year.

Words by Mark Slack