► New V8-engined DB11 goes on sale
► First Aston with an AMG engine
► 4.0-litre twin-turbo with 503bhp
Aston Martin has confirmed what has been tacit knowledge since the car’s original unveil: the DB11 will now be offered with a 4.0-litre V8 engine as well as its existing 5.2-litre V12 option.
The twin-turbocharged V8 is supplied by AMG, Aston Martin’s current technical partner, while all engine calibration and installation is conducted at Aston’s Gaydon HQ.
It’s the same unit that can also be found in the AMG GT and Mercedes-AMG C63 series. In the DB11, it features new engine mounts, air intake, exhaust and wet sump systems, and Aston Martin’s own ECU and throttle mapping.
Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer says: ‘I’m proud that this car is the first to receive an engine supplied by our technical partner, Daimler AG. Not least because thanks to the nature of our relationship we have been given complete freedom to tailor this exceptional power unit so that it meets the particular needs and demands of an Aston Martin.’
The V8 runs through an eight-speed automatic transmission and limited-slip differential.
Click here to read Chris Chilton’s review of the V12-powered DB11
How does the V8 DB11’s performance compare with the V12?
The V8 might be ‘only’ four litres in capacity, but it punches well above its size with 503bhp and 498lb ft.
By contrast, the 5.2 V12 (also twin-turbocharged) generates 600bhp and 516lb ft.
More pertinently, the V8 version emits 230g/km of CO2 to the V12 DB11’s 265g/km, thus lowering Aston Martin’s average range emissions overall.
Aston Martin DB11 V8 stats:
Power: 503bhp
Torque: 498lb ft
CO2: 230g/km
Fuel consumption: 28.5mpg (EU combined, predicted figure)
0-62mph: 4.0sec
Top speed: 187mph
Aston Martin DB11 V12 stats:
Power: 600bhp
Torque: 516lb ft
CO2: 265g/km
Fuel consumption: 24.8mpg
0-62mph: 3.9sec
Top speed: 200mph
And in terms of price?
The V8 DB11 is priced at £144,900 in the UK, €184,000 in Germany and $198,995 in the USA.
Its V12 sibling starts at £157,900 in the UK, €208,900 in Germany and $216,495 in the US.
The V8-powered car will be a more advantageous option in China, where cars with engines larger than four litres are subject to heavy taxation.
The lighter engine must bring some dynamic benefits?
Aston Martin says the smaller V8 makes the DB11 lighter by as much as 115kg (for a still-pretty-heavy kerb weight of 1760kg), and with the engine mounted lower and further back, more of that mass is concentrated between the axles.
The suspension and ESP have been revised accordingly, and Aston Martin says the V8 DB11 has ‘a more sporting bias’ than the V12.
Any visual differences between V8 and V12 DB11s?
Different alloy wheel finishes, darker headlamp bezels on the V8, and two bonnet vents rather than the V12’s four. Interior equipment and colour and trim options are the same.
The V8-powered Aston Martin DB11 makes its public debut at the 2017 Goodwood Festival of Speed, and deliveries will begin before the end of 2017.
It will also be available in the convertible DB11 Volante we’ve spied testing recently – read more here.
