Look at the DBS and there is a temptation to view it as little more than a DB9 that’s been dressed up for the most important job interview of its life. But that’s a feeling that evaporates the moment you find your first open stretch of road and let the newly invigorated V12 do its stuff.
Using Aston Martin’s kerb weights, the DB9 has a power-to-weight ratio of 256bhp per tonne, while the DBS has over 300bhp per tonne, which means its carries the mark of an extremely serious performance car.
So read nothing into the fact that its 191mph top speed is just 4mph higher than that claimed for the DB9. Concentrate instead on the fact that the DBS flings itself to 100mph in 8.7sec, passing 60mph in 4.2sec on the way. In stark contrast, the DB9 takes 11.3sec to make it into three figures.
The Aston continues to delight when you look past such bald numbers. Despite its apparently sky-high torque peak, there’s solid urge available from as little as 2500rpm. And while it will find its detractors, we are great fans of the simple six-speed gearbox, which has been much improved since we first tried a manual DB9.
Even more significant than the improved gearbox, is what lies beneath the DBS - a chassis that, in many areas, sets new standards for Aston Martin and approaches its very best rivals.
Most impressive is the new damper system. You can firm them up using a button on the dash, but left in normal comfort mode the DBS rides with a fluency we consider to be unrivalled in its class. It’s true that the steering could do with more feel, but it remains very precise and perfectly weighted.
This translates into a car that is fabulously easy to drive. The only serious criticism concerns a lack of traction. On damp roads the DBS will spin its rear tyres in third gear, and even in the dry you cannot take for granted that it will transmit its power cleanly to the road in a way that even the more powerful 599 GTB can manage with ease.