Thanks to a corporate tie-up with shareholder Daimler, the Aston Martin DB11 can now be had with a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine made by Mercedes-AMG.
The slightly cheaper alternative to the DB11 V12 produces 503bhp and costs £13,000 less than its sibling in the UK, but it’s also been developed to appeal to more sporting tastes than the twelve-cylinder model, having stiffer suspension settings, stiffer mountings, retuned steering – and weighing 115kg less than its sister model.
Aston Martin claims that only a tenth of a second separates the V8 from the V12 on 0-62mph acceleration, and also says the new ‘budget/economy’ version is still good for 187mph. Matt Saunders got our first taste of it on the road, and took a view on the age-old ‘less is more’ dilemma.
