YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
BBC Top Gear UK|August 2023
The underwhelming DB11 has been given a new lease of life...can the new 'super tourer' DB12 right all of its wrongs?
OLLIE MARRIAGE
YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE

IT'S 4AM AND MONACO, THE VAMPIRE PRINCIPALITY THAT COMES OUT TO PLAY AT NIGHT, IS DEATHLY QUIET.

Maybe they all overdid it at the weekend. That was the Grand Prix. This is the aftermath. I weave past lorries, forklifts and workmen, all out here stripping the Fl-woz-ere evidence from the scene. Monaco clearly doesn't want this unsightly spectacle happening during the day, so the teams operate like grave robbers, creeping around in the dark.

The DB12 weaves through. I can already tell it has fundamentally moved the game on from the DB11. Amazing what you can learn about damping from a speed bump. The composed compression and slick rebound, the tight control of the body, it bodes well for what comes later. But cars like this spend their lives in cities, so that's where I'm starting. With a twist.

Fernando Alonso sent his AMR23 round here in just 71.449secs during qualifying. Aston needs its road cars to build on its current sporting success, so let's see how the DB12 fares on a Monaco GP city/track test then.

The twin-turbo V8 burbles peacefully up the hill from Sainte Devote to Massenet. Enough to make its presence felt, but not raucous. I waft past the first of four police cars before sweeping cautiously into Casino Square. Someone shoots me an appraising glance, then turns away - presumably having worked out she'd have more chance of a customer if this was a Lamborghini. The DB12 feels taut and athletic from Mirabeau down to Portier, there's little sag in the suspension, it's behaving confidently. More importantly, Aston has cleared out the area between door mirror and A-pillar, so you've actually got better visibility in tight turns and at junctions. I see the scooter at the Grand Hotel Hairpin when he clearly doesn't see me.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August 2023 من BBC Top Gear UK.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August 2023 من BBC Top Gear UK.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من BBC TOP GEAR UK مشاهدة الكل
ELECTROMECHANIC
BBC Top Gear UK

ELECTROMECHANIC

Meet the electric restomod that you can create at home it's so easy you can do the conversion in a day, apparently

time-read
5 mins  |
January 2025
ALL THE SMALL THINGS
BBC Top Gear UK

ALL THE SMALL THINGS

Word is there's no such thing as a decent, small, simple, reasonably priced car these days. Allow TopGear to investigate

time-read
5 mins  |
January 2025
VOLKSWAGEN ID.BUZZ 7-SEAT
BBC Top Gear UK

VOLKSWAGEN ID.BUZZ 7-SEAT

Volkswagen’s new seven seater ID.Buzz is now the family mover it always should have been

time-read
2 mins  |
January 2025
BMW M5
BBC Top Gear UK

BMW M5

TO THE POINT: THE NEW BMW M5 IS AN excellent car. It's very fast, confident, endlessly configurable and now offers a not inconsequential 40ish miles of electric-only running for happy tax returns.

time-read
2 mins  |
January 2025
VAUXHALL GRANDLAND vs FORD EXPLORER
BBC Top Gear UK

VAUXHALL GRANDLAND vs FORD EXPLORER

These two brands have been the 'pile it high, sell it cheap' kings of the UK market for decades, but their new core models take a very different tack...

time-read
7 mins  |
January 2025
CAR OF THE YEAR - 5 STAR
BBC Top Gear UK

CAR OF THE YEAR - 5 STAR

Yep, Renault's retro-chic new supermini with an optional wicker baguette holder Scoops the grand prix...

time-read
5 mins  |
January 2025
MEANWHILE... IN THE FUTURE
BBC Top Gear UK

MEANWHILE... IN THE FUTURE

Catching rockets with chopsticks isn't the only autonomous tech going on in Elon Musk's world...

time-read
3 mins  |
January 2025
KING OF THE HILLS
BBC Top Gear UK

KING OF THE HILLS

You wait for one 800+bhp super GT, then two rock up at once. It's the Aston/Ferrari showdown we've all been waiting for...

time-read
8 mins  |
January 2025
PACKAGE
BBC Top Gear UK

PACKAGE

What better way to test the Hyundai Santa Fe's SUV-ness than hand delivering TopGear magazine to each and every subscriber in... New Zealand?

time-read
10 mins  |
January 2025
MYTH BUSTER
BBC Top Gear UK

MYTH BUSTER

\"THE GOLF GTI WAS THE OG HOT HATCH\"

time-read
2 mins  |
January 2025