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Aston knows how to design a handsome machine

- VIPUL PUNETHA

The name is Bond, James Bond. I don’t know how many times I’ve told myself this throughout the day. It came to me naturally as I kept reading the name on the steering wheel: Aston Martin. The beautiful DB12 roaring away through the quiet Sunday afternoon in Mumbai, with people watching this piece of art roll down the streets, jaws open, phones out, and confused looks because they’ve hardly ever seen an Aston on the road.

It’s rare, it’s exclusive, and it’s unapologetic. The DB12 is Aston’s newest tourer, replacing the DB11 with all things modern, including a greener, smaller V8 engine instead of a V12. Ah, well, the drama through the exhaust pipes is out, but the power through the wheels, that’s up. Thirty-seven percent more torque, and that increment comes within one generation change. Surely then, the downsizing can’t be that bad.

Things don’t look as tempting as you start her up. But then, as the car moves along, there are a few things that come to mind immediately - there is a lot of heft that it carries, there is no 4WD or NASA level of technology to manage traction, and neither is there any holding back in terms of how the power is put down. It’s immediate, it’s unrestricted, and it’s ballsy. On a wet day, this is just as scary as my ex’s face.

The front-mid engine sends all of those 800Nm of twisting forces to the rear wheels. There is no electrification, so the soundtrack from the engine directly translates to brute performance. The Mercedes-sourced engine benefits from modified camshafts, an 8.6:1 compression ratio, overhauled cooling, plus – naturally – bigger turbos; it has gained over 150bhp, and the final figures are more than either the Porsche 911 Turbo or Ferrari Roma can muster.