- Aston Martin’s front-engined sports cars, the Vantage, DB11, and DBS, are all set for major revisions for 2023. That’s according to chairman Lawrence Stroll, as first reported by Autocar.
- One of the most important changes is a new infotainment system, which trades the clunky trackpad for a fresh touchscreen interface.
- The alterations will be so drastic that they will be, in Stroll’s words, effectively “all-new cars,” but the DBS will retain its 5.2-liter V-12.
Aston Martin revealed its all-new AMR22 race car for the upcoming Formula 1 season yesterday. It sported a new livery with lime green accents that echoes the paint job on the Valkyrie Pro. But along with showing off Aston Martin’s latest F1 challenger, chairman Lawrence Stroll also dropped some details about major updates to the brand’s front-engine sports cars, as reported by the U.K. publication Autocar.
Stroll reportedly said that the changes to the Vantage, DB11, and DBS for the 2023 model year would be so extensive that they would be like “all-new cars.” Significantly, Aston Martin will ditch the Mercedes-Benz–based trackpad infotainment system for more modern touchscreens. A previous agreement had laden Aston Martins with a version of the Mercedes COMAND infotainment system that was originally launched in 1998 and was last overhauled in 2016, although Mercedes itself switched to the new MBUX system in 2018.
“How can you have an Aston Martin that sells for £150,000 [about $204,000] with three-year-old technology?” Stroll said. “It is a silly thing the previous management agreed to.” It appears the updated Aston Martin infotainment will be based on the newer MBUX system, with Stroll emphasizing that Aston Martin will distinguish its interface from the Mercedes platform with “our own faces, our own voices—a proper English accent.”
The updates to the front-engine sports cars will also include revisions to the suspension, engines, and gearboxes. Stroll confirmed that the DBS will retain its 5.2-liter V-12. The 4.0-liter V-8 found in the Vantage and DB11 will likely receive the latest tech from AMG. The current Vantage and DB11 can make up to 528 horsepower, but the a newer version of the same engine found in the recently-revealed Mercedes-AMG SL63 is rated at 577 ponies.
Some design changes are also expected, with Stroll quoted as saying “there’s no similarity at all to the current cars” except for “some carryover” on the rear end. The updated sports cars should be revealed towards the end of the year, and the move is part of a push to sell 4000 front-engined sports cars per year.
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Source: Motor - aranddriver.com
