If the Aston Martin DBX proves anything, it’s that no brand is safe from Crossovers and SUVs.
For those of you who were hoping Aston Martin would eschew SUVs forever — sorry. Aston Martin has officially thrown its hat in the ring with this: the upcoming DBX. Yes, it’s really coming, and Aston Martin says it will be here by the end of 2019. The company shared footage of its new SUV slinging some dirt on a Welsh rally stage near its new St. Athan production facility outside Cardiff, in south Wales.
These images and the video below give us the best view we have so far of Aston Martin’s latest creation. You can definitely see the styling cues from other models. A V8 Vantage grille and headlights at the front, and perhaps a bit of Rapide down the sides. The back is particularly out of left field, though. The rear hatch is steeply raked, in itself not that unique these days. There looks to be a second spoiler just below the glass, however, as the car’s profile drops off in the back.
It’s not terribly surprising, but this news still comes to the consternation of enthusiasts, and indeed journalists, all over. The general consensus has typically been, “well, it’s official”. Why is that? Because, like Ferrari, Lamborghini and even Rolls-Royce, we wondered if Aston Martin would hold out on building an SUV. Nevertheless, SUVs are what sells, so you certainly can’t blame Aston Martin for building one. Even if you’re in the crowd that the company should stick to what it does best — making beautiful cars.
No word on powertrains yet
While Aston Martin was keen to show off the off-road capability of the DBX, they haven’t disclosed powertrains yet. We suspect that information will come a few months down the road. Perhaps, we’ll know more about it closer to the car’s reveal in late 2019. The car may well have a hybrid option, as it Aston can’t keep on with fuel-guzzling V12s forever. Aston Martin does bill the St. Athan facility as a plant that will “ultimately become the ‘Home of Electrification’.
Aston Martin Lagonda’s present and CEO Andy Palmer said, “DBX is so much more than ‘just’ an SUV; it will be the first model built at our brand-new facility in St. Athan. As such, it is very much teh start of a bold new era in the company’s long history.”
