- Search Cartoons
- Comic Archive
-
Payne
Store
Henry Payne RSS
Payne: 700-hp Aston Martin DBX 707 is fit for Bond
Posted by Talbot Payne on October 26, 2023
Gaylord — Aston Martin calls the performance version of its DBX SUV the 707 on account that it makes 707 horsepower on the European metric scale (PS stands for PferdStarke, of course). By U.S. standards, that’s 697 horsepower.
To avoid confusion and establish a universal naming convention, may I suggest the badge be changed to DBX 007?
Everyone knows Aston Martin as the official vehicle of the James Bond movie franchise, and the DBX’s performance model deserves nothing less than a starring role in the next 007 epic. This is, after all, the world’s most-powerful, luxury super-ute — a 193-mph rocket that elbows past the 657-horse Lamborghini Urus Performante, 631-horsepower Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT and 617-horse BMW X6 M.
It’s a sports car in a 5,000-pound SUV body. Put it in a Bond chase scene and it will obliterate the obligatory pack of villain cars. Zero-60 mph? 3.1 seconds. SPORT PLUS track mode? Check. Off-road Terrain mode? Check. Gorgeous bod? Check. I got a taste of this Double-OMG-Seven sensation over rural M-32 in north Michigan — twisties I usually reserve for testing sports cars.
Rotating the meaty rotary drive mode dial to SPORT PLUS, the suspension noticeably stiffened and I laid waste to a series of downhill S-turns. But the cherry on top was this rhino-in-tennis-shoes’ performance between turns. SPORT PLUS shortened the gear ratios for the nine-speed gearbox so that — upon corner exit — I had titanic torque on tap. I buried my right foot and the super-ute charged forward without hesitation. WHUMP! WHUMP! went the upshifts as the digital speedometer registered obscene speeds.
Lots of performance cars — the DBX 007 included — sport electronically-stimulated shocks that perform miracles in reducing body roll. But few possess a drivetrain like the Mercedes-sourced 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V-8 under the Aston’s vented hood.
This is a drivetrain from the gods. Surely it was crafted by Q for James himself.
I gulped real estate at speeds normally reserved for much smaller, much lighter vehicles. So confident is the chassis, so addictive is the V8-’s howl, that I wanted the road to go on forever. No tire shredders popped out from the wheel hubs. No machine guns burst from the grille. But the engine’s song, crackling upshifts and burbling downshifts would make a bloody good Hollywood soundtrack.
Allow me the usual caveats for when I review a supercar affordable to a few. For the Aston’s $280K sticker, you could buy 10 Chevy Trax RS models. The fun of vehicles like the Aston is to explore the industry’s envelope — not just in performance, but in technology.
Take the Aston’s infotainment suite. It may be 10x the cost of a Trax, but it does not have 10x better tech. Electronic gains have eliminated much of the gap between luxe and mainstream cars.
The Aston’s infotainment system offers wireless Apple CarPlay — but not wireless Android Auto. Consistent with its Mercedes sourcing, the Aston features last-gen Merc infotainment tech anchored by a smallish screen and mouse pad controller.
I normally run screaming from mouse pad controllers (looking at you, Lexus), but the Aston’s pad was competent. My fingers glided over its surface, which accurately selected radio stations on the screen. Good thing, because voice recognition was lousy. Maybe Aston is programmed to understand the Queen’s English coming out of Bond’s mouth as opposed to my West Virginia twang.
DBX 707 is meant to evoke awe for its driving manners, machismo and style — not nerd quotient. The smell of fine leather filled my nostrils when I entered the cabin (even the lower doors are wrapped with red stitching). The seatbacks were sheathed in carbon fiber. The console stuffed with buttons.
Buttons for shifting: P, R, N, D. Button for louder exhaust. Button for raising/lowering. Button for shaking, not stirring, your martini (kidding about that last one).
The big question about DBX707 is where it belongs.
With its tight handling, I wanted to track it. But we’re talking about a 5,000-pound ute. Its weight and high center of gravity would be inherent handicaps on the fast switchbacks of, say, Pontiac’s M1 Concourse.
And then there’s the raw power. Good Lord. The 667 pound-feet-of-torque comes on like a tidal wave at low revs, demanding respect out of corners. I tested a 460-torque Corvette Z06 right after the Aston and the Chevy felt tame by comparison, thanks to a normally-aspirated, high-revving V-8 that built torque to its 8,600 RPM redline. If you want to track an Aston, buy a $170K Vantage F1 Edition sportscar with the same insane engine (and save yourself 70 grand).
In my time with DBX 707, it was happiest in the north state countryside where it could bound across the lightly-populated roads like a bull on ‘roids. If I had the means (or was the Duke of Charlevoix County), I’d keep it in a car stable up north with other gems.
I’d pity the DBX 707 were it kept in Metro Detroit — or at M1 Concourse — where it could never properly exercise its legs. Doomed to a live life as a caged animal.
So call it the DBX 007 and put it in a Bond film. Heck, set it in Michigan.
Have Bond pick up Ana de Armas at the McNamara Terminal. He’d pop the boot — er, hatchback — to easily store all their luggage. She’d round the front — her slit dress grazing the classic Aston grille (made 27% larger than the standard DBX to feed the twin turbos) — then slip into the monogrammed passenger seat under a panoramic roof. She and James would banter about eccentric features like the hood opener on the right side of the glovebox — because the Aston is also made with right-hand drive for England.
Cruising west on I-94, Bond would notice a fleet of sinister black sedans in the mirror, then exit into the streets of Ann Arbor. He’d storm up State Street, past slack-jawed students as they emerged from their studies in the Law Triangle, then turn under the M-14 overpass onto the twisted, East Huron River Road two-lane.
Bond selects SPORT PLUS mode. Ana grips the door handle. He takes a hard right, the cannon-sized quad tailpipes let out a roar and he disappears across the Foster Bridge as his pursuers plunge into the frigid waters of the Huron River.
Long live 007. Long live the V-8.
Next week: 2024 Alfa Romeo Giulia
2023 Aston Martin DBX 707
Vehicle type: Front-engine, all-wheel drive, five-passenger SUV
Price: $236,000, including $3,086 destination ($287,520 as tested)
Powerplant: 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V-8
Power: 697 horsepower, 663 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 3.1 seconds (Car and Driver); top speed, 193 mph
Weight: 5,128 lbs.
Fuel economy: EPA 15 mpg city/20 highway/17 combined
Report card
Highs: V-8 from the gods; curb appeal
Lows: Mediocre tech; where to exercise it?
Overall: 4 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.