Aston Martin DB11 review – V12 Grand Touring at its finest? - Design

Introducing the next generation of Aston Martin was always going to be tricky job, but the DB11 hit most marks by offering a distinctive, yet familiar design. Chief designer Marek Reichman and his team worked hard on the aerodynamics, taking inspiration from the Vulcan track car on details like the front air outlets; a traditional Aston Martin cue, yet modernised in this next generation.

The front end is defined by the typical Aston Martin grille, flanked by new all-LED headlights and the biggest clamshell bonnet in the business. From here back, the bodywork then contorts and tapers towards the swollen rear arches terminating in a flat rear end eschewing the typical boot flick seen in older generation Aston Martins. 

Reichman also decided to visually split the body from the roof section, offering ‘roof strakes’ as Aston call them, in a contrasting silver or black finish. Combined with small tail lights, the DB11 is more colour sensitive than its more svelte predecessors.

You can make up your own mind about how successful these details have been executed, but you cannot doubt the clever engineering that seems to define the whole design.