Like the Lamborghini Urus that it’s set to steal a few sales from, Aston Martin’s first-ever SUV has felt like a long time in the making since its more car-like concept was first shown back in 2015. It’s among that group of interesting new performance-oriented vehicles—like the forever-upcoming Supra and Aston’s own hypercar named Valkyrie—that have so long been the subject of spy photos and renders and speculation that you feel like they’ve been around for years at this point, only to be mildly surprised when you’re reminded that the manufacturers haven’t even started the first deliveries. Aston Martin says their new SUV will be shipping later next year, though, and in the meantime they’ve commenced testing with the first prototype and it looks more aggressive than previous design iterations, livery aside.
It’s now officially confirmed that the new SUV will be called the DBX—What else would they name it? That was an easy paycheck for somebody!—and the announcement was made by bringing the development prototype to a particularly muddy stage of the Welsh Rally, where Matt Becker, the company’s chief engineer, took it out for its first shakedown in the real world—though we doubt many future DBX owners will attempt something similar, it’s all but necessary for a high-end SUV to have the capability to should such a rare bird find its way into the driver’s seat. The location was also significant because the DBX will be produced in the company’s new Welsh factory. Drivetrains are as yet unannounced, but a hybrid option is likely.
The DBX was extensively tested in simulators before it was put through its practical paces, and this first outing marks the beginning of what Aston says will be an extensive period of all-condition, all-terrain testing for the DBX. We’ll have to wait to see what comes of all that in terms of the driving characteristics, but we can—mostly—tell what it will look like in production form from these photos. The front end looks like you’d expect, but the overall shape has grown in every dimension since 2015’s concept, and the rear end looks like someone mixed a TVR Sagaris with a 2.7RS and a Macan. We’ll have to see it in one color before final judgements of course, but it’s nothing if not unique. This is also the first time we’ve seen sponsors buying space on test-car camo, which seems somehow fitting given the nature of the beast it’s wrapping. What do you think about the DBX?
