The New Aston Martin DBS Superleggera | A Brute in a Suit

It's here, everyone down tools. The DBS Superleggera has arrived. From the minds of innovative image maker Nick Knight, Aston Martin’s Chief Creative Officer Marek Reichman and his team comes the new DBS Superleggera. 

What is an innovative image maker? 

When I first read that title I thought 'we're just making it up now aren't we?' I mean long gone are the days when you can tell someone you're a Blacksmith and you both on with your lives

Nowadays, its Content Creator, it's Senior Marketing Data Analytics Executive Secretary etc. Bring back the Sheep Shearers that's what I say. Good old fashioned titles. 

I digress. 

No I don't, I was talking about Innovative Image Makers. You want to know what that entails, just watch the video for the new Aston Martin Superleggera and ask me how it's done. That's what innovative image making brings you. 

Nick Knight is a long-standing Aston Martin owner with a passion for bold forms and striking imagery.

A true pioneer in digital photography and filmmaking, Knight combines his mastery of image-making technology with a unique eye for portraiture, still life, fashion photography and the moving image.

The film depicts shards of warped metallic objects coming together like a Thelonious Monk piano ditty. I know I bet every blogger is making the same comparison right? 

But if you listen to Thelonious play the piano he starts every song by playing the main signature riff, but cluttered with bum notes. Eventually as the song transpires, all the bum notes fall away and the melody blooms. 

It's a stunning short film and I was pleased to see some of the Aston Martin signature moves like driving up the inclines of road banks, reminiscent of the car chase down the Tiber in the James Bond movie Spectre. That Aston Martin DB10 sold for £2.4 million at auction. 

At the start of the process, Knight sat down with Aston Martin’s Chief Creative Officer Marek Reichman and his team for a briefing on the character and qualities of the DBS Superleggera.

‘I asked what the single key attribute of the car was,’ Knight says, ‘and the answer was ‘speed’. The DBS Superleggera is Aston Martin's flagship, a super GT that pushes the boundaries of performance and design. 'It is a brute in a suit, an unpredictable rogue.'

'Torque is such an important feature of the DBS Superleggera, it's the delivery of the power that throws you back into your seat as you accelerate,' says Reichman, 'this power is what defines the DBS Superleggera. This car is about bold, athletic muscularity.'

It certainly boasts muscularity with the 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12, tuned to produce tremendous power and immense torque for breath-taking response and extraordinary in-gear performance. 

'I believe we can look at film in a different way, throw out the linear approach and create a purely emotional way of presenting imagery,' says Knight, 'I think it’s totally appropriate for Aston Martin to trust completely in someone’s creative vision and push the boundaries.'

'Artistic collaborations bring a fresh perspective,' says Aston Martin's Director of Global Marketing and Brand Strategy Gerhard Fourie. 'Nick Knight's work is very arresting, thoroughly modern and above all, it embodies Aston Martin beauty.'

Some Spec on the Aston Martin Superleggera

With 725PS, 900Nm of torque, a top speed of 211mph and blistering acceleration that dispatches 0-62mph in just 3.4 seconds and 0-100mph in 6.4 seconds, DBS Superleggera is a car dedicated to delivering an unforgettable driving experience and class-leading in-gear acceleration, with 50-100mph achieved in fourth gear in a mere 4.2 seconds.

Evolving innovative aerodynamic concepts first seen on the DB11 - such as the curlicue and Aeroblade - and then taking things further with an F1-inspired double-diffuser, DBS Superleggera generates 180kg of downforce at VMAX: the highest figure ever for a series production Aston Martin.

This significant increase comes with no additional drag penalty.

Supple, aromatic leather and Alcantara upholstery comes as standard, as do the Sports Plus performance seats and steering wheel.

Should anyone need a detailed spec sheet on this stunning piece of machinery leave me a comment and I'll email one through. 

Priced from £225,000 in the UK, EUR 274,995 in Germany and $304,995 in the USA, deliveries of DBS Superleggera are scheduled to begin in Q3 2018.