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2023 Aston Martin DBX S shows its muscular-looking profile

Aston Martin is slowly taking the wraps off of a more powerful evolution of the DBX. Possibly assigned the S suffix, the hot-rodded family-hauler will stand proud as the world's most powerful luxury SUV when it makes its official debut online on February 1, 2022. The model remains shrouded in darkness, but the latest preview image published by the British firm is a lot more informative than the video it previously released. We can tell several styling cues differentiate the S and the regular DBX, including model-specific wheels and a bigger roof-mounted spoiler. It also looks like the quicker and more powerful variant rides lower, which hints at a series of suspension tweaks. As we've previously reported, the DBX S will likely land with a V8 engine rather than with a V12. Specifications haven't been released yet, but Aston Martin pledged that it designed the model as "the world's most powerful luxury SUV," a crown that will require over 670 horsepower to claim. We're guessing that the eight-cylinder in question will be a version of the Mercedes-AMG-sourced 4.0-liter found in the standard DBX, among other Aston Martin models. It will be twin-turbocharged, and it will spin the four wheels via an automatic transmission; nothing suggests that the S will be a hardcore, track-ready machine with a seven-speed manual transmission and a gutted interior. More information about the 2023 Aston Martin DBX S (assuming that's indeed what it's called) will emerge in the coming days, and its full reveal is scheduled for February 1, 2022. Sales should start shortly after with a base price pegged somewhere north of $180,000.   Watch us test drive the Aston Martin DB11: Aston Martin Crossover SUV Luxury Performance

Aston plans Tesla-fighting 800-hp electric Rapide

Aston Martin is taking direct aim at the top versions of the Tesla Model S with a plan to launch a battery electric Rapide sedan boasting 800 horsepower, all-wheel drive, and a 200-mile range within the next two years. Company CEO Andy Palmer confirmed the vehicle's development to Automotive News during the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. A test mule to engineer the powertrain was already on the road, Palmer asserted. The electric Rapide would join the internal combustion version, rather than replace it, and the BEV would likely remain a niche product with just a few hundred per year carrying a price between $200,000 and $250,000. Palmer indicates the model would prioritize performance. "I think that the fact that you could drive a few laps of a decent race course or race it around the Nordschleife is much more interesting than doing 500 meters in Ludicrous mode," he said to Automotive News, taking a swipe at Tesla's latest upgrade. Palmer has referenced the electric Rapide before. Earlier this year, he said that power would be a major priority for it. Aston Martin has also received help on the project from an undisclosed Silicon Valley partner, but Palmer said the collaborator wasn't Tesla. "If you want to keep making V12 engines, then you've got to do something at the opposite end of the spectrum," Palmer said about the company's strategy to Automotive News. The Rapide is just the first step in the brand's electrification, and the DBX is also under development for the next decade in EV, plug-in hybrid, and internal combustion versions. The crossover concept debuted at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show as an EV.

Aston Martin Rapide E opens four doors to the company's electric future

At last, the production Aston Martin Rapide E is ready to dance. Developed in conjunction with Williams Advanced Engineering, the carmaker and the Formula One engineering firm did their best to make the most of an aged platform that was last combined with a 595-horsepower V12. In place of the 6.0-liter 12-cylinder, gearbox, and gas tank in the Rapide AMR, there now sits a 65-kWh battery sheathed in a carbon fiber and kevlar case. It powers two electric motors on the rear axle, the power figures a combined 604 hp and 700 pound-feet of torque. The juice powers the 4,387-pound fastback to a 4.2-second dash to 62 miles per hour. Range is said to be 200 miles on the WLTP cycle, which could mean anywhere from 140 to 180 miles in our numbers. The 800-volt electrical architecture permits charging rates of 300 range-miles per hour when hooked up to the proper outlet delivering 100 kW or more. On top of that, since Aston Martin only plans to build 155 examples of the Rapide E at the carmaker's new St. Athans, Wales, facility, the cries about range anxiety should be muted. The aluminum and carbon fiber bodywork has been submitted to a regime of aero efficiency and shedding superfluous ICE bits. Honeycomb fills the grille aperture and housings formerly used for fog lights, while less air is allowed to flow through the bodywork. A new underfloor hooks up to a larger rear carbon fiber diffuser. The 21-inch forged aero wheels wear low-rolling resistance Pirelli P Zeros. Three driving modes work with an adaptive suspension and limited-slip differential, in an attempt to keep the powertrain swap from eliminating the brand's trademark thrills. Inside, a 10-inch digital display supplants the horologically jeweled dash cluster Aston Martins are known for. A companion app conveys typical EV information remotely, and can also tell owners where the car is parked and provide walking directions to the spot. The Rapide E order book is open now, the price only disclosed "on application." Aston Martin's electric future begins now, and James Bond will be the first person to make the trip there.