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2020 Aston Martin DBX pricing, interior revealed

We’ve gotten the rundown on the 2020 Aston Martin DBX's performance specs and heard the sound of its V8, seen the grille and learned about its dog-friendly Pet Pack and other accessories. There's also all those spy shots of mule versions running about. Now we have our first image of the interior and details on pricing of AstonÂ’s first SUV ahead of its Nov. 20 unveiling in Beijing. First up, the price. And it ainÂ’t cheap, but you knew that, because itÂ’s an Aston Martin. The off-road-capable luxury crossover will start at $189,900 here in the United States. That puts it in the rarified air of competitors like the Lamborghini Urus, the Rolls-Royce Cullinan and the Bentley Bentayga. For that kind of cheddar, youÂ’d better be riding in style. The interior photo, taken from the rear seat looking forward, shows a butterscotch-colored cabin, with stitched leather seats, what appears to be an Alcantara headliner, backseat climate controls with vents in the center console and on the B-pillars and, up front, a large touchscreen framed in an oval-shaped cluster. Aston says the bridged center console offers storage space below for handbags or other large items. ThereÂ’s also a huge, full-length glass roof and broad side windows, and weÂ’re told — but offered no concrete measurements — of class-leading front and rear legroom, and an abundance of space throughout. Aston says it did extensive customer research and carefully consider the ergonomics needs of a broad range of male and female occupants, with more than six months alone dedicated to determining the exact and best position of the driver within the vehicle and a "Female Advisory Board" to help dictate the layout of dashboard controls. Aston also wants us to know that it gave special consideration to backseat passengers and children. The decision to use an all-new platform and its longer wheelbase allowed designers to optimize cabin space while keeping the low roofline. The DBX will produce 542 horspower and 516 pound-feet of torque from the twin-turbo 4.0-liter borrowed from Mercedes-AMG, making it the most powerful version of the engine used in an Aston. Order books open after the reveal later this month.

The Aston Martin Valkyrie and its V12 sound insane

Formula 1 is where the mind goes when we listen to this teaser engine clip of the Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar. And we're not talking about the lame-sounding turbo cars they're racing now. No, this sound brings to mind the stupid-high-revving machines of the 2000s. It makes sense too, because we've been told that the 6.5-liter naturally aspirated V12 engine is loosely based on Cosworth's 2.4-liter V8 it made for Formula 1. Rumors place the Valkyrie engine somewhere around 1,000 horsepower with a kinetic energy recovery system providing even more thrust. We've seen a number of reports putting the final combined figure around 1,130 hp, but the actual number will remain a mystery for the time being. The sound of "THE" GREAT British car company! Thank you @Cosworth @redbullracing #AstonMartinValkyrie #NaturallyAspirated#V12 pic.twitter.com/HmEICj29uH — Andy Palmer (@AndyatAston) October 3, 2018 This video with the Valkyrie's soundtrack layered behind it comes courtesy of Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer. Dramatic renderings of the Valkyrie cycle through in the background, but the noise is what we're paying attention to here. The engine's redline is reportedly 11,000 rpm and we don't doubt it after listening to the soundtrack more than a few times. No other production car revs that high — even LaFerrari tops out at 9,250 rpm. The team definitely has the engine working, and production is slated to kick off sometime in 2019. We'll be waiting impatiently until then to hear that insane V12 in person. Related Video: Aston Martin Coupe Performance Supercars hypercar Aston Martin Valkyrie

Aston Martin working on a limited-edition DBR1-inspired speedster?

The Supercar Blog has heard from its supercar-privy sources that Aston Martin might be working on a new speedster. The putative roofless model could be inspired by the most important and most valuable racer in Aston Martin's history, the DBR1 that took overall honors at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1959. Thought to be limited to just 88 units, TSB said the carmaker might have held a VIP preview event during Monterey Car Week last month. If the English luxury maker is developing such a model, we can probably declare the speedster era officially open for business after the limited-edition Ferrari SP1 and SP2 Monzas, Porsche 911 Speedster, and the Ultimate Series speedster that McLaren recently admitted is on the way. As with the Aston Martin, all of the other high-bucks open-sky models take inspiration from racers of yesteryear.  Furthermore, if Aston Martin really has such plans, the carmaker would be re-opening a six-year-old chapter in company history. In 2013, Aston Martin unveiled the CC100 Speedster (pictured) at the 2013 Nurburgring 24-Hour race, created in just six months to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford deciding to build vehicles together. The CC100 was built on the VH platform utilized by the brand's production cars, and used a 6.0-liter V12 with 565 horsepower to do 0-60 mph in four seconds and reach a top speed of 180 mph. The carmaker built two of them, sold to collectors very close to the brand. Today's DBS Superleggera platform and its 5.2-liter, 715-hp V12 could make a suitable base, and who knows, Aston Martin — unlike Ferrari or McLaren — could go all the way and swap the DBS' eight-speed automatic for a manual transmission. Another site said the speedster impetus comes from "the high interest demonstrated by multiple collectors." No one has any insight on the symbolism of 88 units, though. Aston Martin did release a series of Dragon 88 models in 2012 for the Asian market, named for the auspicious omens associated with the number 8 in Chinese culture, and the Interush International team entered a #88 Vantage GT3 race car in the 2015 GT Asia Series, but that seems a gossamer thin connection. The Aston Martin One-77, after all, had a lot of sevens in its spec sheet, but was half named for its production volume. If there is a vintage-themed speedster on the way, we'll know more when Aston Martin decides to admit it.