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Aston Martin DBX SUV spied up close towing, and we get interior shots

An Aston Martin SUV called the DBX is going to be revealed in the last quarter of 2019, and here's your newest batch of spy photos showing it out testing. There isn't much new to see on the outside, but our spy photographer managed to capture more detailed photos of the interior. Before you get too excited, know the interior is pretty much entirely unfinished. This particular DBX prototype seems to be a fairly early build, as everything on the inside looks cobbled together. If you peer through the rear windows you'll see what looks like some sort of rollcage and massive jugs meant to simulate the weight of passengers. Also, like before, there's a smattering of Mercedes parts in there. We see the Mercedes infotainment display, center console and center stack design, plus Mercedes seat controls. Curiously, those seat controls are on the tunnel separating the driver and passenger. Aston could get away with doing that, but with all the space an SUV offers, it seems somewhat unnecessary to package it thusly. We'll just assume nothing is final at this point, due to the state of confusion currently on display in the Aston's interior. We do have something interesting to look at on the exterior of the DBX, though. It's hauling something, and that something happens to be a Taylor dynamometer, according to the logo on the side. This kind of dyno is used to apply a measured load to the vehicle, in addition to simulating driving up and down slopes. This SUV is rumored to have AMG's 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 under the hood, so it could have some heady towing capability. Aston seems intent on making this SUV do SUV things, so a solid tow rating could be in the cards. The wait isn't long at this point for the DBX, but Aston hasn't uncovered anything more than it did last year. With the actual announcement nearing, we hope to see more of the large Aston Martin bruiser soon.

Aston Martin Vantage with a manual transmission due next year

In 2016, Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer told Car and Driver that that Aston Martin would continue to offer manual transmissions and will always have at least one hand-shaker in the lineup. For the keepers of the dying manual light, it's been a long wait since the V12 Vantage S went out of production last year, but dawn will break over Gaydon in summer 2019. Aston Martin chief engineer Matt Becker told Road & Track at the Goodwood Festival of Speed that there'd be a stick shift in the V8 Vantage by "this time next year." That might seem like a long wait when there are already prototypes on the road, but the small company has a large engineering job. The Mercedes-AMG 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 sitting in the Vantage's engine bay has never been paired with a manual gearbox, so Aston Martin has to create the software and the driveline hardware from scratch to make it work. On top of that, the company wants to make sure the package delivers the thrills the row-your-own crowd seeks. Becker said the car won't be a pushover, tuned so that "It reminds you that you have to know how to drive." Depending on uptake, one could hope that the DB11 using the same Mercedes-AMG engine would also undergo a manual transformation. Road & Track didn't get the details on what kind of transmission we could expect. We figure the options are a traditional six-speed, a Corvette-style seven-speed, a Porsche-style seven-speed, or the dogleg seven-speed used last in this year's V12 Vantage V600, of which there were only 14 units. Speculation on product plans puts the manual transmission first in the V8 Vantage pipeline, followed by a Vantage roadster and a V12 Vantage. Other models will certainly fill out the portfolio, Becker saying this first Vantage "is the starting point." Having applied the hardcore AMR moniker to the Valkyrie AMR Pro, DB11 AMR, and Rapide AMR, the Vantage seems a lock for the same extreme makeover. Related Video:

Revealed: Aston Martin shows first V12 Speedster prototype

The V12 Speedster — Aston Martin's "living show car" — has moved from the realm of dreams (and digital renderings) to the physical world. Here it is in the metal. In the composite? A bit of both, we'd reckon, but we can say this for certain: it's definitely not glass. Aston Martin's 88-unit, $950,000, topless supercar is officially entering the physical development stage "in earnest," the company's spokesperson said, and here are the photos to prove it. Aston Martin had originally planned to start delivering V12 Speedsters in the first quarter of 2021, but whether that's possible in the world of COVID-19 remains to be seen.  The company says this prototype is intended for "dynamic development," meaning it's going to be used to fine-tune road and track performance. Based on the details Aston Martin has released so far, we're inclined to believe that it will be a treat in both departments. Aston Martin V12 Speedster View 18 Photos Fortunately, we have Aston Martin's previous renderings. Aston says the V12 Speedster is powered by a 5.2-liter twin-turbo V12 making 700 horsepower and 555 pound-feet of torque. Power goes to the rear wheels by way of a ZF eight-speed automatic gearbox. The British luxury builder claims this combo is good for a run to 62 mph in 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 186 mph. The platform itself is made by combining elements of the DBS Superleggera and Vantage. It has 21-inch forged, center-locking wheels, huge carbon ceramic brakes and adaptive dampers. As you can see from the gallery, Aston Martin did not include any photos of the prototype's interior, and we suspect that's because it doesn't actually have one yet — at least not anything worth showing. That's just as well. This is a single-purpose toy, not a touring coupe, and anything more than a well-anchored set of seats and intuitive driver controls is just a bonus anyway.