We have all seen and admired the new design of Aston Martin DB11 on many occasions. But that artistic body hides some of the car’s more important and consequential features which play a major part in making the DB11 a truly great Grand Tourer.
Now though we have come across something which can give you some ideas as to the inner goodness of Aston Martin DB11. It’s a life-size cutaway model of the car sent along with the real thing to showrooms and meetings where people gather to know more about the latest British luxury coupe. The model offers glimpses of the engine and the suspension as well as the bare cabin. But what we’re interested in is that space-efficient unibody chassis and the material used in the construction of the car.
Compared with the DB9, Aston Martin DB11 is lighter yet stiffer and more rigid. That is due to the use of a mix of new bonded aluminium pressings, extrusions and castings in the structure. “The body panels are made from a mix of pressed aluminium for the clamshell bonnet, roof and doors, composite material for the rear haunches, front wings and rear decklid assembly and injection moulded plastic for the front and rear bumpers, sills, front splitter and rear diffuser. The roof strakes are formed from extruded and pressed aluminium.”
So as you can tell, aluminium is the key to the DB11’s improved drivability. The flayed DB11 we have here also reveals more subtle secrets about the car, like how the new 5.2 liter bi-turbo V12 is mounted further back in the chassis to achieve near-perfect weight distribution, how much wider the tracks are, and how much shorter are the overhangs.
