Aston Martin DBS 770 Ultimate review

Twenty-one years later it’s the same story with this DBS 770 Ultimate. And while Aston Martin would never use the term ‘run-out special’ in its marketing material, that is precisely what it is – a means of making sure the last few DBSs earn their keep before the car is replaced by a new model (within the next year, we are told).

This time the numbers are greater but hardly massive: 300 coupés and 199 convertibles. The bigger number is the price: the coupé costs £314,000 before options with Aston Martin saying the average transaction price is north of £400,000. Yet every last one of them is already sold.

No prizes for guessing the ‘770’ in the name refers to the engine’s output in PS, which is 759bhp and a 45bhp rise on standard. It’s strange to think this engine is directly derived from the V12 that first went into the DB7 Vantage all those years ago, when it developed a rather more modest 420bhp. Could it go further even than this? If the V12 is to be retained for the DBS successor it will have to, beyond 800bhp I shouldn’t wonder, nudging double its original output.

The eight-speed ZF gearbox has also been reprogrammed for quicker, sharper shifts, each gear receiving its own tailor-made engine map to make the powertrain feel more like a naturally aspirated unit, with torque limited at low revs when traction is likely to be an issue, and pouring on with ever increasing urgency thereafter. It’s not a new trick – Ferrari has been doing it with its turbo engines for years – but it is a good one.

Deeper within the car you’ll find a new solidly mounted steering rack, structural stiffness across the front increased by 25 per cent, and more sporting suspension settings to boot. Visually you’ll not miss the 770 Ultimate, thanks to its larger front air intakes and horseshoe scoop on the bonnet.

Unlike some, I have never been overwhelmingly impressed by the DBS Superleggera. Indeed I have always considered the DB11, once it had received its AMR upgrades, as a better-judged product for a fraction of the money. The DBS always had more power than it could comfortably handle leading to frustration when you felt over and over the car being held back by its electronics through fear of its torque overwhelming the rear axle. If you gave all the nannies the day off, it was just quite messy to drive.

But despite its extra power, the 770 is not like that. Its power delivery is more considered and sophisticated, meaning less time waiting for the traction control to deem matters sufficiently in hand to allow further progress. And when you’re finally going fast enough for traction to not be a problem, and I’m talking fourth gear and above, its acceleration is genuinely magnificent.

Even so, I’m far more taken with the changes to the chassis which bring a level of precision to the DBS which is not only welcome but, in my view, necessary. It reacts more quickly, steers more accurately and provides a better feel for the road, yet retains ride quality sufficiently supple still to be able to make claim to being a grand tourer.

What it is not, despite all that power, is some kind of uncontainable road warrior, like a Ferrari 812 Superfast, which is quicker still, more rewarding and a considerably more challenging prospect. But Aston Martin should not worry about that: the cars it does best are those that aren’t trying to be like a Ferrari or anything else. For decades, Aston Martins have never been the fastest in their class, nor the most thrilling. They have instead subsided on a diet of pure charm, born from their looks, their power and that name. And this DBS is one of the very best examples of this work.

The pity is that it has taken this long for the true potential of the DBS to be unlocked and that so few will get to experience how good it can be, but such is the way of these things. I think it’s called saving the best until last and, like the DB7 GT, at least it got there in the end.