Hotter Aston Martin DB12 spied testing with new bodywork and aero

A new higher-performance DB12 has been spied undergoing testing at the Nurburgring, reflecting Aston Martin’s plans to diversify the current model range with more variants. 

It’s immediately clear that this prototype is more than just a standard DB12, because it seems to be packing a range of visual and mechanical upgrades that should lift the already potent DB12 to an even higher level of performance. 

Key changes can be seen around the car’s front bumper, which has a new splitter and grille insert. The wheels are the wider 21-inch options as already found on the latest Vanquish, and we can see a more defined sill extension along the side of the body.

It’s the rear that looks to have the biggest change, thanks to a new bumper and vertically arranged exhaust pipes. The standard DB12, despite its significant upgrades over the DB11, still shared a rear bumper and aero arrangement, something this high performance model looks to finally change. 

These changes are joined by a small gurney flap on the rear bootlid to boost downforce – although we can’t yet tell whether this will be a production item or replaced by something more stylised on the production car. 

In terms of performance and chassis upgrades, we expect more power from the DB12’s twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 engine – potentially growing from the existing 671bhp to the 697bhp produced by the DBX707 SUV. 

This will probably be accompanied by a range of software tweaks to the transmission and electronically controlled differential, as well as tuning changes to the Bilstein DTX adaptive dampers and coil springs. 

Aston Martin did offer an AMR-badged variant of the previous DB11, but that car’s changes were largely made up of some subtle colour, trim and software tweaks, suggesting that this new edition of the DB12 might take on a different name. Look back through Aston’s recent history and the ‘S’ signature is found on various models like the Vantage, which means we could be looking at a new DB12 S here – we’ll have to wait and see what Aston has in store. 

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