Italdesign rethinks business strategy

DESIGN HOUSE ITALDESIGN is forging a new business strategy under Audi’s control following the departure last summer of its founder, 77-year-old Giorgetto Giugiaro.

The company is being reorganised around six “core competencies”, new boss Jörg Astalosch told Autocar. One of them is virtual design, in which a prototype or concept car goes from computer design to physical model without the usual clay model stage. The GT Zero electric supercar concept at Geneva was developed this way.

About 60% of Italdesign’s business is in engineering, with 25% building prototypes and 15% on styling work. Italdesign enjoyed a record year last year, with a turnover of €197 million (£153m), the bulk of the work being for VW Group companies. But Astalosch said the new strategy envisages more GT Zero concept was the first product of Italdesign’s new virtual design policy outside work.

Abarth breathes on Fiat 124 Spider

THE NEW ABARTH 124 Spider has been unveiled at the Geneva show and will go on sale in Europe in September, priced from €40,000 (around £31,000).

The performance-focused version of the Fiat 124 Spider has been developed with the Abarth Racing Team and has more aggressive styling, a matt black bonnet, a limited-slip differential and a ‘Record Monza’ exhaust system fitted as standard.

It’s powered by a tweaked version of parent brand Fiat’s four-cylinder 1.4-litre Multiair II engine, which produces 170bhp and 184b ft of torque. It’s paired to either a six-speed shortthrow manual gearbox or a six-speed automatic with paddle shifters

Abarth claims a 0-62mph time of 6.8sec and a top speed of 143mph. The two-seat, rear-wheel-drive Abarth 124 Spider weighs 1060kg and has 50/50 weight distribution, according to the manufacturer, which also says the car’s power-toweight ratio of 160bhp per tonne is unsurpassed in this class.

The suspension set-up and damping have been tweaked from the standard Fiat 124, with the Abarth version getting double-wishbone front suspension and a five-link set-up for the rear, a system the Italian manufacturer says has been tuned to offer greater braking and cornering stability. It also has aluminium front brake calipers

The car will be a rival to the Mazda MX-5, on which it is based. The MX-5, with a list price of £24,295 in its topspec 2.0-litre guise, undercuts the 124 Spider by some way. However, the quoted performance figures for the Abarth beat those of the 158bhp MX-5, which has a 0-62mph time of 7.3sec and a top speed of 133mph.

As well as the road-going roadster, Abarth unveiled a prototype rally version of the 124 Spider at Geneva. It puts out 300bhp at 6500rpm and is set to make its rally debut next year

DS boss refuses to rule out all-electric supercar

THE DS E-TENSE supercar could make production as a halo car for the brand, although not for the foreseeable future, according to Carlos Tavares, boss of PSA Peugeot-Citroën, which owns DS.

The carbonfibre-bodied concept car was revealed in Geneva and its makers stressed that it had been made to production standards, including the allelectric drivetrain. The car also complies with all current crash test standards.

Asked if the concept would reach production, Tavares said: “In the next two years? No. It takes time to build a brand that has the pricing power to sell a big-ticket item like this. But I have learned in this business to never say never. I accept that we will need a halo car for the DS brand, but whether it will be this car, you must wait and see.”

The E-Tense is said to be capable of a 4.5sec 0-62mph time, a 155mph top speed and a 220-mile range, all claims that will be tested in independent drives after the show.

DS is expected to begin launching an all-new six-model line-up in mid-2018, with a large saloon and SUV tipped as the flagship models. Tavares has told DS bosses to build brand awareness through initiatives such as Formula E racing and to avoid heavy discounting.

“If we sell at discounts, we will spoil the long-term story of being the only French premium brand,” he said. “We must build profitability, not scale.”

Q2 previews edgier Audis Small SUV aims to woo a younger generation of buyers to the Audi brand with its fresh new design

Audi’s new Q2 was unveiled in Geneva and will go on sale this summer from around £21,000. It also reveals a new front-end look for Audi’s Q models.

Audi says the Q2 is aimed at young, urban drivers and hopes it will draw new customers. “Buyers in this segment have edgier desires,” said Matthias Link, the Q2’s exterior designer. “They have different aspirations from their parents, and we’ve tried to reflect that.”

The Q2’s front has a new single-frame grille with polygon details — a feature that will be adapted for all future Q cars — and headlights that are slightly more squared off than those of recent Audis. There’s also an R8-style blade on the C-pillar that can be had in different colours and changed by customers. The tail-lights also show a new design.

Audi claims the crossover’s roofline enables more headroom than in an A3, and clever packaging means the boot swallows 405 litres of luggage with the rear seats up and 1050 litres when down

The Q2 comes as a five-door, fiveseater, with front-wheel drive the default set-up. At launch, there will be three petrols and three diesels all between 1.0 and 2.0 litres and with outputs ranging from 114bhp to 187bhp. The most efficient diesel should do around 70mpg. A six-speed manual gearbox is standard, but an S tronic dual-clutch automatic ’box will be optional on some models.

Buyers will also be able to opt for quattro four-wheel drive, which comes as standard with the range-topping 2.0-litre engines. Audi says the Q2 can venture off road. When the ESC is set to its off-road mode, the drivetrain adjusts to work in slippery conditions. Inside, Audi’s optional virtual cockpit and head-up display will allow drivers to customise their displays.

China’s turbine range-extender promises 1030bhp

CHINESE COMPANY TECHRULES has developed a new turbine-based rangeextender system for electric vehicles. The TREV (Turbine-Recharging Electric Vehicle) made its debut in a concept for China’s first supercar. The company plans to manufacture both the car and the powertrain in-house.

“Today, we are an R&D company,” said chief technology officer Matthew Jin, “but in a few years we will become an OEM.” The supercar is expected to enter production in two years and be followed by a city car in three years.

The turbine system will be offered under license to other OEMs and is claimed to be 50% more efficient than petrol-fuelled piston engine systems.

Micro-turbine generators are not new — Jaguar’s CX-75 hypercar concept was equipped with two —but Techrules’ new air-bearing and internal heatexchanger designs increase efficiency, while a new management system for the lithium ion battery helps extend range.

The 1030bhp supercar produces 6343lb ft torque from its six electric motors. It can sprint from rest to 62mph in 2.5sec and reach a top speed of 218mph. Battery-only range is 93 miles and the generator can deliver a full charge in 40 minutes. Fuel consumption on the NEDC cycle, based on starting with a fully charged battery, is 1569mpg. With the range extender running this drops to 59mpg.

JIM HOLDER The vital thing that BMW can’t (or won’t) tell us

WHEN EVEN BMW can’t tell you what’s powering a concept car, you know just how much free rein the designers have been given. This, after all, is a company with ‘Motor’ in its name and not to be able to imagine that side of the equation — or at least reveal it — is telling.

So don’t expect to see the Vision Next 100 on a forecourt, because it is a concept car in the purest sense. Instead, delve into the details and pull out the threads that BMW — and others — expect to be dominating our car landscape in the coming generations: from autonomy, through to manufacturing techniques, aerodynamics and interior digital treatments and connectivity options.

The key — unanswered — question remains whether customers will fall in line with the regulations being set and the car makers’ response to them. Reports suggest fewer than 30,000 BMW i cars were sold globally over the past 12 months — hardly a return on the megabucks investment required to launch the brand.

BMW boss Harald Krüger insisted on Monday that its investment in electric technology was “a marathon, not a sprint” and highlighted how BMW i technology is filtering back to the main brand via its plug-in hybrids. He may well be right: advances in consumer understanding, infrastructure and incentives, as well as punitive legislation against combustion-engined cars, could finally tempt and force car buyers’ hands in equal measure

But for now, he faces an anxious wait — and that must, in part, explain why we still don’t know what will power the BMW of 2116.

BMW previews next 100 years Vision Next 100 concept reveals German manufacturer’s plans for the car of the future

The Vision Next 100 concept is BMW’s attempt to “shape our future rather than wait until it arrives”, according to head of design Adrian van Hooydonk

The Vision Next 100 is a pure concept to explore themes for the future of cars, as opposed to having any production intent in its entirety. It showcases new construction and design techniques, as well as digitalbased interaction methods and autonomous driving technology already under development for future BMWs

The Vision Next 100 is the first of what BMW chairman Harald Krüger says is a series of four themed concept cars from BMW brands. As well as this car, Mini, Rolls-Royce and BMW’s motorcycle operation will unveil Next 100 concepts during BMW’s centennial year. The Mini and Rolls-Royce concepts will be shown at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Mini’s will highlight personalisation and Rolls- Royce’s luxury themes. The bike concept will explore the freedom of travel.

Krüger refused to be drawn on the BMW Vision Next 100’s powertrain, confirming only that it will be “zero emissions”. This omission was put down to BMW’s desire to emphasise other aspects of the concept, but it also highlights the existing uncertainty between electric and hydrogen powertrains

A key highlight of the Vision Next 100 is its autonomous driving functionality, described by BMW as “a question of not if but when”. Crucially, though, the car retains a steering wheel and allows drivers to take control when they choose. BMW predicts two main driving modes for its future models: Boost mode, in which the driver manually operates the controls; and Ease mode, in which the driver relies on the car’s autonomous capability

The concept’s body uses a combination of carbonfibre and plastic in anticipation of a shift away from conventional steel structures and the associated assembly process in use today.

Eschewing the one-box pod-like shape of recent futureorientated concepts presented by its luxury car rivals, the new BMW has a more conventional three-box silhouette that mixes the sleekness of a coupé with the practicality of a four-door saloon. Van Hooydonk has described the concept as having the footprint of a 5 Series and space of a 7 Series

Although the car looks ultramodern, BMW’s designers have taken inspiration from the past for some of its elements, such as the kidney grille, Hofmeister kink within the C-pillar and L-shaped tail-lights.

L-shaped tail-lights. To help enable a superslippery drag coefficient of 0.18, flexible bodywork covers the wheels. This bodywork can also move to allow full turns of the wheels, a design BMW calls Alive Geometry.

This approach is employed on the inside with parts that can move to convey moods and information. As with the exterior, BMW has eschewed traditional materials, so instead of wood and leather, there are more sustainable materials, including recyclable mono-materials

Access is via wing-style doors that open automatically as the driver approaches with a smart key. To ease entry, the steering wheel retracts and sits next to the dashboard when the car is parked. Once the driver is seated, a tap on the BMW emblem on the steering wheel shuts the doors, moves the steering wheel into position and adjusts the seat to suit the particular driver, based on digital information stored on the smart key

The concept also suggests high-definition digital displays as we know them today will become superfluous. Instead, the Vision Next 100 predicts a future in which all relevant information is projected across the windscreen via an oversized head-up display unit.

“We could have let the future come to us, but instead we wanted to imagine what might happen,” said van Hooydonk. “By imagining what may come, we’re preparing for it. We want to build cars that have emotion beyond function. We want to be the leaders in the digital age.”

Jaguar XJ to live on as a super-luxury hybrid

XJ saloon dodges the axe to be reborn as a technology-packed ‘indulgence’ in 2019

After months of debate Jaguar bosses have finally pushed the button on reinventing the XJ as an “indulgent, super-luxury” car. The new XJ is likely to feature mixed-materials body construction, a new-generation V6 hybrid drivetrain, an entirely fresh look for the interior and much more of the technology needed for connected and autonomous driving.

It’s expected to arrive in showrooms in spring 2019 and a concept version could be seen in 2018, the 50th anniversary of the original XJ. According to inside sources, the debate on how to replace Jaguar’s flagship model was wide-ranging. Some in the company thought the XJ could be remade as a kind of super- SUV similar in concept to the Range Rover Sport.

Others proposed an end for the XJ, believing the investment in a large saloon to take on the Mercedes-Benz S-Class might not make a sound business case. Sales of today’s XJ have risen steadily to 20,000 units per year, but that’s only a fraction of S-Class sales. It was also suggested that the latest XF had undermined the case for the new XJ to be a conventional big saloon. Today’s XF, which is based on the latest D7a aluminium architecture, is marginally more spacious than the current seven-year-old XJ

Autocar understands that debate over the XJ’s future went right up the chain of command to Ratan Tata, father of the Indian brand that owns Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). As recently as summer last year, an XJ replacement wasn’t even on the official model cycle plan.

In the past few weeks, Jaguar design boss Ian Callum obliquely referred to the future of the XJ while taking about the F-Pace. When asked by Autocar if the F-Pace SUV would, like Volvo’s XC90, become Jaguar’s de facto flagship, he disagreed. “Proper luxury brands have to have an indulgent car in there somewhere,” he said. “We’ve got two: the XJ and the F-Type. If you want the room of an XJ, you might as well buy an XF — there’s not much in it — but the whole point of luxury is indulgence, so you need a car like that, something that acts as the bookend for the brand. I think we will always have that.”

Autocar understands from various other sources that the decision to replace the XJ and the form it should take was made in the light of a number of market developments. The first was the huge success of the current S-Class, which confounded analysts’ forecasts that conventional luxury saloons were being undermined by SUVs and perceived as upmarket taxis.

Indeed, at the Geneva show, BMW board member Ian Robertson underlined the primacy of the super-luxury saloon when he insisted the new Rolls-Royce Phantom would be the brand’s flagship rather than the Cullinan SUV. The second development was the arrival of the new BMW 7 Series, which introduced a hybrid bodyshell using carbonfibre, steel and aluminium. The lavish interiors and craftsmanship of the BMW and Mercedes cabins also made Jaguar planners realise how far the bar in the premium market has been raised.

Jaguar bosses also know their brand needs to catch up in terms of serious drivetrain electrification and autonomous driving technologies. Finally, a new XJ saloon will provide an opportunity for Jaguar to develop a new generation of design language, both inside and out, especially now the XE/XF/F-Pace family has been launched.

Autocar understands the new XJ will be based on the same basic D7a aluminium architecture, with sections of the structure replaced by lightweight carbonfibre. Because the JLR aluminium platform is constructed using rivets and adhesive, it is remarkably straightforward to incorporate carbonfibre panels and structures. The upshot is a structure that will be lighter and stiffer, which is especially important if the XJ is sold mainly as a V6 plug-in hybrid.

The new XJ’s drivetrain is rumoured to be built around an all-new V6 Ingenium engine. A spin-off from the threecylinder Ingenuim engine being prepared for a Range Rover Evoque hybrid, the new six-pot will replace the current AJ-V6 engine, sister unit of the AJ-V8, which dates from 2000. The new V6 will be offered in petrol and diesel forms, but there’s no news yet about whether the new XJ hybrid transmission will be coupled to one or both fuel types.

The company’s design team is said to be determined to completely reboot the idea of a Jaguar interior and significantly upgrade the interior quality and treatment. The styling is expected to be much more luxurious and lavish than the XE’s and XF’s and will feature a more radical digital screen treatment for the instruments and even touchscreens for both the infotainment and transmission control on the centre console.

It’s encouraging for Jaguar — which, ahead of the start of F-Pace sales, remains a relatively small company — that the investment in the new XJ will go mainly into the interior, because the common platform and transmission strategy across JLR is now paying dividends. Executing a reinvention of the XJ — a model widely regarded as the best car in the world when it was launched in 1968 — will not be easy, but Jaguar needs to stay in contention with its German opposition.

However, the good news is that a new XJ will rely more on sheer creativity than the need for massive capital investments.

Jag’s XJ will benefit from reinvention

HOW DO YOU solve a problem like replacing the large luxo-saloon in your model range?

luxo-saloon in your model range? For Jaguar, it appears that it will involve building a radically different car, one bristling with technology and taking another step upmarket with a new exterior look and an even posher new cabin. Overleaf, you can read our latest interpretation of how Jag could reinvent its Mercedes S-Class and BMW 7 Series rival. We suspect it will take a diversion in terms of styling to set it apart from those cars and shift towards the ground occupied by Porsche’s Panamera

towards the ground occupied by Porsche’s Panamera. There’s a feeling among many (although not all) premium car manufacturers that large saloons still have an important role to play at the helm of a model range. Such halo models must make a bold statement about the brand they represent. The latest S-Class and 7 Series, for example, have moved the game on in infotainment, efficiency, autonomy and chassis technology, and now their lesser siblings are benefitting from the trickle down of the technology. Now that Jaguar has decided the XJ has a future, it is vital that it makes a bold statement with the next one

IAN MINARDS, DIRECTOR O FPRODUCT DEVELOPMENT, ASTON MARTIN

You created the DB11 from a clean sheet of paper. What was your starting point? “The most important part of any Aston Martin is the driver. We started by positioning the steering column, the seat, the pedals, the HVAC unit and determining how long we wanted the wheelbase to be. Compared with the DB9, we increased the wheelbase by 65mm, which gives the DB11 the proportions we wanted.”

Which of the DB11’s design features stand out for you? “One of my personal highlights of the body is the clamshell bonnet. The desire is to have the least number of lines to interrupt the flow of the car’s design and this bonnet only has two cut lines. But producing it was right on the limit of our technical capabilities. We had to find a blank sheet of aluminium to press the bonnet out of, an aluminium press big enough to make the part, and then an ecoat [electrophoretic painting] tank big enough.”

How effective is the AeroBlade ‘virtual spoiler’ at reducing lift at the rear? “It’s not a gimmick. We proved it by CFD [computational fluid dynamics] and then we rigged up a Vanquish with the system and tested it in all kinds of conditions. The work we did to prove that it works in all conditions was extensive. A lot of cars of this type have an exaggerated ‘flip’ at the rear and we didn’t want that. This technology means we can have a sloping tail without any compromise in stability.”

Aston to make the DBX at a new site near Cardiff

DB11 features two aerodynamic devices inspired by Aston’s racing cars

THE ASTON MARTIN DBX SUV will be built at a new factory in St Athan in south Wales as part of the ongoing £200 million investment in new products and facilities by the British manufacturer.

The Welsh site was unanimously chosen by Aston’s board despite fierce competition from about 20 other locations around the world. Occupying some 90 acres, the new Aston Martin facility at St Athan, to the west of Cardiff airport, will repurpose some of the facilities currently in use by the Ministry of Defence.

Construction work will be centred on the transformation of the three existing ‘super-hangars’ at MOD St Athan and is planned to start in 2017. Full vehicle production is scheduled to begin in 2020.

Developments at Aston’s existing site at Gaydon — which will focus on building sports cars and electric vehicles — will swell the workforce there by 250 employees. St Athan is expected to result in the creation of 750 new jobs. It is expected that a further 3000 jobs could be created across the supply chain.

Aston Martin chief executive Andy Palmer told Autocar: “Wales was the unanimous choice. It wasn’t the largest in terms of the size of the [grant] cheque on offer, but it won for many qualitative and quantitative reasons.

“St Athan is an existing facility and we don’t have to level the buildings and start from scratch. It is good both logistically and in terms of the supplier network, and has good access to the kind of talent we need to recruit.”

Aston is currently finalising the dimensions and design of the DBX, its first crossover, which was revealed as a concept at last year’s Geneva motor show.

The company has now decided to base the production version of the DBX upon a modified variant of the new aluminium-bonded structure that is due to underpin its new generation of sports cars.

In the months following the concept car’s unveiling in Geneva last year, there was speculation that it could use underpinnings from Aston’s technology partner, Daimler, such as the GLC’s platform. “It will be a pure Aston, with the only difference that it is a 4x4,” said Palmer.

In addition to the crossover, the new Welsh facility could also produce Lagonda models.

DB11 kicks off new era at Aston Martin

This is the new Aston Martin DB11, hailed by its maker as “the most powerful, efficient and dynamically gifted DB model” in the firm’s 103year history. The first product from Aston’s ‘second century’ expansion plan, the DB11 features a new engine and body structure, fresh styling, improved packaging and motorsportderived aerodynamic features. Following its public unveiling at this week’s Geneva motor show, the frontengined, rearwheeldrive grand tourer can be ordered now, priced from £154,900.

NEW V12 ENGINE Perhaps the standout feature in this most significant of new Astons is located under the onepiece clamshell bonnet. Designed and built inhouse by a team led by chief powertrain engineer Brian Fitzsimons, the new twinturbocharged 5204cc V12 is the most powerful unit yet fitted to a DB road car. Its 600bhp and 516lb ft outputs are sufficient to accelerate the DB11 from zero to 62mph in 3.9sec and on to a top speed of 200mph. It’s also the first seriesproduction Aston Martin to use a twinturbo unit. The DB11 doesn’t have a synthesised system to augment the engine noise

The new engine sends its power to the DB11’s rear axle via a ZF eightspeed paddleshift torqueconverter automatic gearbox. The car features a mechanical limitedslip differential with active torque vectoring, the latter a being first for Aston Martin

Aston hasn’t revealed official figures, but it is targeting a 20% improvement in fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions over the DB9. That should equate to combined economy of about 24mpg and CO2 emissions of roughly 270g/km.

Key to that dramatic improvement is a host of technology including variable valve timing, stopstart and intelligent bank activation, which shuts down six cylinders during periods of light throttle usage.

STRUCTURE Aston set its engineering team the target of creating a body structure that is lighter, stronger and more spaceefficient than the one that underpins the DB11’s predecessor, the DB9. Using a mix of new bonded aluminium pressings, extrusions and castings, the structure “sets new standards for mass versus stiffness”.

The new DB11 is longer, wider and lower than the DB9, at 4739mm long, 2060mm wide and 1279mm tall. Additionally, the wheelbase is 65mm longer, with Aston emphasising the car’s capabilities as a true 2+2 grand tourer.

Compared with the DB9, the front and rear track widths have increased by 75mm and 43mm respectively, and overall width has been extended by 28mm. The front overhang has been reduced by 16mm and the rear overhang increased by 11mm, with an overall gain in length of 50mm. By making the wheelbase 65mm longer than that of the DB9, Aston has been able to mount the V12 further back in the chassis to improve weight distribution to 51% front and 49% rear.

The body panels are made from a mix of pressed aluminium (for the clamshell bonnet, roof and doors), composite material (the rear haunches, front wings and rear decklid assembly) and injectionmoulded plastic (the front and rear bumpers, sills, front splitter and rear diffuser).

DYNAMICS The new car’s chassis, suspension, steering and electronics have been completely reworked under the watch of exLotus handling guru Matt Becker, now Aston’s chief of vehicle attribute engineering.

Aston’s target was to give the DB11 a broad range of capabilities. Using a steering wheelmounted button, the driver can select from three dynamic modes — GT, Sport and Sport Plus — which progressively intensify the responses of the engine, transmission, electric power steering and torque vectoring by braking system. A separate button also increases the firmness of the Bilstein adaptive dampers

The DB11 rides on 20in tyres and wheels as standard. Its Bridgestone tyres have a bespoke tread pattern, construction and compound. Electric powerassisted steering has been incorporated to offer greater scope for tuning and improvements in fuel efficiency.

AERODYNAMICS The DB11 features two aerodynamic devices inspired by Aston’s racing cars and also integrated onto the trackonly Vulcan supercar

The first of these, named ‘Curlicue’, is a gilllike vent incorporated into each front wheel arch lining to reduce frontend aerodynamic lift. It vents highpressure air from the top of each front wheel arch through recessed apertures behind the side strakes. Additional highpressure air is extracted from the back of each wheel arch through stirrup vents positioned aft of the front wheels.

The second feature, which Aston calls ‘AeroBlade’, uses ducted highspeed airflow to act as a virtual spoiler and enhance rear stability

Intake slots incorporated in the base of the car’s Cpillars are fed with highspeed air, which then passes within the bodywork through specially contoured ducting before venting via slots in the rear deck. This highpressure jet of disrupted air reduces aerodynamic lift, obviating the need for an upswept ‘flip’ in the tail to be designed into the car’s rear.

At higher speeds, a small active spoiler automatically deploys from the rear deck, increasing the effectiveness of the AeroBlade with a negligible increase in drag.

DESIGN Although Aston Martin’s new design language was previewed on the DB10, which was created for the Bond film Spectre last year, the DB11 marks the first time that it has appeared on a full production model. The new look was created by Aston Martin’s design team led by chief creative officer Marek Reichman

Highlights include a bigger, bolder interpretation of Aston’s iconic grille and the pressed aluminium, forwardhinging clamshell bonnet, shrinkwrapped to the engine bay. The allLED headlights and taillights are another defining element of the DB11’s design. They incorporate daytime running lights and lowspeed cornering lights for the first time on an Aston Martin.

A roof strake that flows in an unbroken arc from the Apillar to the Cpillar is another design signature, and the side strake on the car’s flanks, while harking back to past Aston Martins, has been reimagined and now forms part of the Curlicue air vent.

INTERIOR The cabin is a blend of recognisable Aston Martin design, such as the centre console that flows from the dashboard to the transmission tunnel and the familiar gearchange buttons, and new technology, including some sourced from Daimler

A new instrument cluster features a fullcolour 12.0in TFT LCD screen, and a second, centrally mounted 8.0in TFT screen is dedicated to infotainment. Operation is via a rotary control, and an optional touchpad offers character recognition, multitouch and gesture support.

The DB11 offers more occupant space and comfort than the outgoing DB9. Redesigned Apillar structures and a reduction in the height and width of the sill sections mean the door apertures are larger, making it easier to get into and out of the car. Front seat occupants benefit from a 10mm increase in head room and a greater range of seat movement. Meanwhile in the rear, there’s a 54mm increase head room and an 87mm gain in leg room, with the aim of making the DB11’s rear cabin more usable than that of the DB9

There’s also more luggage space, with the DB11’s 270litre boot offering a 20% increase in capacity over that of the DB9.

Other features new to the DB11 include keyless entry/ keyless start, parking control including parallel and bay park assistance, a 360deg bird’seye camera and an electrically powered steering column with an ‘up and away’ function for easier ingress and egress. by MATT BURT

Aston proves the UK is still world class

SIGNIFICANT TIMES FOR Aston Martin: the launch of the brand-new DB11 at the Geneva motor show kick-starts an exciting new chapter for the firm.

As important as the DB11 is, though, the news that the British manufacturer will build its forthcoming crossover within these shores is especially noteworthy and welcome. With Aston’s current Gaydon site likely to be bursting at the seams later this decade, it needed to find a second base at which to build the new model.

Although Aston remains a British manufacturer at heart, it is owned by foreign interests who prioritise sound business sense above sentiment. It was, therefore, by no means a certainty that the new production line would be situated here. Instead, it would go to the location that offered the best incentives and most competitive climate.

That Wales won the day against international competition is a heartening endorsement for the UK’s famed prowess at car development and production. That the decision also resonates on an emotional level is an added bonus for us all.