7 years ago, we thought Aston Martin built an excellent GT in the form of DB11. It was the brainchild of CEO Andy Palmer, engineering chief Ian Minards and design boss Marek Reichman. However, that car had its weaknesses. Its interior design and build quality was not up to the level of its class. Its Mercedes-sourced infotainment system was seriously outdated, as Stuttgart declined to share its latest version with Gaydon. Compared with Ferrari's GT cars, the Aston is short of performance and handling, while customers seeking comfort and luxury would opt for Bentley Continental GT. That put it in a very difficult position.

When Lawrence Stroll and his partners took over the company 3 years ago, he appointed then-AMG boss Tobias Moers to replace Palmer. Minards left, replaced by more AMG engineers. Ambitious new programs started by the outgoing management, such as the new twin-turbo V6 and the mid-engined Vanquish, were eventually dropped. Moer preferred a more evolutionary, down-to-earth approach. He introduced much improved versions of existing cars like DB11 AMR, Vantage F1 edition, DBX 707 and DBS 770 Ultimate, narrowing the performance gaps between Aston and its rivals. Unfortunately, before his work come to fruition, he had been sacked by the impatient Stroll in May 2022. Ex-Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa was tasked to turnaround the ailing British company. Felisa was already 75 then, but he brought his former colleague Roberto Fedeli to England, who led the development of Ferrari 458, LaFerrari and 458 and Alfa Romeo Giulia, to name a few. I suppose the new DB12 is largely the work under Moer and his German people, but the Italian finishing touch may also prove to be influential to the latest British luxury GT.



At the first glance, the DB12 seems just a mid-life refresh of its predecessor. Yes, the basic chassis is carried over, as you can see from its near identical profile and more or less the same dimensions, most notably the unchanged wheelbase. It is merely 40 mm wider, and that is made to accommodate its larger wheels (now 21 instead of 20-inch) and wider rubbers. Aston even keeps the aerodynamics unchanged (i.e. the intakes under the C-pillars that draw airflow towards the narrow outlet located just above the trailing edge of rear deck), so that it doesn't need to spend hundreds of hours in windtunnel testing again.

This means, the change of exterior styling concentrates on the nose: it adopts the biggest ever grille on an Aston Martin. Part of that is for visual appeal, giving the car a stronger identity, but the increased cooling demand also play a role here.



The DB12 is not planned to offer a V12 engine, at least that is what the company claimed at the moment. It offers only AMG's 4-liter twin-turbo V8, but this version is significantly more powerful - actually surprisingly powerful. While the outgoing DB11 V8 had to settle with 510 hp and 498 lbft, this one produces 680 horsepower at 6000 rpm and 590 lbft of torque at 2750-6000 rpm. In fact, more powerful than any AMG's own cars except the flat-plane crank version of AMG GT Black series. The Aston version remains conventional cross-plane crank and wet sump, so it is not off the shelf but a dedicated unit built by Affalterbach. The increased output comes primarily from a pair of much bigger turbos, which neccessitates the engine to drop its compression ratio from 10.5:1 to 8.6:1. Besides, the cam profiles are different, and the intercoolers and oil cooler have been upgraded along with larger surface radiators, hence the bigger grille.

Transmission remains to be ZF 8-speed automatic, and it still sits at the rear axle for better balance. Recalibrated program results in quicker shifts, while a shorter final drive ratio also enhances acceleration. Aston quotes 0-60 mph done in 3.5 seconds, not only quicker than the outgoing DB11 V8 (3.9 sec) but also the V12-powered AMR (3.6 sec). The new car tops 202 mph, slightly lower than the 208 mph AMR due to the final drive ratio.



But handling should be no comparison. Thanks to the first adoption of electronic differential, the DB12's weight distribution is even more rear-biased, standing at 48:52, compared with 49:51 of DB11 V8 and 51:49 of DB11 AMR. Besides, the DB12 also has its stability control upgraded with 6-axis inertia measurement. Hopefully its traction and at-the-limit handling can be greatly improved.

The wider rubbers also help. To cope with increased power, the DB12 employs 275/35ZR21 up front and 315/30ZR21 at the rear, which are 20 mm wider than before yet larger in diameter. It is the first application of Michelin Pilot Sport 5S tires, which incorporates noise-absorption foams to cut road noise, something not unimportant for a GT.

The chassis itself is largely unchanged, but parts like engine cross brace, front cross member, rear bulkhead and undertrays are strengthened, upping torsional rigidity by 7 percent and even more around the suspension mounting points. The adaptive dampers have been updated, too, offering broader range of adjustment, while stiffer anti-roll bars should tighten body control. Meanwhile, the steering column is now rigidly mounted to improve precision and feel. All in all, the DB12 should feel a lot sportier than its predecessor in cornering.



Inside, the change is quite dramatic. The influence of Moers is obvious in the way it adopts a Porsche-like center console design, which should bring improved ergonomics if not style. The instrument is finally a flat panel display. The infotainment touchscreen is not terribly large at 10.25-inch, but it is high definition, and Aston claims very quick response and intuitive user interface thanks to its in-house designed software. Thankfully, the sloping console leaves plenty of quality-looking physical switches, which is very important to the traditional customers of Aston Martin.

Aston quotes a kerb weight of 1788 kg, just 28 more than the DB11 V8, which is surprisingly modest considering the addition of E-diff, 170 horsepower and so many other improvement to the chassis. However, that figure has taken all lightweight options into account, including carbon-fiber shell bucket seats. Even in the leanest form, the DB12 is priced at £185,000, 40 grands more than the DB11 V8 and 10 grands dearer than the V12 AMR. As DBS Superleggera is no longer in production, the DB12 can be pushed further upmarket. Its more aggressive looks and sportier driving dynamics match its new market positioning.

How to describe the new generation BMW 5-Series with codename G60? It is the first 5-Series to offer both ICE and electric power options, with the latter badged as i5 as expected. It is very likely to be the last 5er you can have with combustion engines, so it carries a lot of weight on its shoulders. All-new design language and a digital interior complicate it further. So many challenges, so many work to do, it has all sorts of reasons to disappoint, but at the first glance, it looks not a bad effort.

Firstly, the new exterior design is not as shocking and polarizing as recent efforts such as XM, M3 / M4 and 7-Series. Yes, the double-kidney grille is larger than ever for a 5-Series, but nowhere as huge as its siblings. The bonnet is heavily sculpted to emphasize the shape of the kidney grille, which have 2 different designs (the red car pictured above is for M-badged i5). The front end is still overstyled and looks a bit busy for my taste, but the entire car is quite sleek, as shown in its lowest Cd 0.23 for the base electric model.



To accommodate the under floor battery for the i5, the G60 inevitably gets taller. Normally, this should mean a raised waistline and roofline hence a bulky look that could be mistaken for a crossover. Fortunately, BMW's designers blacken its side skirts and bottom of rear overhang to make the body sides appear lower. By using a longer yet more sloping bonnet, a very fast angle rear window and much slimmer C-pillars (which recall our fond memory of the 1980s BMWs), the passenger cell looks smaller and lighter, and the whole car appears slimmer and sleeker. Had BMW toned down its front and rear end design, it could be our favourte 5-Series since the mighty E39.

Unfortunately, part of the design trick comes at the price of extra metal. The G60 might not be larger than its predecessor for cabin space, but it employs a lot more metal and gets on quite a lot of weight. Overall length is stretched by 124 mm to 5060 mm, the first time exceeding 5 meters. Likewise, width gains 32 mm to 1900 mm while height grows by 36 mm to 1515 mm (again that battery). Wheelbase is up by a relatively modest 20 mm to 2995 mm. You expect the longer rear overhang should boost luggage space? Sorry, it drops by 10 liters to 520.

BMW's CLAR platform, as demonstrated by the 4-Series and i4 already, is flexible enough to accommodate ICE power or electric power without much performance drawback, but a common structure means weight cannot be optimized for either power versions. That's why a rear-drive 520i now tips the scale at 1725 kg (DIN), almost 200 kg more than its predecessor.



Admittedly, the 520i gets more efficient than ever. Now its 2-liter Bi-Vanos and Valvetronic engine runs at Miller-cycle and has a 48V mild hybrid system incorporated at its transmission. The engine produces 190 hp and 229 lbft. In addition to the mild hybrid motor, system output is 208 hp and 243 lbft, enough to propell the big BMW from 0-60 in 7.1 seconds and flat out at 143 mph, which is very efficient thanks to its 0.24 Cd.

Another entry-level model is 520d, whose 2-liter sequential twin-turbo diesel engine produces 197 hp and 295 lbft, manages to do 0-60 in 6.9 and top 145 mph.

European motorists demanding more performance without switching to i5 will need to wait for a plug-in hybrid model, which is yet to be revealed. However, if you live in America, you are lucky, because BMW offers the choice of 530i and 540i xDrive there. The 530i uses a more powerful version of the 2-liter four, which produces 258 hp and 295 lbft for 155 mph and 5.9 seconds 0-60. Meanwhile, the 6-cylinder 540i xDrive pumps up the numbers to 380 hp, 398 lbft (boosted by mild hybrid) and 4.5 seconds.



Regarding i5, there are 2 models at launch, and both are derived from the component set sharing with i4. The i5 eDrive40 employs a single rear motor to provide 340 hp and 317 lbft of torque. 0-60 mph takes 5.7 seconds and top speed is limited at 120 mph. Meanwhile, i5 M60 xDrive uses front and rear motors to produce 601 hp and 605 lbft, good for 0-60 in 3.7 seconds while top speed is slightly higher at 143 mph. That won't match the upcoming M5 though, which is likely to keep using V8 engine, maybe with electric boost. However, there is space for a higher performance i5, because a 660 hp / 811 lbft version is already available in i7 M70.

Predictably, both i5 models are heavy. The rear-drive model weighs 2130 kg while dual-motor M60 weighs even 2305 kg. Both cars share the same 84 kWh (gross) battery which returns respectable range, especially eDrive40. On the downside, BMW's 205 kW DC quick charge is not exactly top notch on the market. A charge from 10 to 80 percent full will take half an hour.

As for chassis, there is no surprise. Just like other CLAR platform cars, the 5-Series and i5 employ double-wishbone front and 5-link rear suspension. Adaptive dampers, active anti-roll bars and rear-wheel steering are optional on all versions except i5 M60, which is standard. Besides, like i4, all i5 models get standard adjustable air springs at the rear axle to deal with their immense weight and provide ride height adjustment.



Inside, the G60 features BMW's latest digital technology, including a curved digital display which combines a 12.3-in instrument and 14.9-in infotainment screen, but it retains the iDrive's rotary controller and some physical switches at the transmission tunnel. Hidden air vents and interactive light bars are some of its design gimmicks, but hopefully with classy materials and build quality to match.