A car this grandiose deserves an over-the-top ignition key... » More Photos

If you thought the noise at start-up was orgasmic, wait till you hear it as the tachometer needle passes the 5,500 rpm mark. That’s when invisible bypass valves open and let the full fury of the exhaust blast through creating a sound that makes Dale Jr.’s NASCAR stocker seem hushed.

Need to stop in a hurry? With ceramic rotors the size of extra-large pizzas, the DBS halts with the effectiveness of hurling a ship’s anchor out the back. You can stand on the brakes from 150 mph till the cows come home and you won’t experience a whiff of fade.

This is a magical car to drive. Blisteringly fast, sensational through the turns, yet easy, relaxed and very forgiving. Aston really has transferred a lot of what it has leaned on the track into its road cars. And it shows through the car’s perfectly weighted, laser-precise steering.

Yet despite its nimbleness and agility, the DBS feels a whopper of a car on the road. You sit low in the seat, with the tops of the doors above shoulder level and the roof close to your head. Claustrophobics might want to wait for the upcoming convertible version.

Aston’s new Adaptive Damping System lets you pick from a selection of five different damper settings to suit your driving mood and mode. They range from
firm to bone-jarring, with even the “normal” setting allowing you to determine which side of a dime you’ve just run over.

With its distinctive character and rarity value, the DBS is a genuine automotive jewel. » More Photos

While this new DBS may not be as much of a beast – both visually and character-wise – as its predecessor, the awesome Vanquish, it is still a sensational, thrilling, rewarding hard-driving machine. A true British supercar.

It’ll be a rare one, too, with only 240 copies headed to the U.S. this year, accompanied by a waiting list as long as the Quantum of Solace script.

It’s definitely a car that will leave you shaken (maybe from sticker shock) and stirred (by everything else).