2008 Aston Martin DBS Review
June 22, 2008 by Matt Brogan
2008 Aston Martin DBS Review & Road Test
Power, poise, beauty and soul the DBS truly wants for nothing.
Model Tested:
- 2008 Aston Martin DBS Coupe 6.0 litre V12 Six Speed Manual – $466,600 (RRP)
Power, Handling, Grace, Exclusivity, Comfort
High Set Gearshift Position, Handing It Back
CarAdvice Rating: 
- Words & Photographs by Matt Brogan & Anthony Crawford
An adrenalin fueled Full Throttle tour of Europe earlier this year saw the CarAdvice team road test some of the world’s premier supercars in their home environment, a feat well worth the bragging rights. It was therefore completely epic to receive one the most anticipated vehicles of all time on home soil, a truly unique experience.
When Aston Martin’s representative for this region said he wanted to do something very special with the first drive of the DBS in Australia, we knew the Great Ocean Road wasn’t going to make the cut. So we put in a call to trusted colleague and 4WD guru, Ian Glover, a man who has driven through every road, town, track and waterhole in Australia, several times over, and who was certain to offer up some gold.
Ian’s first question was “What colour is the DBS?” to which we replied, “Lightning Silver”. “Deep red dirt would make for a beautiful contrast,” Ian offered “so you can either go up to the Northern Territory, or to the Cawnpore Hills, on the edge of the Simpson Desert.”
As we’d never heard of the Cawnpore Hills, we were intrigued and so began the many months of planning required for such an adventure, but as we would soon find out as with most good ideas, there’s always a catch.
These particular hills are no ordinary garden variety mounds of soil, they are in fact called Mesa, Spanish for table (due to their flat-topped appearance), and are found in only two places on earth. In Australia they’re conveniently located quite literally in the middle of nowhere, smack bang in the middle of the incredibly large 62,000 square kilometre Boulia Shire, 560km south of Mt Isa, which suddenly made the tyranny of distance, and the logistical challenge therein, seem almost overwhelming.
Boulia township, population 300, was to be our home base for several days and sits at the start of the infamously lonely one lane road known as the Min Min Way. This glorified goat track plays host to a strange phenomenon known as the Min Min light, which since the time of Burke and Wills has been documented for giving plenty of travelers the creeps whilst traversing the dark flat expanse at night. It is said that the unusual lights follow you for very long distances and to this day they have not been properly explained by science – at least we could outrun them in the DBS!
Our astonishing test candidate, Aston Martin’s stunning and highly sought after new DBS, drew a lot of attention on arrival in Mt Isa and as supercars go, they don’t get much newer than this one. Being thrown the keys to build number one (47 test vehicles precede) had ensured us absolute exclusivity and despite having a vast collective experience in driving such exclusive cars, we were all humbled at the offer to be first in the country to put wheel to road.
Very well written and thank you for going the extra extra mile in producing this story
What an awesome read, felt truly involved, and what an awesome machine. Thanks guys.
excellent story guys!!! pleaseure to read. As much as i love this car i cant help but think of what else i could get for that kinda money……….
I’m sure you could get plenty of things, but I doubt they would be as much fun.
Did anyone notice the stitching on the console wasn’t straight. Tee Hee.
Great read folks. Most can only drean at driving such machines. The hard work is obviously paying off.
Awsome car, arguably the nicest car on thr planet. British of course, Ooooh I’m so proud. Pity no diesels though, Tee Hee again.
Fellas,
Fantastic in every way, the Aston, the writing and the photography justified why you were the first to drive it in Australia.
I also appreciated the high res picture of the Mack Titan, its now my wallpaper, also a magnificent machine, it doesn’t have quite the sheet metal work but it has more power and and is more reliable than any Aston! I hope you appreciate that a road train cannot safely or feasibly leave single road bitumen to accommodate others, its not a choice the drivers have.
Thanks for the great review, now I’m waiting for the new RS4 review when they get around to releasing the car!
Nice Nice Nice,
Although that gearknob reminds me of future Biff’s (Back to the future) silver fist walking stick for some reason… :S
I still prefer a 599gtb any day….good story guys!
Funny how the anti-spam word was Ferrari!
What an epic journey and an epic car. An amazing article guys, I thoroughly enjoyed the read, even while I was suffering from a gargantuan case of jealousy. Good work.
Five stars across the board, wouldn’t expect anything less.
FANTASTIC in all every way, For me the best looking car made right now. Just amazing
GREAT CAR. GREAT STORY.
Great Review…
I’d hate to be hitting Potholes in one of those. How would the Aston Reps react to a scratch on the paint? 7 layers of Hand Crafted repair.
Also, someone must have been constantly polishing the car with all that red dirt around.
Doesn’t the Veyron’s steering wheel take something like 1½ weeks for one guy to stitch together? You get what you pay for I guess…
Awesome car and great pics!
Good review. Dream car! (Next to the R35 GTR!)
Been for a ride in this car. One word.
Faultless!
This is the car which I always dream of. Great pics, Its professional image
Very well written and the photographs are amazing.
Not only did it give a good comprehensive review of the car, but it felt as if i was being told an old story of a legend.
Thank you
What a wank of a story…. “Ohhh it takes months of preparation for a story like this”….
What you mean you can’t just pack a ute up with all the spares and food and camping gear and drive the whole lot out there – take a few pictures and then come back?
Oh nooooooo…
And the road trains have to swerve off a single lane road into the ditch to make way for a spoon fed twat like you?
Sure…
Yep – the highlight of my life is to drive a rolling piece of artwork; that will look like some time warp relic just like the supercars from 20 years ago….
Parts, spares and servicing – ridiculously expensive.
Most of the really rich people drive plain second hand cars… and tossers like you blow all their income on junk like this.
QED.
Just because you drive a flash car you think you own the road guss what —-head you don’t. Those road trains are worth more than those cars, besides that, just because you have your head that far up your —- you couldn’t read the road sign. you have to get off the road but then your PRETTY cars & tyres dirty. Wake up to yourself and think about why thay don’t get off the road. Do you really think that a 110tonne road train is go’n to move off the road and probably crashing for a what a 2.5t car RIGHT!!!!