Aston Martin Refines Its Exotic Family Car
4 min
The DBX, in base or 707 form, is certainly practical for everyday activities.
It’s a two-row SUV whose rear passengers enjoy plenty of legroom, separate climate controls, and heated seating. Although the carbon ceramic brakes are standard, lifestyle options include accessories for transporting pets and “event seating” to enjoy tailgate parties. The latter are amenities once seen only in the popular Range Rover—a car that now has a lot of competition.
“The average mileage driven in our SUVs is two to three times that of the sports cars we sell,” says Alex Long, a product and strategy executive at Aston Martin, which was presenting its upgraded 2025 DBX 707 in Edinburgh earlier this month. “It’s a huge ‘conquest’ car, meaning that three-quarters of the initial buyers were new to the brand. Previously they might have said, ‘I love Aston Martin, but the cars aren’t practical for me.’”
Jim Motavalli
The redesigned interior on the test car was a riot of red leather, even on the hand holds. Carbon fibre, in a process co-developed by Aston, is mostly decorative on the interior, though it’s employed for lightness in the tailgate and tailgate surround. The car lacks a head-up display, but it has just about every other modern amenity, including Apple CarPlay and an (optional) 23-speaker, 1,600-watt Bowers & Wilkins sound system that is new in the 2025 model. There is a 12.3-inch instrument cluster and a 10.25-inch central display. The bottom line for the 707 is US$249,000, putting it considerably below Rolls-Royce Cullinan territory (that one starts at US$392,000). Deliveries began in the second quarter of this year.
Aston Martin photo
The power comes from a four-litre, twin-turbo V8 obtained from Mercedes-AMG. The output is 697 horsepower and 663 pound-feet of torque, shifted by an also-Mercedes-derived nine-speed wet-clutch automatic. The bulk of the time you’re in rear-wheel drive, but power is directed to the front axle as needed, and the DBX is a capable off-road performer. Americans will also want to know that despite being derived from a long line of two-seat sports cars, the DBX can haul nearly 6,000 pounds.
Big V8s can move a lot of weight, and despite its 4,949 pounds the DBX 707 can reach 60 miles per hour in 3.1 seconds and attain 193 mph.
More than half of Aston’s current sales are of the DBX SUV, and even in Scotland—where the small car used to reign supreme—it’s apparent that the SUV is taking over the roads, Long says. North America is Aston’s biggest market, accounting for 35% of sales.
Jim Motavalli photo
The DBX was launched in 2020 and the upmarket 707 in 2022. The platform is not used on any other car. Andy Tokley, chief engineer for the DBX, says the chassis layout of the refreshed model has been modestly redefined for better passenger comfort. There’s ample rear legroom, and fully adaptive shock absorbers, air suspension, and active roll bars deliver a smooth ride. But not too smooth. The tweaks to the DBX included exhaust note tuning so that passengers hear more of that distinctive V8 rumble, Tokley says.
The DBX could be seen as Aston Martin’s best bet for an electric drivetrain, although the company is actively working with American brand Lucid on EVs and plans are somewhat delayed. Aston was to have launched an EV in 2025 but chairman Lawrence Stroll recently told Autocar that “consumer demand is not what we thought it was two years ago.” Four EVs have reportedly been designed, but it will likely be at least 2026 before we see one of them.
Jim Motavalli
Aston Martin’s portfolio includes accessible, almost mainstream, models like the DBX and exotics like the US$3 million Valkyrie supercar, of which 150 coupes and 85 Spyders have so far been built. Only 40 are left to be constructed. And in addition to the cars, well, there’s real estate. In the wake of Porsche and Bentley, the company developed the Aston Martin Residences in Miami, which had its grand opening in April.
By that time, 99% of the 391 luxury condominiums, located where the Miami River meets Biscayne Bay, had already been sold. But the US$59 million triplex penthouse with 27,191 square feet of living space is available, an Aston spokeswoman says. The 66-storey building is constantly reminding occupants of the Aston brand, whose cues adorn door handles, room number signs, and door tabs.
Copyright 2020, Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. LEARN MORE
Limited to 630 units, Lamborghini’s latest Urus Capsule pushes personalisation further than ever, blending hybrid performance with over 70 bespoke design combinations.
From snow-dusted valleys to festival-filled autumns, Bhutan reveals itself as a rare destination where culture, nature and spirituality unfold year-round.
Odd Culture Group brings a new kind of after-dark energy to the CBD, where daiquiris, disco and design collide beneath the city streets.
2 min
Sydney’s nightlife has long flirted with reinvention, but its latest arrival suggests something more deliberate is taking shape beneath the surface.
Razz Room, the new underground bar and disco from Odd Culture Group, has opened in the CBD, marking the group’s first step into the city centre.
Tucked below street level on York Street, the venue blends cocktail culture with a shifting, late-night rhythm that moves from after-work drinks to full dancefloor immersion.
The space itself is designed to evolve over the course of an evening. An upper bar offers a more intimate setting, suited to early drinks and conversation, while a sunken dancefloor anchors the venue’s later hours, with a rotating program of DJs and live performances.
“Razz Room will really change shape throughout a single evening,” says Odd Culture Group CEO Rebecca Lines.
“Earlier, it’s geared towards post-work drinks with a happy hour, substantial food offering, and music at a level where you can still talk.”
As the night progresses, that tone shifts.
“As the evening progresses at Razz Room, you can expect the music to get a little louder and the focus will shift to live performance with recurring residencies and DJs that flow from disco to house, funk, and jazz,” Rebecca says.
The concept draws heavily on New York’s underground club scene before disco became mainstream, referencing venues such as The Mudd Club and Paradise Garage. But the intention is not nostalgia.
“The space told us what it wanted to be,” Lines explains. “Disco started as a counter culture… Razz Room is no nostalgia project, it’s a reimagining of the next era of the discotheque.”
Design, too, plays its part in shaping the experience. The upper level is warm and textural, with timber finishes and burnt-orange tones, while the sunken floor shifts into a more theatrical mood, combining Art Deco references with a raw, industrial edge.
MAISON de SABRÉ’s new Spring Harvest Collection turns everyday produce into collectible leather charms and introduces fresh silhouettes in its cult Bucket bag family.
In the remote waters of Indonesia’s Anambas Islands, Bawah Reserve is redefining what it means to blend barefoot luxury with environmental stewardship.
