Aston powers: Aston Martin DB11

It’s the best yet – by a long shot.

A different beast: Aston Martin DB11.

People like Aston Martins. And what’s more, people like people who drive them; they’re seen as cool and intelligent and refined. Astons are driven by people who find Ferraris and Porsches a bit tall-poppy vulgar. I get that, but there’s always been a problem. Aston Martins have never been much good.

The DB5, trumpeted by many as the best, most iconic model of them all, felt like a garbage truck to drive. And I loved the Vantage, even though it handled and braked and gripped like it was quite drunk.

To make matters worse, Astons back then were made by hand, which is another way of saying that nothing fitted or worked properly. And they weren’t really tested before they went on sale.

The DB9 was far more sorted when it came along; you sensed it had been properly developed and well thought out. But you also sensed that behind the achingly pretty face beat a fairly ordinary heart. It was as groundbreaking as a loaf of bread. And that’s been the story ever since, really. Beautiful but unremarkable to drive.

Ferrari and Porsche, thanks to their wealthy parents, could afford to develop new technology. Aston Martin was stuck. It would change the styling and the names of the cars but underneath they were all broadly the same and starting to look old-fashioned. So I wasn’t expecting all that much from the new DB11. I figured that it would be beautiful (which it is) but no match dynamically for what the rest of the world could offer. I was wrong.

The old V12, which sounded magnificent – but which we always knew at the back of our minds had been made by nailing two Ford Mondeo engines together – is gone. And in its stead is a new 5.2-litre V12 with two turbochargers.When I heard Aston had developed this engine itself, I figured it would be a bit old-school with lag and a lot of “That’ll do, near enough” Pommy tech. It isn’t. It comes with cylinder deactivation and one turbo and intercooler per bank and all the latest tech. It’s made in Germany.

Better still, there’s been a tie-up with Mercedes-Benz so the DB11 has a Merc sat nav and electronics, including the Comand infotainment system. This is a very successful Anglo-German marriage. And soon it will produce a son; an Aston with Mercedes-AMG’s turbocharged V8. I’m dribbling at the thought of that.

But not as much as I’m dribbling at the memory of driving the DB11 around Italy’s Mugello race track. I’ve driven Astons on a track before and it’s always felt as if I’m trying to ballet dance in a pair of brogues. You always got the sense that the car was saying: “Really?” The DB11 is a different beast. The chassis was designed by a former Lotus chap who has tuned it for comfort, yes, but not at the expense of everything else. Ooh, that car gripped.

As you’re going along, air is funnelled into ducts behind the rear-side windows and shot out of a narrow vent on the boot lid. When I was told about this invisible air rear wing I thought, “Yeah, right”, but something is keeping the rear end planted so maybe it does work. Maybe Aston really has thought of something new. That’d be a first.

The traction control system isn’t new. But it’s tuned beautifully so it’s gentle in its restraint and progressive when it feels you’re through the bend and the rear tyres are fully able to exploit the 447kW and that mountain of torque. Yet put it in GT mode and it becomes quiet and smooth and very comfortable. If you’re ever in Paris, at a party at 3am, and suddenly remember you are playing in a tennis tournament in Monte Carlo the next day, this is the car for the job. You’d arrive feeling like you’d just got out of the bath.

The upshot of all this is that you feel, for the first time in an Aston, that there’s some real engineering between you and the road. That it’s not just a pretty face. This is a phenomenally good car.

But there is a price to pay, I’m afraid. It has a horrible interior. The door linings in my test car looked like those marble kitchen tops that have too many chintzy bits in them and the steering wheel was square. Who thought that was a good idea?

And that’s a shame because everything else about this car is absolutely delightful. It’s the best Aston yet. And by a very long way.

FAST FACTS ASTON MARTIN DB11

ENGINE: 5.2-litre turbocharged V12 petrol (447kW/700Nm)

AVERAGE FUEL: 11.8 litres per 100km

TRANSMISSION: Eight-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive

PRICE: $395,000

RATING: 4 stars