Strictly speaking, our ultimate sportscar is not even a sportscar. Its maker prefers to call it a super-GT, which is presumably a polite way of describing a luxurious, front-engined, intercontinental, single-carriage, drop-top 2+2 express train. Yet whatever you choose to call it, this British stunner is thoroughly deserving of an Ultimate accolade.
For starters, the Aston Martin DBS Superleggera Volante can sprint to 100km/h faster than you can say its name. Then there is its positioning, bridging the gap between the Ferrari 812 Superfast and the Bentley Continental GTC. It is a niche so narrow that it borders on brilliant, and Aston has crossed that divide with a car that simply oozes sex appeal. Indeed, we would go so far as to call it the best-looking car on the market today; if ever a vehicle deserved to be enshrined on a bedroom wall, this is the one.
Best of all, you cannot help but admire how Aston Martin said to hell with engine downsizing and squeezed in a mightily sonorous 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12. It serves up a mind-blowing 712bhp and a tarmac-ripping 900Nm of torque, the latter available from just 1,800rpm.
So while Aston Martin presses ahead with its Second Century Plan, putting the finishing touches to its all-important new DBX and the mid-engined Vanquish that Daniel Craig is set to drive in the next instalment of James Bond, this full-blooded DBS Superleggera proves the marque has not lost the slightest touch with its past. Bravo indeed.
