A thing I personally did not ask for—but perhaps many others did—is a more powerful Aston Martin SUV. The regular, 542-horsepower DBX seemed adequate enough to me. But I am wrong, it seems. Reader, meet the new 2023 Aston Martin DBX707, here with a thundering 707 PS (or 697 hp) and a price tag north of $200,000.
Even just looking at it, you can tell this isn’t a standard DBX. The DBX707 has a bigger front grille, a front splitter, new brake cooling ducts, and new air intakes. There are glossy black side sills tracing down its left and right. Around back, there’s a new lip spoiler on top of the roof wing (this is not the place to ask why an SUV needs a rear wing), a new rear bumper with integrated panel vents, and a frankly giant rear diffuser with quad-exhaust pipes.
Inside, it’s pretty standard DBX stuff, with 16-way adjustable seats and choices of Alcantara or leather and dark chrome, bright chrome, or carbon fiber switchgear.
The familiar 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V8 powers the DBX707, but in this case it’s been re-tuned to produce a claimed 697 hp and 663 pound-feet of torque. That power is transferred to all four wheels via a nine-speed “wet clutch” automatic transmission that Aston says shifts faster and feels more direct and immediate. The car will hit 60 mph from zero in 3.1 seconds and has a maximum speed of 193 mph.
In terms of handling, the DBX707 has an updated electronic limited-slip rear differential to withstand the extra power; the car is able to send 100 percent of its torque to the rear wheels. And rounding off the handling is a reworked suspension system. The triple-chamber air suspension is still present, but Aston adjusted the springs, gave the car new damper valving, and improved the steering feel to provide some more weight off-center. Stopping power comes from a standard set of carbon-ceramic brakes, 16.5 inches in the front and 15.4 inches in the rear. Wheels? Twenty-two inches as standard, though you can go bigger (you can always go bigger) with an optional set of 23-inch alloys.
Aston calls the DBX707 “the world’s most powerful luxury SUV” which, at first, I balked at. Have we forgotten that the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk exists? But if you don’t consider the Jeep a luxury SUV, then I think Aston’s right on this one. The Rolls-Royce Cullinan makes 563 hp, the Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S Coupe makes 603 hp, the Bentley Bentayga makes 626 hp, the Lamborghini Urus makes 641 hp, and the Porsche Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid is at 670 hp.
Aston Martin boss Tobias Moers said during a roundtable interview that the brand was “probably” going to chase a Nürburgring SUV record in the DBX707 at some point. Currently, that record stands at 7:38.925 minutes and is held by a Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT.
The new Aston Martin DBX707 will start at $232,000, which doesn’t include destination fees. Deliveries will start during the second quarter of this year.
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