DBS Won't Scare The 'Bejesus' Out Of You Like A Ferrari F12, Aston Says

Aston Martin’s new DBS Superleggera packs some particularly frightening performance figures. In case you missed the reveal, allow us to fill you in: it’ll do 0-62mph in 3.4 seconds, 0-100mph in 6.4 seconds and top out at 211mph.

The - admittedly quicker - Ferrari 812 seems like the most obvious rival, and indeed the DBS was benchmarked against the Superfast’s predecessor: the F12. But don’t go thinking this fact combined with those strong stats mean the DBS SL is going to be a similarly boisterous beast that’s tricky to tame.

Speaking at a preview event for the car, Aston Martin Chief Engineer Matt Becker (above) didn’t sound particularly enamoured with the way Ferrari’s super GT drove. He said:

“When I arrived at Aston three years ago we had an F12 on our benchmark fleet, a black one, which genuinely scared the bejesus out of everyone. The F12 for me has an amazing engine and transmission, but in terms of the chassis I felt like one end was from one car and the rear was from another car. It didn’t feel like the car was together.

“Everybody who drove it said [it had] ‘fantastic performance but I can’t drive it because I’m actually scared of it.’”

“People were nervous about it because the steering ratio is incredibly fast but it was like the rear axle couldn’t manage that level of response,” he added. The DBS, on the other hand, will be very different in its attitude. “What we’ve developed in this car is something that’s incredibly fast but something that feels almost Vantage-like with its size and responses,” he explained, adding, “The performance figures look very scary, but actually it’s a car you can drive through all different levels of abilities.”

We’ll be finding out how that pans out IRL when we drive the car for the first time next month.