The Aston Martin DBX is a design study to showcase a possible future coupe crossover from the British luxury marque. But it’s not your ordinary crossover.
While the DBX concept wasn’t a marketing-led exercise, the global SUV market has matured a great deal in these last few years. The objective with the DBX was to take the best elements of the SUV typology and combine this with Aston Martin’s know-how in developing luxury GTs. But it was also an opportunity to showcase a new package, built from the ground up and propelled by in-wheel electric motors powered by lithium-sulfur cells.
Billed as a luxury GT, the four-passenger, all-wheel drive design study features characteristic Aston Martin design cues wrapped in a crossover concept cloak and with subtle treatments to differentiate the exterior design.
Though the front grille retains Aston Martin’s iconic brand identity – albeit with a stronger S-curve at the sides, which helps form the body shape – the slender headlamps are supplemented by additional lighting in the lower fascia, the side strake is subtly reinterpreted, and a machined aluminum cant rail hovers over the greenhouse, as seen on the DB100 Vision Gran Turismo.
With a very sleek profile, the DBX concept’s 250mm ground clearance is similar to that of the Porsche Macan. “It was very important for us that the car instantly conveys the material stories and great proportions, [elements] which aren’t always there in SUVs today,” says exterior chief designer Miles Nurnberger. “We’re trying to make the car robust on its wheels.”
The DBX concept has a decidedly strong stance, emphasized by its strong wheel arches, while short overhangs and a boat tail rear end lend a very sporty and athletic appearance to the vehicle’s profile.
At the rear the surfacing is very simple and elegant, tapering in from the bodysides. It’s clear Aston’s design team has also been playing with lighting technologies, with the lamps appearing as sculptural pieces devoid of a traditional cover. The deconstructed appearance features blades encased in a chrome bezel with a sublime three-dimensional quality to the aesthetic.
