Aston Martin DBS Superleggera review: the last of the truly analogue flagships
4.4/5motorssouq Editorial Team
This is the car to buy if you want the most powerful, most dramatic front-engined Aston Martin sold before hybridisation changed the flagship recipe, and you have already made peace with the ownership realities of a low-volume British V12 in a hot climate with no local dealer. It delivers on the promise of the badge more completely than almost anything else Aston has built.
Pros
- 715 hp twin-turbo V12 makes it the most powerful front-engined Aston sold before hybrid power
- Carbon-fibre body genuinely saves weight rather than being a cosmetic gesture
- 0–100 km/h in 3.4 seconds and a 340 km/h-plus top speed rival mid-engined supercars
- Extreme rarity on Bahraini roads is precisely the appeal for its buyers
Cons
- No factory-authorised dealer in Bahrain; import logistics and UAE-based servicing are the norm
- Front splitter ground clearance demands real caution on speed bumps and steep ramps
- Body parts after an accident can mean a genuinely long wait given local rarity
- 900 Nm of low-rev torque is a lot of car for casual daily driving
Superleggera — "super light" in Italian, a nod to the Touring coachbuilding technique Aston Martin used in the 1950s and 60s — is not a marketing flourish here. The DBS's body panels are carbon fibre rather than the DB11's aluminium, and the whole car is around 72 kg lighter than the model it sits above despite carrying a significantly more powerful engine.
That engine is the DB11's 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12 turned up to 715 hp and 900 Nm, available from just 1,800 rpm — a genuinely violent amount of torque for a front-engined GT, and one that demands real respect from the driver rather than being fully tamed by the electronics. 0–100 km/h arrives in 3.4 seconds and the top speed clears 340 km/h, figures that put it closer to a mid-engined supercar than a traditional grand tourer.
What that means day to day
It is, unsurprisingly, not a relaxed car in the way a DB11 can be. The steering is quick, the exhaust is loud even in its quietest mode, and driving it gently in Manama traffic feels faintly absurd — this is a car that wants a clear road and a driver willing to use a fraction of what it has. Ground clearance and the width of the front carbon splitter also mean genuine care over speed bumps and steep driveway ramps, both of which Bahrain has no shortage of.
Ownership in Bahrain
As with every current-era Aston, there is no factory-authorised dealer on the island. Buyers either import through the UAE network or arrange private import and lean on the small number of independent specialists capable of servicing this generation's electronics and the V12's cooling demands. Given the rarity of the car locally, sourcing body parts after an accident can mean a genuinely long wait — this is a car to drive carefully, not aggressively, on public roads.