In February of 2021, Aston Martin—maker of thundering grand tourers and sports cars— declared that they were going green. They took a knee and promised the world that 90% of their cars would be electrified by 2030.
Fast forward to the present day and Aston has just unveiled a new variant of their DBX SUV and it’s powered by... a gas-guzzling 4.0-litre V8. No, I don’t understand how this aligns with their environmentally friendly aspirations either.
![](https://cdn.getmidnight.com/1f58ea4f8b06f966b8ee5183098ad20f/2022/02/2-4.jpg)
It’s called the DBX707 and with 520kW (707PS) bursting under its bulging bonnet it can lay claim to being the world’s most powerful luxury SUV. And you know what? I could not care less.
Every time I try to appreciate the DBX707 as an engineering achievement (creating a 2000+kg SUV capable of 0-100km/h in 3.3 seconds is no small feat) I catch a glimpse of its gargantuan grille and a little bit of sick rises into my mouth.
![](https://cdn.getmidnight.com/1f58ea4f8b06f966b8ee5183098ad20f/2022/02/4-5.jpg)
I have no reason to doubt Aston’s claim that the larger satin chrome grille is necessary to increase airflow to the twin-turbocharged V8 and new 9-speed automatic transmission, but I do not understand why it had to look so ghastly. It is a monstrously hideous piece of design that makes the DBX707 look for all the world like a cheese-grate with wheels. And that’s just the front of the car. Don’t get me started on the melting rear end with its drooping tail-lights and ridiculous diffuser. What a distasteful thing.
What were they thinking?
![](https://cdn.getmidnight.com/1f58ea4f8b06f966b8ee5183098ad20f/2022/02/1-5.jpg)