DBS 770 Ultimate waves farewell to Aston's flagship

First off, there’s no V12 Vantage-style aggression and frippery here. This is a grand tourer and as such, retains its elegance. Telltales are in the honeycomb grilles, as well as the exit vents atop the wings bookending the bonnet-spanning item. The diffuser and splitter are also a touch deeper. There are also some lovely honeycomb wheels, as seen on the Valkyrie and one-off Victor hypercars, as well as a number of Aston’s special ‘Q’ builds. 

Now five years old almost, the DBS is still a handsome beast and loses none of that class in 770 Ultimate form, visually at least. The 770 Ultimate will also be built in both Coupe and Volante guises, of which 300 and 199 will be built respectively. All, predictably, are sold.

Let’s get to the name. Like the DBX 707, the DBS 770 Ultimate’s name refers to power, specifically 770PS (566kW) at 6,500rpm and 900Nm (664lb ft) of torque between 1,800 and 5,000rpm. That comes from modified air inlets, a seven per cent increase in boost and a careful tune. The car’s ZF eight-speed transmission gets a more aggressive tune for faster shifts. The results are 0-62mph in 3.4 seconds on the way to a 211mph top speed.

Aston has worked carefully on the car’s driving dynamics too, solidly mounting the steering column for improved feel, while front-end lateral stiffness has been boosted by 25 per cent, with a modified cross member and underfloor. 

On the inside, sports plus seats are trimmed in ‘fluted’ quilt Alcantara and semi-aniline leather, while the performance seat – yes that carbon shell job seen in the V12 Vantage – is an option. For our grand tourer, we’ll pass. There are plenty of Ultimate logos and of course, the lucky 499 buyers will each have a near-limitless opportunity to customise their spec.

The DBS 770 Ultimate is described as the last of the current serious production flagship, which doesn’t entirely rule out a heavily-revised facelift following the conclusion of 770 deliveries. They start in Q3 2023, so here’s hoping we see a new DBS in the not too distant future. As for the price of the Ultimate? Given the standard car knocks on the door of £300,000, we expect buyers to be paying no less.