Dr Palmer had already referred to plans during his presentation at the Walter Hayes Lecture in January 2015 to offer a broader range of Aston Martins to appeal to discerning customers other than affluent, successful middle aged men. The DBX Conceot represents such a car to attract more female owners as well as younger drivers. The idea behind concept began on only the fourth day of Dr Palmers time as CEO and was completed within only 5 months.
“Aston Martin must be less dependent on a narrow portfolio and one type of customer,” Mr Palmer said at the 2015 Geneva press conference.
Created to defy conventional thinking about the luxury GT segment, the DBX Concept has the potential to widen the appeal of the iconic British marque and reaches out to a more diverse global audience than ever before. In fact the design team had a very clear focus on creating a car to a particular woman customer, mid 30’s, style conscious, successful and wealthy, living in Silicon Valley and called ‘Charlotte’.
Unveiling the concept, Aston Martin CEO Dr Andy Palmer said: “The DBX Concept is a challenge to the existing status quo in the high luxury GT segment. It envisages a world, perhaps a world not too far away, when luxury GT travel is not only stylish and luxurious but also more practical, more family-friendly and more environmentally responsible.”
Clearly signalling an extension to the brand’s existing model lines in the future, the all-wheel drive DBX Concept seamlessly combines traditional Aston Martin beauty with elegant new engineering that gracefully aligns form and function.
Capable of accommodating four adults in comfort, the DBX Concept also majors on day-to-day practicality. It offers generous luggage capacity by virtue of the fact that its rear trunk and forward load bay can both accept passengers’ belongings.
Embracing the very latest engineering techniques and theories, the DBX Concept needs no engine compartment thanks to its use of electric, inboard-of-wheel, motors powered by lithium sulphur cells mounted low down along the spine of the chassis. It even features an array of solar panels on the rear parcel shelf to capture the suns energy to help keep the batteries topped up.
Drive-by-wire electric steering, toughened glass with an auto-dimming ‘smart glass’ inter-layer, and bespoke driver and passenger head-up displays are further examples of its cutting edge technology.
Active LED exterior lights, carbon ceramic brakes with a kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) and rear view cameras in place of conventional mirrors also underline the mould-breaking nature of this luxury GT concept.
The production DBX was not anticipated to closely follow this concept and indeed when it is seen in 2019, it was nothing like it. It had a petrol engine and it also had four doors. But the new car was called the DBX it had 4 wheel drive and it was built in Wales. Below are pictures of the repainted DBX Concept, some at the St Athan AMOC Spring Concours in 2017 shortly after the vast facility was taken over by AML. As you can see by the Hercules transport plane, the St Athan hangers are seriously big.
