15 Manliest Cars On The Road
10. Aston Martin DBS
True, the gear stick feels “like a Power Ranger’s leg,” according to Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson.
Regardless of some of Aston Martin’s questionable interior choices, the DBS is perfectly masculine without being vulgar.
With aggressive, beefed-up looks compared to the more svelte DB9, it’s been criticized by some for being too showy and ‘in your face’ for a classic British sports car, but this will hardly matter to anyone enjoying the car’s 4.3-second 0-60 time or imperious long-distance cruising ability. The DBS is a hand-built masterpiece that embodies all the very best qualities of high-end British manufacturing.
The Aston Martin DBS has the same basic Ian Callum-designed body shape as the DB9, but gets its own distinctive look courtesy of wider flared wheel arches and deep cooling ducts set into the long bonnet. There are also chunky sill extensions down the side and a fantastic-looking carbon diffuser at the rear, which hints at the DBR9 GT racing car that inspired the DBS.
Adaptive suspension, a special lightweight aluminum chassis and incredibly powerful carbon-ceramic brakes – not to mention that 510bhp engine – make the DBS a very fine driver’s car indeed. It faces stiff competition from the likes of the Ferrari 599, which delivers a greater sensation of speed and excitement, but the Aston hits back with a truly spectacular exhaust note from around 3,500rpm.
