The Aston Martin DB11: A Supreme GT Car?

As we take a closer look at the Aston Martin DB11, it's hard not to notice one of its most significant advantages - the luggage space issue. While the DB11's boot isn't huge, and you'll need to use the back seats for luggage, it's fine, as long as you lash it down, you can fit a fair amount in there. However, this is where the real test begins - will you be able to handle the muddy conditions that inevitably come with loading up your car? The answer is yes, with a little bit of effort and some careful planning.

The DB11's ride, on the other hand, is truly one of its standout features. It's wonderfully relaxing, like taking a long road trip, where you feel like you're floating across the ground. This is what sets it apart from its competitors - the McLaren, for instance, which may have some similar qualities, but can't quite match the DB11's air of sophistication and refinement. When it comes to handling rough roads, the DB11 truly shines, providing a comfortable ride that leaves you feeling fresh at the end of a journey.

Of course, if you're looking for a GT car that's not just about speed, then McLaren is certainly worth considering. The 570 GT, in particular, has earned its place as one of the top contenders in this category. Its ride is remarkably smooth, and it feels almost... normal. That is, until you start pushing it harder, at which point it reveals a more aggressive side, with its rear spoiler unfolding like an origami-like Transformer. But what truly sets McLaren apart is its willingness to accept that GT cars don't have to be all about performance. They can also be about refinement, comfort, and everyday usability.

The Porsche Panamera Turbo, on the other hand, presents a slightly different take on the GT category. While it's undoubtedly more handsome than the old model, with its sleeker design and more angular lines, it's hard not to see it as the inverse of McLaren - or indeed, Aston Martin. That is, while McLaren and DB11 are both about performance and aggression, the Panamera Turbo is all about comfort, refinement, and luxury. But what sets it apart from other GT cars? For one thing, its massive size means that it's often underestimated by competitors - but don't be fooled! With a 0-60mph time of just 3.4 seconds, this four-seater is no slouch when it comes to performance.

The question remains: what exactly does it mean to be a GT car? Is it purely about speed and performance, or can it also encompass comfort, refinement, and everyday usability? The answer, in our opinion, lies somewhere in between. While McLaren's 570 GT may not be the most comfortable ride, its willingness to accept that GT cars don't have to be all about performance makes it a more credible contender in this category. And what of Aston Martin, then? For us, they represent one end of the spectrum - a GT car that is unapologetically about speed and performance, but also has a certain... je ne sais quoi.

As for Porsche, their Panamera Turbo presents an interesting case study. While it may not be seen as a GT car in the classical sense (due to its four seats, styling, etc.), we can't help but see it as possibly one of the most broadly talented cars on sale today. Whether or not it fits the bill as a true GT is up for debate - but one thing's for sure: it's an absolute joy to drive, with a ride that's both smooth and responsive.

The end result, then, is that we can no longer view the GT category in such straightforward terms. What does it mean to be a GT car? Is it purely about performance and aggression, or can it encompass comfort, refinement, and everyday usability? The answer lies somewhere in between - but one thing's for sure: these three cars have left us with more questions than answers. And that's what makes them so fascinating!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwhat do you think of when somebody says the letters g t Guatemala perhaps Gay Times gin and tonic or perhaps you think of a certain motoring television program edit that out or them well I think of a car like this the rather wonderful DB1 the GT car the Grand Turismo seems like a staple of the motoring landscape it's been around since well about the 1920s really and yet the genre has never really been tied down we know that this this Aston Martin is a GT car front engine rear wheel drive two doors capable of doing long distances but also being fun when you reach your destination that's in essence what I think of when I think of a GT car but others well they think the formula can be stretched a little people like McLaren the 570 GT is let's face it the better looking sibling to the 570s that sleer rear just makes the whole car more cohesive Under the Skin however the same turbocharged 3.8 L V8 still pumps out 562 brake horsepower and 443 LT of torque and the top speed remains an impressive 204 miles hour in the McLaren you just feel so much closer to your surroundings out here not just cuz of the Airy cockpit but you're right in the front of the nose it's it's much more like being in fighter G it is properly fastest as well it's in a different lead to the Aston I have to say don't think they've softened the GT in terms of performance What a Feeling So we know that the McLaren can do the sports car bit of course it should be able to do that but can it do the other side of the GT thing could I imagine myself doing a really long journey in one of these well yes and I have I mean I drove it up here but to me the 570 GT is much more like the original mp412c which was a car that well owners loved it as well because you could use it not only every day but you didn't mind going on Long Journeys with it yes there are obviously things that well make it a little less sort of easy to live with getting into it for a start there's obviously the luggage space issue as well although to be honest the Aston Martin's boot isn't huge and fine you can use the back seats for luggage but this you know they you can fit a fair amount in the front and as long as you lash it down then you can put some stuff on this rear shelf as well through the hatch which we get inevitably muddy as you lean over to put stuff in there but it's fine just lash it down you don't want tins of baked beans flying around one of the things that obviously marks the db11 a as the Supreme GT car is its ride it's just wonderfully relaxing that sort of long limed feel and the McLaren can actually compete on that front you might not expect it but nice city feel it just it floats across the ground it's it's still a sports car but it has this air of being able to cope with rough roads extremely well and so you get to the end of a journey and you don't feel beaten up and I think that is absolutely key to what potentially makes this a credible GT car of course if McLaren can claim that this is a GT car then why not stretch it in the other direction as well why not think of something like the new Porsche Panamera turbo the big Porsche four-door has more torque than both the 570 GT and the DB1 putting out 542 brake horsepower and 568 foot its new 4 L twin turbo V8 all panamas now come with four-wheel drive and pdk gearboxes while this turbo also has rear wheel steer and a new three chamber air suspension system inside you have ious black panel surfaces haptic buttons and an enormous and very attractive 12.3 in touchcreen of course confusingly Porsche has a GT cars department but I suppose in sort of you know showing just how confusing the whole GT thing is their GT cars are to do with the race side of things GT regulations so they're not the sort of GT cars we're talking about here at all of course some might say that a GT needs to be all beautiful and and the Panamera well I mean it's more handsome than the old one it's got more of the sort of Porsche fordor thing going on but pretty clearly the Porsche Panamera is sort of the inverse really of the McLaren it's clearly a lovely thing to do long Journeys in it's just Sumptuous here wonderfully comfortable and you have all this amazing technology to fill your time but is it a sports car well you twist this here through Sport and then Sport Plus I think you get the answer given all the hardware it's no surprise that the Porsche weighs over 2 tons and as such you might expect it to lag behind the Aston and the McLaren in terms of performance but not a bit of it this 5 m long car can haul itself from a standstill to 60 mph in just 3.4 seconds which is half a second quicker than the Aston that is ludicrously fast yes yes I know that's probably not the adverb to use but I don't see why Tesla should have the Monopoly on it anyway in many respects the Turnin is actually sharper than the McLaren's as well this is a big four seater that thinks it's a sports car it's Madness and of course when you don't get the race of the other cars you do get that rear spoiler I mean the deployment of it is just it's almost worth the price of the car alone it's so fun you almost want to be in a car behind it just so you can watch it unfolding origami like Transformer like did I mention the rear spoiler of course what the paname does have on its side it's back there where you've got two extra seats I mean proper seats I mean I know the asin's got seats but but they really are only for occasional use of course you might not be particularly sociable you might not want to carry two extra people everywhere you go with you so you could just use the extra luggage go further carry some skis more underwear sheep sheep sheep which is what carbon camic breaks are for sheep so what have we learned after our day up on the North York Ms F sheep or stupid well yes I think the GT category can be expanded McLaren to me yes you have to accept a little more intimacy with your surroundings in the road but I I like the way you can do do long distances in it it's not a classic GT like the Aston but a GT yes I think you can view it in those terms the Panamera that I find harder to see I think and to be fair you know Porsche is not really selling it as a GT it was my idea but perhaps it's the four seats perhaps it's the The Styling of it I don't know a GT no but what I think it is is possibly the most broadly talented car on sale todaywhat do you think of when somebody says the letters g t Guatemala perhaps Gay Times gin and tonic or perhaps you think of a certain motoring television program edit that out or them well I think of a car like this the rather wonderful DB1 the GT car the Grand Turismo seems like a staple of the motoring landscape it's been around since well about the 1920s really and yet the genre has never really been tied down we know that this this Aston Martin is a GT car front engine rear wheel drive two doors capable of doing long distances but also being fun when you reach your destination that's in essence what I think of when I think of a GT car but others well they think the formula can be stretched a little people like McLaren the 570 GT is let's face it the better looking sibling to the 570s that sleer rear just makes the whole car more cohesive Under the Skin however the same turbocharged 3.8 L V8 still pumps out 562 brake horsepower and 443 LT of torque and the top speed remains an impressive 204 miles hour in the McLaren you just feel so much closer to your surroundings out here not just cuz of the Airy cockpit but you're right in the front of the nose it's it's much more like being in fighter G it is properly fastest as well it's in a different lead to the Aston I have to say don't think they've softened the GT in terms of performance What a Feeling So we know that the McLaren can do the sports car bit of course it should be able to do that but can it do the other side of the GT thing could I imagine myself doing a really long journey in one of these well yes and I have I mean I drove it up here but to me the 570 GT is much more like the original mp412c which was a car that well owners loved it as well because you could use it not only every day but you didn't mind going on Long Journeys with it yes there are obviously things that well make it a little less sort of easy to live with getting into it for a start there's obviously the luggage space issue as well although to be honest the Aston Martin's boot isn't huge and fine you can use the back seats for luggage but this you know they you can fit a fair amount in the front and as long as you lash it down then you can put some stuff on this rear shelf as well through the hatch which we get inevitably muddy as you lean over to put stuff in there but it's fine just lash it down you don't want tins of baked beans flying around one of the things that obviously marks the db11 a as the Supreme GT car is its ride it's just wonderfully relaxing that sort of long limed feel and the McLaren can actually compete on that front you might not expect it but nice city feel it just it floats across the ground it's it's still a sports car but it has this air of being able to cope with rough roads extremely well and so you get to the end of a journey and you don't feel beaten up and I think that is absolutely key to what potentially makes this a credible GT car of course if McLaren can claim that this is a GT car then why not stretch it in the other direction as well why not think of something like the new Porsche Panamera turbo the big Porsche four-door has more torque than both the 570 GT and the DB1 putting out 542 brake horsepower and 568 foot its new 4 L twin turbo V8 all panamas now come with four-wheel drive and pdk gearboxes while this turbo also has rear wheel steer and a new three chamber air suspension system inside you have ious black panel surfaces haptic buttons and an enormous and very attractive 12.3 in touchcreen of course confusingly Porsche has a GT cars department but I suppose in sort of you know showing just how confusing the whole GT thing is their GT cars are to do with the race side of things GT regulations so they're not the sort of GT cars we're talking about here at all of course some might say that a GT needs to be all beautiful and and the Panamera well I mean it's more handsome than the old one it's got more of the sort of Porsche fordor thing going on but pretty clearly the Porsche Panamera is sort of the inverse really of the McLaren it's clearly a lovely thing to do long Journeys in it's just Sumptuous here wonderfully comfortable and you have all this amazing technology to fill your time but is it a sports car well you twist this here through Sport and then Sport Plus I think you get the answer given all the hardware it's no surprise that the Porsche weighs over 2 tons and as such you might expect it to lag behind the Aston and the McLaren in terms of performance but not a bit of it this 5 m long car can haul itself from a standstill to 60 mph in just 3.4 seconds which is half a second quicker than the Aston that is ludicrously fast yes yes I know that's probably not the adverb to use but I don't see why Tesla should have the Monopoly on it anyway in many respects the Turnin is actually sharper than the McLaren's as well this is a big four seater that thinks it's a sports car it's Madness and of course when you don't get the race of the other cars you do get that rear spoiler I mean the deployment of it is just it's almost worth the price of the car alone it's so fun you almost want to be in a car behind it just so you can watch it unfolding origami like Transformer like did I mention the rear spoiler of course what the paname does have on its side it's back there where you've got two extra seats I mean proper seats I mean I know the asin's got seats but but they really are only for occasional use of course you might not be particularly sociable you might not want to carry two extra people everywhere you go with you so you could just use the extra luggage go further carry some skis more underwear sheep sheep sheep which is what carbon camic breaks are for sheep so what have we learned after our day up on the North York Ms F sheep or stupid well yes I think the GT category can be expanded McLaren to me yes you have to accept a little more intimacy with your surroundings in the road but I I like the way you can do do long distances in it it's not a classic GT like the Aston but a GT yes I think you can view it in those terms the Panamera that I find harder to see I think and to be fair you know Porsche is not really selling it as a GT it was my idea but perhaps it's the four seats perhaps it's the The Styling of it I don't know a GT no but what I think it is is possibly the most broadly talented car on sale today\n"