It is still a beautiful car though, but it arrived second fiddle when everyone knew the AMG power plant is capable of 630hp as shown in the AMG GT63 Four.

“Ah, must’ve been detuned to not overshadow AMGs.”

“An Aston Martin detuned in order to not overshadow a Mercedes-Benz” - this lingers on in the minds of any would be potential buyers.

This is in stark contrasts with:

“Bentayga, the world’s fastest SUV.”

“Urus, the world’s first SUV to hit 300km/h”

But immediately I begin to ponder if the 550 will qualify as our family’s future replacement for our RS6, mainly because:

- It’s slower than our RS6

- It doesn’t have powered doors like our RS6

- Its suspension is more or less comparable to our RS6

I’ll go back to the simple quick answer format for you to refute me then. Given the Bentayga and the Urus are both the more expensive, more luxurious or faster version of the Cayenne:

- The DBX 707 doesn’t look as old as the Bentayga

- The DBX 707 doesn’t look as young as the Urus

Ok that’s a bit hostile and biased, how about this:

- The DBX 707 has a longer wheelbase than the Bentayga

- The DBX 707 is faster than the Urus

The thing is, every single car has its drawbacks, from proletariat concerns of being too expensive to run, or oligarchy concerns of not being luxurious or fast enough to outrun a basic Volvo XC40 EV in the city.

The best car in the world, needs to be able to look good, go fast, go anywhere, comfortable, luxurious, and also mechanically practical to last a lifetime with reasonable upkeep.

Also, it has a 52:48 weight distribution, something the others will not be able to achieve because the DBX’s platform is bespoke, which means it’s not shared with any other car maker.

To justify all my claims above, I flew to Abu Dhabi on a 6 hour flight, waited 5 hours for my next 6 hour flight to Milan, and then flew another 2 hours to Sardinia to drive this Aston Martin DBX 707.

Now, I’ve driven the standard DBX quite a number of times (gonna refer it as the DBX 550 here for easier differentiation) and it is most definitely pretty accomplished considering it’s Aston Martin’s first attempt at an SUV.

Yes, with the arrival of Porsche Cayenne, Lamborghini Urus, Bentley Bentayga; the car making world has inched closer and closer to achieving perfection in car making. These marvels of engineering rides comfortably, takes corners like a hot hatch, has the luggage capacity that can go for a week’s worth of road trip from Porto to Portofino and back, and their drive train of 4.0 V8 twin turbo isn’t rocket science like that of some Swedish FreeValve car with no transmission.

The problem would be, all three are actually the same car. Yes the Cayenne, Urus, Bentayga helmed from the Q7 and Touareg with different herbs and spices added. Not that it’s a bad thing, but that also means certain fundamentals such as the 58 front 42 rear weight balance can’t be altered. And of course knowing your Bentayga and Urus has plenty of Volkswagen parts within is akin to the inconvenient truth of driving a Tesla while working as a manager in a lithium mine.

So what makes you claim the Aston Martin DBX 707 as the perfect car?

And the 707 fixes every single one of our reservations with the DBX. It’s more comfortable than the Bentayga, it’s faster than the Lamborghini Urus, it has an interior luxury level that Lamborghinis or Porsches can only dreamed of, and also an exterior design that makes the Bentayga look senile. The 707 then, is actually the amalgamation of the Urus and Bentayga if you think about it. Those who bought the Urus awed at the sight of Bentayga’s interior appointment while those who bought the Bentayga wished it’s as sexy looking as the Urus - 707 covers both extremes of the spectrum while exceeding it by some more.

Everything that made this possible was a secret meeting Aston Martin had with AMG back in 2020, to make sure Affalterbach allows Gaydon the rights “To do whatever they want to the 4.0 V8 engine” With the blessings in place, they set forth their journey of making the perfect car.

In order to beat the Urus’s 640hp, it had to be 700hp to achieved results that ensures every single drag race produces an unquestionable, reliable, consistent win. Were if they go with 650 or 660hp it would then be risky as test conditions may sometimes vary to negate the slight power one uppence. Moreover, 7 and 0 means something to Aston Martin. Out goes the turbochargers for this and in comes a set of larger, ball bearing turbochargers designed specifically for the DBX 707 to slay the Lamborghini Urus in a drag race and ultimate top speed. And of course, this cannot be done had they not throw away those beautiful daytime running LED cubes with a cutaway in the middle as side air intakes; and enlarged the front grille by 27% in order to suck in 80% more air that’s needed for this car to achieve its 707hp headline figure.

Route

Hotel Cala di Volpe; Villagrande Strisaili; Girasole; Santuario Luche.

Duration

6hr 39mins

Distance

426 km

Description

“Utilising all recommended roads -  SS125, SS129, SP27, SP38 – the route is a combination of curves and straights; taking in dramatic landscapes, and amazing views of both mountain and sea. Experience the true performance of this vehicle. An exhilarating journey awaits you.”

Explore the Sardinian Roads

I get asked this question pretty often. And I always have to drill further to either help myself answer my audience better, or I go down the rabbit hole of plainly questioning them “How much money you have?” Most of the time I’ll go “Do you mean the most memorable car I’ve driven?” Or do you mean “Which is the best car money can buy?” Or you’re actually asking “Which is the most expensive car in the world?” Or “Which is the fastest car?”

To help you understand my dilemma, I’ll give the following some quick answers purely on how I can refute them if someone tells me this is the best car in the world.

Bugatti Chiron

BMW X7

Bentley Bentayga

Rolls Royce Cullinan

Koenigsegg Gemera

Lamborghini Urus

Range Rover

Audi RS6

“Too expensive”

“Ugly”

“Rich looking, but looks like Warren Buffet”

“Can’t corner too”

“Superb, if there are no parking ramps”

“Childish Gundam interior”

“Can’t corner for god’s sake”

“Can’t even do some simple river wading”

Bobby, what’s the best car in this world?

“Oh Bobby, going anywhere means they have to be SUVs right?”

“Sort of, because the only problem with SUVs is the fact that they can’t corner as well right? What if they can?”

In order to beat the Bentayga in comfort under every situation, they threw away the existing dampers, bushings, mountings and redesigned every each of them to give this two tonne leviathan the best chassis response to any road conditions amongst all SUVs. And they’ve also developed a suspension program that allows the vehicle to traverse comfortably on or off road - even in the sportiest Sport Plus setting. It is by no means a softening of the most extreme mode, because stiffening up the car is for when you’re dealing with mass transfer during cornering. And Aston Martin made it clear that the 707 was developed to not go the shortcut of making the car jittery and bumpy to inform you that you’re in Sports Plus mode; but rather taking the long route of tuning the car to perfection where I actually tried going off road in Sports Plus and it is completely comfortable, and yet the car corners like a sports car in this mode when a bent is dealt with.

In order to handle the extra power, the 707 now has a larger diameter, shorter carbon fibre long shaft. In order to deliver the power effectively, they threw away the torque converter and designed a multi plate locking wet clutch to deliver power directly from the engine to the wheels. The e-diff in the rear now has a rating of 1,600Nm to handle the 900Nm torque the car now produces.

The end result is this beautiful driving DBX 707 that flows through corners with its 50:50 weight distribution, carbon ceramic brakes that stops the car in any situation, superb comfort and sound proofing, (rest assured, no fake augmented sounds or programmed pops and crackles) and also, a claimed 3.3 seconds to 100km/h and a top speed of 310km/h - beating every single SUV.

And I verified that Aston Martin is lying. Because on my first trial of doing the launch control on a slightly gravel-y tarmac, I did 3.006 seconds on my first try.

Let that sink in for a moment. That’s Lamborghini Aventador SV territory. So the DBX 707 accelerates like a hypercar in a smooth and linear manner, traverses terrains like how every SUV could, ferries the family in absolute comfort, while the entire cabin is finished in absolutely the best materials one can find in the car making world, which Aston Martin has been famous for.

So this then, is now the most perfect car in the world. The Aston Martin DBX 707.