The new base version of the Aston Martin DB11 is powered by a 4,0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine, courtesy of the folks over at Mercedes-AMG. In fact, it’s the first model to gain an Affalterbach-built engine after the British automaker struck a deal with the German brand.
But the Gaydon-based automaker says it put plenty of effort into making the V8 model – which is positioned below the 5,2-litre twin-turbocharged V12 variant – sound a whole lot less like an AMG and more like a proper Aston.
“Most petrol-heads will probably hear an AMG coming before they see an AMG coming,” Simon Croft, senior manager of global launch strategy at Aston Martin, told AutoGuide.
“But it has an engine character sound that isn’t in line with what an Aston Martin V8 would be.”
So, how did Aston Martin change the sound of the eight-cylinder unit, which produces 375 kW and 675 N.m? Well, Croft told the publication that the brand’s engineers fettled various intake and exhaust elements, but left the cylinder block well alone.
“So, if you look at a sonograph of an [AMG] engine, you see it generates its main noise very low down in the frequencies; it’s a bass-heavy engine. That is not an Aston characteristic that is in tune with us and our brand,” said Croft.
“We need to move that dominant sound up into the frequency range,” he added, explaining that this resulted in a wail rather than an AMG growl.
“Changing the way the air goes in, changing the way the exhaust gasses and the sound is coming out, changing the engine management system, changing the throttle progression — those enable us to give it an Aston character rather than the AMG character,” he explained.
Listen to the V8-powered DB11 in the video below and judge for yourself…
