Are the luxury big hitters losing their way with prestige SUV high-riders?

OH BMW what have you done? When the German car-maker revealed it was building its X5 SUV way back in 1999 it started a trend among the prestige brands that is still going to this day.

While almost all the premium names now have some kind of SUV in their ranks, even the most sacred of marques is starting to pay attention.

Later this year Bentley will unveil its Bentayga, Lamborghini is still toying with the idea of its Urus and now even the British sportscar builder Aston Martin is at it.

Aston Martin says the machined aluminium exterior detailing is like the DBX’s jewellery. We say it is pure unadulterated bling.

The hallowed British marque claims the DBX “redefines the luxury GT segment for the 21st century” and was created to broaden the brand’s appeal and to “reach out to a more diverse global audience than ever before”.

In other words, Aston Martin wants a piece of the action in a booming market.

While you may associate the English brand with gorgeous drop-tops packing high-revving naturally aspirated V12 and V8 engines, this Aston breaks the mould in more than just its styling.

The DBX doesn’t have an engine or transmission at all, instead opting for an electric motor in each wheel and drawing power from a lithium-sulphur battery — a material so light it helped achieve the longest and highest altitude electric flight records.

It's a coupe, but also a high-riding SUV, and sportscar, and all electric, but is it an Aston?

Battery range is extended by a kinetic energy recovery system (KERS), while special thinner and lighter auto dimming glass cuts weight, while cameras replace the regular mirrors to reduce drag when at speed, boosting battery life further still.

If braking provided by the KERS isn’t enough then a slightly more conventional carbon-ceramic disc and calliper arrangement will scrub any remaining unwanted velocity. Did we just say ultra-expensive composite brakes were relatively conventional?

A normal steering column has also gone in the bin with steer-by-wire electrics replacing the more commonplace system, freeing up more space for people and things on board.

The DBX's controls are out of this world with all-electronic display, while the lack of a transmission system has freed up leg room with no need for a tunnel or centre console.

While the DBX might be borrowing DNA from the SUV world, it is about as sporty as a high-rider can get, picking up from where BMW and Mercedes arrived with their X6 and GLE Coupe five door models and taking the concept further.

With just two doors and room for four with luggage, the Aston is what the Ferrari FF would be with a jacked-up suspension kit and a more environmentally considerate drivetrain.

Gracing its elegant body is a special paint developed with a “micro-fine layer of chrome” to mimic a black pearl and cannot be achieved with normal coating processes or products, says the car-maker, while the interior is just as opulent.

Visible machining marks in the exterior details shout quality and extravagance while nodding to the company’s obsession with engineering perfection, but the use of unconventional exterior materials continues on the inside too.

Silky Nubuck leather covers a majority of the DBX’s interior, creating a contrast to the tough exterior aesthetics and the brightwork matches the exterior with a laser-like gold pinstripe throughout the cabin.

Whether you like the premise of the DBX or not, its interior can't fail to please with incredible cabin luxury and design.

Appealing to a wider audience is clearly one of the first directives from chief executive Andy Palmer, the former Nissan heavyweight who left the Japanese brand last September after more than two decades of service and promptly set about leading Aston Martin “in its next phase of technology and product creation”.

Mr Palmer describes Aston's development of the DBX as “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,” he said.

“I asked my team at Aston Martin to expand their thinking beyond conventions, to explore what the future of luxury GT motoring would look like in years ahead, and the DBX concept you see before you is the result.”

No tailpipes here. The Aston Martin DBX uses a high-tech battery and four electric motors for power.

He said it was “more than a thought starter for us” but with the caveat: “This is, clearly, not a production-ready sports GT car, but it is a piece of fresh, bold thinking about what Aston Martin GT customers around the world could request of us in the future.”

If a production version does result, no doubt Aston's foray into crossovers will be a spectacular car but in the same way die-hards would turn their nose up at a diesel Ferrari or Caterham hatchback, will one of Britain’s most sacred brands be accepted as an SUV?

Daniel Gardner GoAuto.com.au

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