Aston Martin DBS

Aston Martin DBS: which version to buy

The Aston Martin DBS has 3 generations and 8 versions. If you are choosing one, the split is arithmetic, not branding: third-generation 5.2 AT cars make 715–770 hp from 5204 cc with Turbo; second-generation 5.9 MT and 5.9 AT cars make 517 hp from 5935 cc with no boost; the first-generation 5.3 MT makes 286 hp from 5341 cc. All listed versions are rear-wheel drive.

The Aston Martin DBS has 3 generations and 8 versions. If you are choosing one, the split is arithmetic, not branding: third-generation 5.2 AT cars make 715–770 hp from 5204 cc with Turbo; second-generation 5.9 MT and 5.9 AT cars make 517 hp from 5935 cc with no boost; the first-generation 5.3 MT makes 286 hp from 5341 cc. All listed versions are rear-wheel drive. Body type is Cabrio from 2007 onward and Coupe in 1967–1972. Production windows in the data are 1967-10-01–1972-05-31, 2007-01-01–2012-12-31, and 2018-01-01 with no end date.

That is the buying map. The rest of this page compares those eight rows so a specs search, an engine search, and a “which DBS” search land on the same numbers.

Generations compared: what each DBS generation changed

3 generation (from 2018-01-01, still listed as current) is a Cabrio with 3 versions, all named 5.2 AT. Displacement is 5204 cc, layout is 12 cylinders, V-shaped, 4 valves per cylinder, Front, longitudinal, Direct injection (direct), fuel grade 98, gearbox Automatic with 8 gears, drive RWD, Euro 6. Kerb weight is 1693 kg on every row. Ground clearance is 90 mm. Wheels are 265/35 R21 and 305/30 R21. Brakes are Ceramic ventilated front and rear. Suspension is Independent, spring at both ends. What changes between the three 5.2 AT cars is power (715 vs 770 hp), peak-power rpm (6400 vs 6500), compression (9.2 vs 9.3), 0–100 (3.4 vs 3.6 s), top speed (211, 287, 340 km/h), mixed consumption (only one row measured), and CO2 (285, 309, or not measured).

2 generation (2007-01-01–2012-12-31) is a Cabrio with 4 versions: two 5.9 MT and two 5.9 AT, all 517 hp / 380 kW at 6500 rpm, 570 Nm at 5750 rpm, 5935 cc, Gasoline, 12 cylinders, V-shaped, 4 valves, boost No, Front, longitudinal, Distributed injection (multi-point), compression 10.9, bore × stroke 89 × 79.5, fuel 98, 6 gears, RWD. 0–100 is 4.3 s on all four. Ground clearance is 110 mm. Tank is 80 l. Wheels are 245/35 R20 and 295/30 R20. Same independent spring suspension and ceramic ventilated brakes as generation 3. The four rows split by gearbox, kerb weight (1695, 1810, 1850 kg), gross weight (1895 or 2010 kg), top speed (295, 305, 307 km/h), and consumption/CO2.

1 generation (1967-10-01–1972-05-31) is a Coupe with 1 version: 5.3 MT, 286 hp / 210 kW, 543 Nm at 4500 rpm, 5341 cc, Gasoline, 8 cylinders, V-shaped, 2 valves, boost No, Front, longitudinal, injection not measured, compression 9, bore × stroke 100 × 85, fuel not measured, Manual 5 gears, RWD. 0–100 is 6 s, top speed 261 km/h. Tank 95 l. Clearance 140 mm. Rear suspension is Dependent, spring. Brakes are Disc front and rear. Wheels not measured. Kerb and gross weight not measured.

Cross-generation change in one line: engine size went 5341 → 5935 → 5204 cc; peak power 286 → 517 → 715–770 hp; 0–100 6.0 → 4.3 → 3.4–3.6 s; best listed top speed 261 → 307 → 340 km/h; clearance 140 → 110 → 90 mm; gears 5 → 6 → 8.

Aston Martin DBS engine specs and version table

Power per litre (hp ÷ displacement in litres) is the cleanest way to rank the V12 and V8 rows without inventing engine names.

The two 5.2 AT 770 hp rows share displacement, torque, kerb weight, drive, and gearbox. They differ by 100 rpm of peak power (6400 vs 6500), compression 9.2 vs 9.3, 0–100 3.6 vs 3.4 s, top speed 211 vs 340 km/h, mixed consumption 13.5 L/100 km vs not measured, and CO2 309 g/km vs not measured.

The 5.2 AT 715 hp row keeps 900 Nm and 3.4 s to 100 km/h but drops 55 hp versus either 770 hp 5.2 AT. Specific output falls 10.57 hp/L (147.96 − 137.39). Top speed is 287 km/h — 53 km/h below the 340 km/h 5.2 AT and 76 km/h above the 211 km/h 5.2 AT.

Generation 2’s 5.9 engine is 731 cc larger than generation 3’s 5.2 (5935 − 5204) and 253 hp weaker than the 770 hp 5.2 AT (770 − 517). Torque peak is 330 Nm lower (900 − 570) and arrives at 5750 rpm instead of the 1800–5000 window on the Turbo 5.2 AT. Compression is higher: 10.9 versus 9.2–9.3.

The 5.3 MT is the only 8-cylinder DBS in this dataset. It is 231 hp below the weakest generation-2 5.9 (517 − 286) and 429–484 hp below generation 3. Torque 543 Nm is only 27 Nm below generation 2’s 570 Nm, but it is 357 Nm below generation 3’s 900 Nm.

Horsepower search terms (2007/2008/2009/2010/2012 DBS, Superleggera, 2023, V12) collapse onto these three peaks: 286, 517, 715/770. There is no other hp figure in the data.

Performance and economy: 0–100, top speed, mpg-style consumption

Fastest 0–100 in the catalogue: 3.4 s on the 5.2 AT 770 hp @ 6500 and the 5.2 AT 715 hp. The 5.2 AT 770 hp @ 6400 is 0.2 s slower at 3.6 s. All four generation-2 versions are 4.3 s — 0.9 s slower than 3.4 s and 0.7 s slower than 3.6 s. The 5.3 MT is 6 s, 1.7 s slower than generation 2 and 2.6 s slower than the quickest generation 3.

Highest listed top speed: 340 km/h (5.2 AT 770 hp @ 6500). Then 307 km/h (lighter 5.9 MT and lighter 5.9 AT), 305 km/h (heavier 5.9 MT), 295 km/h (heavier 5.9 AT), 287 km/h (5.2 AT 715 hp), 261 km/h (5.3 MT), 211 km/h (5.2 AT 770 hp @ 6400). The 211 km/h 5.2 AT is 129 km/h slower than the other 770 hp 5.2 AT despite matching 770 hp, 900 Nm, and 1693 kg. That gap is the largest performance split among same-name versions.

Fuel consumption, where measured:

• 5.2 AT 770 hp @ 6400: mixed 13.5 L/100 km; city not measured; highway not measured; CO2 309 g/km.
• 5.2 AT 770 hp @ 6500: city, highway, mixed, and CO2 all not measured.
• 5.2 AT 715 hp: city, highway, mixed not measured; CO2 285 g/km — 24 g/km below the 309 g/km 5.2 AT.
• Heavier 5.9 MT and lighter 5.9 MT: city 24.3, highway 11.7, mixed 16.4, CO2 388 g/km.
• Heavier 5.9 AT and lighter 5.9 AT: city 24.2, highway 10.5, mixed 15.5, CO2 367 g/km.

Automatic generation-2 cars use 0.9 L/100 km less mixed fuel than the manuals (16.4 − 15.5) and emit 21 g/km less CO2 (388 − 367). Highway gap is 1.2 L/100 km (11.7 − 10.5). City gap is 0.1 L/100 km.

Versus the only measured generation-3 mixed figure: 13.5 vs 15.5–16.4 is 2.0–2.9 L/100 km less for that 5.2 AT. Eco class is Euro 6 on all three generation-3 versions and not measured on generations 1 and 2.

5.3 MT consumption and CO2: not measured.

Aston Martin DBS weight, dimensions, tank, wheels, clearance

Weight distribution is not measured on any version. What is measured is kerb weight, and on generation 2 also gross weight.

Kerb weight (kg)

• All three 5.2 AT: 1693.
• Lighter 5.9 MT and lighter 5.9 AT: 1695 — 2 kg more than generation 3.
• Heavier 5.9 MT: 1810 — 117 kg more than 1693.
• Heavier 5.9 AT: 1850 — 157 kg more than 1693.
• 5.3 MT: not measured.

kg per hp (kerb ÷ hp):

• 5.2 AT 770 hp: 1693 / 770 = 2.20 kg/hp.
• 5.2 AT 715 hp: 1693 / 715 = 2.37 kg/hp.
• 5.9 at 1695 kg: 1695 / 517 = 3.28 kg/hp.
• 5.9 MT at 1810 kg: 3.50 kg/hp.
• 5.9 AT at 1850 kg: 3.58 kg/hp.

The lightest generation-2 cars are almost the same mass as generation 3 but carry 1.08 kg more per horsepower than the 770 hp 5.2 AT (3.28 − 2.20).

Gross weight: 2010 kg on the 1810 kg 5.9 MT and 1850 kg 5.9 AT; 1895 kg on both 1695 kg 5.9 cars. Payload by subtraction: 200 kg (1810), 160 kg (1850), 200 kg (1695/1895). Generation 3 and generation 1 gross weight: not measured.

Ground clearance: 90 mm (generation 3), 110 mm (generation 2, +20 mm), 140 mm (5.3 MT, +50 mm vs generation 3).

Tank: 80 l on all four 5.9 versions; 95 l on 5.3 MT (+15 l); generation 3 not measured.

Wheels: generation 3 265/35 R21 and 305/30 R21; generation 2 245/35 R20 and 295/30 R20; generation 1 not measured. Front width +20 mm and rear +10 mm from gen 2 to gen 3, plus one inch of rim diameter.

Length/width/height: not measured. “DBS dimensions” and “DBS size” in this dataset are clearance, wheels, tank, and mass — not overall length.

Which version to choose

Use the numbers. There is no price field here, so “what the extra money buys” is read as what extra hp, Nm, seconds, and kg you get when you step between rows.

If the goal is the lowest 0–100 and the highest listed top speed: 5.2 AT 770 hp @ 6500 rpm, 3 generation. It matches the 5.2 AT 715 hp at 3.4 s but adds 55 hp and 53 km/h of top speed (340 − 287). Mixed consumption and CO2 for this row are not measured. Compression 9.3. Same 1693 kg, same 900 Nm, same 8-speed Automatic, same RWD Cabrio package as the other generation-3 cars.

If you want the 770 hp peak with a measured mixed figure: 5.2 AT 770 hp @ 6400 rpm. You give up 0.2 s to 100 km/h and 129 km/h of listed top speed versus the other 770 hp 5.2 AT, and you gain the only generation-3 consumption number (13.5 mixed) plus CO2 309 g/km. Compression is 9.2 instead of 9.3. Power still peaks 100 rpm earlier. Do not treat the two 770 hp 5.2 AT rows as duplicates.

If you want generation-3 Turbo with the lowest measured CO2: 5.2 AT 715 hp. CO2 285 vs 309 is 24 g/km less. 0–100 stays 3.4 s. You lose 55 hp and sit 53 km/h below the 340 km/h 5.2 AT. kW is not measured on this row. Specific output is 137.39 hp/L versus 147.96 on the 770 hp cars.

If you want a manual DBS: only generation 2 5.9 MT (two rows) and generation 1 5.3 MT. Between the two 5.9 MT cars, pick by mass and top speed, not by power — both are 517 hp. The 5.9 MT at 1695 kg / 1895 kg gross / 307 km/h is 115 kg lighter than the 5.9 MT at 1810 kg / 2010 kg / 305 km/h and 2 km/h faster. Consumption is the same: 24.3 / 11.7 / 16.4, CO2 388. The 5.3 MT is the other manual, with 5 gears, 6.0 s, 261 km/h, Coupe body, and kerb weight not measured.

If you want Automatic but not the 8-speed 5.2: generation 2 5.9 AT, two rows, both 517 hp, mixed 15.5, CO2 367. The 5.9 AT at 1695 kg / 307 km/h is 155 kg lighter and 12 km/h faster than the 5.9 AT at 1850 kg / 295 km/h. Same city/highway/mixed and same CO2. The heavier Automatic is the slowest-top-speed generation-2 car and the heaviest DBS with a measured kerb weight.

Generation 2 vs generation 3 in one decision: moving to a 5.2 AT from a light 5.9 costs almost no kerb mass (1693 vs 1695) and buys 198–253 hp, 330 Nm, Turbo instead of No, 8 gears instead of 6, 0.7–0.9 s on 0–100, 21-inch wheels instead of 20, 20 mm less clearance, and Euro 6. You lose the measured 80 l tank, the 6-speed Manual option, and (except one 5.2 AT) a full consumption set.

Generation 1 vs later: the 5.3 MT is the only Coupe, the only 8-cylinder, the only 2-valve, the only dependent rear suspension, the only 140 mm clearance, and the only 95 l tank. It is also the slowest 0–100 (6 s) and the lowest specific output (53.55 hp/L). Buy it when the brief is first-generation DBS, not when the brief is horsepower or 0–100.

Same-name rule for this catalogue: every generation-3 version is 5.2 AT — split them as 770 hp @ 6400, 770 hp @ 6500, and 715 hp. Every generation-2 pair shares 5.9 MT or 5.9 AT and 517 hp — split them by kerb weight (1695 vs 1810 / 1850) and top speed (307 vs 305 / 295). Anchors must keep those names exactly.

Problems and reliability are not measured in this dataset. Weight distribution is not measured. Price and cars for sale are not in the data and are not ranked here.