No matter whether you like it or not, premium SUVs are here to stay. It started with mainstream premium brands such as BMW and Mercedes, then it moved into the sporting sector with Lamborghini. Now we have the Aston Martin DBX SUV Prototype. The production version will be unveiled in the last quarter of 2019.

Dynamic testing

Aston Martin confirmed the brand’s first SUV will be badged DBX. Prototype versions of the DBX have been undergoing dynamic testing along rally stages in Wales. The tests in Wales are just the start of an extensive programme that will tackle some of the world’s harshest environments. Aston Martin DBX prototype vehicles will undergo testing in the frozen Arctic and scorching deserts of the Middle East to high Alpine passes and the German autobahns. In keeping with the brand’s sporting bent, laps of the arduous Nürburgring Nordschleife are also on the cards.

The Aston Martin DBX prototype will be charting new territory as none of its other models have had to deal with the breadth of activities that an SUV is expected to handle.

Click here to read about the all-electric Aston Martin Rapide.

In their own words

Aston Martin chief engineer, Matt Becker, said: ‘We have already developed and tuned DBX in the driving simulator, which has enabled us to make excellent progress in advance of the first physical prototype cars being available. Still, it’s always a big day when you get to put the first actual miles on an early prototype and I’m delighted with the near perfect correlation between the simulator and this prototype. As an engineer, it’s genuinely exciting to get a feel for the car you’re working to create. DBX is a very different kind of Aston Martin, but we will be testing it in all conditions and across all terrains to ensure it delivers a driving experience worthy of the wings badge’

Aston Martin Lagonda president and group chief executive officer, Andy Palmer said: “Seeing a DBX development prototype in action is a momentous chapter in the story of our first SUV, for it is the moment it really comes alive. DBX is so much more than ‘just’ an SUV; it will be the first model built at our brand-new facility in St Athan. As such, it is very much the start of a bold new era in the company’s long history.”

You can keep track of the latest news via the company’s official website.