Acceleration Testing The New Aston Martin DB11

Take a fascinating look at the behind-the-scenes of Motor Trend’s acceleration test of Aston’s newest super GT

Motor Trend runs tests like this one on every car to offer the most accurate numbers for consumers to make their decisions with. The tests are independent and run without the company’s test engineers standing around to mess with non-standard settings or fit non-standard tires to artificially inflate their numbers. These tests are run with Chris Walton in the driver’s seat trying to figure out the best way to launch a car simply by launching that car a dozen times to get the fastest time possible.

In the video above you can see that Chris had to try many times to get the Aston DB11 to do what he wanted it to do. Poking and prodding at different shift points for maximum power while negotiating with the tires, launching with just the right amount of throttle to get a maximum roll out, but then backing out a little to modulate wheelspin as the turbos piled on the boost. The 600 horsepower rear-wheel-drive Aston has been quoted at 3.9 seconds to sixty, which jibes with what MT accomplishes here. While most of the runs Walton managed were closer to four and a half seconds, he did get a couple runs in that were 4.0 or 4.1 seconds, which when adjusted for altitude and weather should plumb out to a 3.9.

This demonstration almost means to us that 0-60 times aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. The majority of people who own an Aston Martin DB11 will never see a 0-60 time of 3.9, as the best they could manage with the traction control in track mode was a 4.9-second run, a full second slower than the claim. A 3.9 is possible to achieve, but if it takes Motor Trend’s professional launcher a dozen tries to do it, is it really?