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The latest entrant into the high-powered, luxury sports SUV sector has been fully revealed, with Aston Martin taking the covers off the DBX, after recently giving us a sneak preview of its interior and told us the starting price.

Shown in full for the first time in China, the Aston SUV looks distinctively AM from the front, with design cues from the rest of the family, but being an SUV there isn’t too much it can take in terms of its profile.

From the front you’re greeted with an elegantly creased bonnet with twin vents, typical family headlights and that hallmark wide Aston grille below. The first hint that you’re looking at an SUV is spotting the roof rails, but in many ways it looks as though it’s a shooting brake on unbelievably oversized wheels – they are 22″ standards, so they aren’t small…

Moving back, the roofline swoops to a spoiler above the rear window, beneath which there’s a set of very sportily haunched hips. These then merge into a lip spoiler below the rear window, mimicking that of the Vantage coupe, and ultimately creating a double pointed rear-end in side profile. Like the lip, the rear lights maintain a very similar design language to that of the Vantage, as they follow the contours of the bodywork.

As confirmed a few weeks ago, the DBX will have the most powerful V8 in the current Aston range, with 542bhp and 516lbf.ft, meaning that it’s spritely to say the least. This is helped by the fact that the DBX will weigh just 2,245kg, which isn’t as much as a number of its rivals.

The DBX is equipped to be both comfortable off-road, but also as an outright SUV. To help in these stakes, it sits on triple volume air-suspension, which is adaptive, and is paired to a 48v anti-roll system. Ride height can be adjusted by 45mm upwards and 50mm below the standard setting,

Transmission wise, the DBX utilises an automatic nine-speed torque converter ‘box. It is paired to an all-wheel drive system with an active central differentials, and an electric limited slip diff at the rear.

Being an SUV, practicality was fairly high on the DBX’s list of priorities. It’s Aston’s first full-sized five-seater, with 632-litres of boot space and a driving position to stretch from the 5th percentile female proportions to those of the 99th percentile male. The rear seats can fold flat and are split individually in a 40:20:40 ratio whilst the boot lip is narrow across a broad aperture, so this actually is a practical Aston.

Were anybody to take it off-road, then they’ll find it useful to know that at various heights, the DBX can pose 22.2º approach angle, 24.3º departure and 15.1º brake over angles. Although at maximum ride-height they read 25.7º, 27.1º and 18.8º. Standard ride-height gives 190mm ground clearance, but at the highest setting you’ll have 235mm. Wading depth is 500mm, whilst towing capacity is 2.7-tonnes.

Inside, there is a high level of kit and high-quality materials. A handcrafted interior is lit via a full-length panoramic roof, but takes inspiration from a sports car setup in the front, which means there is more knee and leg room for those in the rear.

Seating is plushly upholstered in full-grain leather, with both headlining and electronic sunroof cover available in alcantara. The majority of the swooping dashboard and cabin is kitted out in leather, wood and metal, so not only will the DBX interior look the part it should feel it, too.

Of course there is a 10.25″ touchscreen in the mix, whilst the driver information comes from a 12.3″ TFT display. Apple CarPlay comes as standard on the system, as does a 360º camera system and ambient lighting that offers 64 different shades.

Safety equipment is also present on the DBX, with adaptive cruise, Forward Collision Warning, Autonomous Emergency Braking, Lane Departure Warning, Lane Keep Assist, Lane Change Warning, Rear Cross Traffic warning, Traffic Sign Recognition, Blind Spot Warning, Door Opening Warning, Emergency call and then the usual ISOFIX fittings, airbags and seatbelt pre-tensioners. Pretty well-specced, then.

Several accessory packs are available to enhance the SUVs capability and suitability to family life. These include the Pet Package and a Snow package for those winter ski trips.

So, there it is. all of the ingredients which Aston Martin will make an SUV that does for the marque what the Cayenne has done for Porsche and the Levante for Maserati, the X5 for BMW and so on and so forth. On paper it sounds compelling, it’s looks will be divisive and at £158-grand it is expensive. But it is a very competitive sector, so only time will tell of its success.

Shortly after details of the powertrain were confirmed, Aston Martin have confirmed the starting price and reveal date for their debut SUV – the DBX. We also get a first look at the interior, too.

But, what we all want to know before the SUV with over five hundred horses is revealed in two weeks – how much does it cost? Well, the RRP has been set at a staggering £158,000. That’s not cheap, for sure, but it sounds even worse when converted to Japanese Yen, as then it is just shy of 23 million. But, you can’t blame Aston for global currencies.

They are accountable, however, for the lavish looking interior – which is set to be very versatile too. Designed to meet the requirements of the 99th percentile male right through to those of the 5th percentile female. It is also said that over six months were spent ensuring the exact position of the driver’s seat within a cabin that prioritises visibility.

Clad from top to bottom in a mixture of premium materials, the first glimpse reveals a spacious cabin, with a suavely housed infotainment system, ergonomic seats and a ginormous panoramic sunroof.

There’s storage beneath the flowing centre console for 1.5-litre water bottles or other valuables, and rear passengers have a raised position thanks to the stadium style seating arrangement.

The full vehicle will be revealed in China on the 20th November, from which point the order books will be opened. Then, perhaps, the roads of Britain won’t be so swamped by Bentaygas and Cullinans…

With its debut SUV entering the final stages of production, Aston Martin have let slip that the DBX will be powered by a rather potent V8.

The 4.0-litre power plant is the same twin-turbo unit from the Vantage, but it will produce 542bhp combined with 516lbf.ft – making it the highest performer of all the V8s in the current Aston range.

Testing has been extensive, with the British marque determined to keep the DBX on par with it’s performance cars both on the civil roads and race tracks. There are no official top speed figures yet, but in testing the DBX is alleged to have broken 180mph on several occasions, according to Aston themselves.

In the remaining time before the scheduled December unveiling, engineers will be fine-tuning the handling setup and continue to fine tune the powertrain to, as Chief Engineer Matt Becker says, “make this the most exciting SUV on the market.”

Aston Martin have confirmed that their upcoming SUV will be called DBX – and testing has begun on a Welsh Rally stage with a development prototype.

With release scheduled for the final quarter of 2019, the DBX is the first Aston to be made entirely at the brand’s new plant in St Athan. This signifies the start of a new era for the marque, as this plant will not only be home to their first ever SUV but also to their march towards electrification.

The DBX is being developed to conquer everything from glacial terrain to desert dunes and everything in between – whilst also retaining Aston Martin’s sporting history. And the dynamics that are demanded with it. No small order, then…