The aluminium chassis has been extensively revised as well, in the name of improved rigidity and engagement. The front cross-member has been moved rearwards to make the front suspension mounting points more rigid, for example, and the new engine bay brace is both lighter and stiffer.
Aston also claims the rear end is up to 29% stiffer under load, courtesy of added reinforcements and new under trays, and says that overall the improvements will boost handling balance, driver feedback and refinement.
Just as significant are the new adaptive dampers, which have a much greater ability to distribute force across the chassis and thus provide “an immense range of control and speed of response”. Aston also touts the benefits of the ‘non-isolated’ steering column, essentially meaning the rubber has been removed from the connection with the steering rack to give a more “direct and uncorrupted” response to steering inputs.
Rounding off the chassis overhaul are new – and bespoke – Michelin Pilot Sport S 5 tyres, wrapped around staggered-width, 21in forged alloy wheels, which have been designed to “remove every gram of excess mass without compromising strength or aesthetics”.
All of these revisions are supported by an overhauled dynamics controller that measures movement across six dimensions – surge, heave, sway, roll, pitch and yaw – and reacts accordingly. The rate of intervention, says Aston, is now “always perfectly judged”.
