Race to
The Top

A quarter of all Aston Martins are now ordered in the same iconic green as the Formula 1® team. The perfect colour contrast to a crisp, white alpine backdrop, perhaps? Only if the clouds burst and send a flurry of snow from the heavens.

Instead, today the South Tyrolean foothills beyond Brixen in Italy are displaying every possible shade of nature’s green palette but little else. The one hint of snow in this northern outpost of the country clings stubbornly to the top-most peaks.
Somewhere, up in the passes of the Plose massif, along the winding roads that link alpine villages and bustling ski resorts, there should be a perfect proving ground for the fastest, non-hybrid SUV on the planet.

The ‘S’ is the new flagship of the DBX range, with a suite of very special enhancements. Together, they will help this astonishing SUV tackle some of the most hair-raising hairpins in the Alps.

Any Aston Martin bearing the ‘S’ badge is at the pinnacle of performance. The designation dates back to 1953 and the gorgeous DB3S racing car. Since then, the letter has been used sparingly to denote a more powerful version of an existing model. In recent times, the 2004 Vanquish S marked the beginning of a new era of these thrilling cars.

While the 4.0-litre, Twin-Turbocharged DBX707 is rapid, the DBX S turns the wick up still further, boosting power to 727PS. This is split between the front and rear wheels in variable proportions, providing all the sticking power of a mountain goat in crampons – just what’s required on a challenging route across the Dolomites.

The day begins at the perfectly situated Santre dolomythic home, a family-run hotel in the South Tyrol. Long before sports utility vehicles conquered the mountain roads here, owners Albin and Sigi Goller welcomed adventure-hungry guests to Italy’s winter playground.

While A-listers head further east to fashionable Cortina d’Ampezzo to ski, or the privacy of the ultra-exclusive Forestis Dolomites hotel, Santre dolomythic offers travellers a refreshing respite and spa in the most spectacular of settings.

Perched some 1,500 metres above sea level, on the sunny slopes of the Plose mountain, this five-star haven of heavenly calm can only be reached via the SP29 from Bressanone, a road with more twists and turns than the plot of Stranger Things.

Sixty years ago, the DBX S would almost certainly have been the car of choice for superstars driving here for ‘the season’, no doubt a set of in-vogue Rossignol Strato skis firmly strapped to the roof.

The DBX S is in its element, parked in the hotel’s ‘Car Gallery’, preferable to a humble garage. The only question is: might there be anywhere to enjoy the full potential of an SUV capable of 0-60mph in just 3.1 seconds, with turbocharged technology borrowed from Formula 1® and staggering levels of grip?

The ascent begins just past the treeline in Plan de Gralba, with the morning mist still clinging to the skirts of the Langkofel massif. In the crisp January air, the road stretches upwards, a ribbon of asphalt carved into the limestone heart of the Dolomites.

Leaving the valley floor, engaging Sport mode intensifies the performance of the DBX S, lowering the air suspension and sharpening throttle response. Steering weight increases – turn response is also 4 per cent quicker – and valves open on the quad exhaust pipes for an even more aggressive soundtrack. Each hairpin turn requires a dab of the carbon fibre brakes and reveals a new perspective on the Sella group of mountains, its vertical walls glowing with a pale, ethereal light. To the right, the jagged teeth of the Sassolungo stand guard, peaks dusted with fresh winter snow that sparkles under a brilliant alpine sun.

As the ‘S’ climbs higher still, the larch forests thin out and the air now has a pine-scented edge. The ethereal sound of Max Richter is playing through the 23-speaker Bower & Wilkins music system – the DBX range was the first to benefit from CarPlay Ultra.

Approaching the summit of the Sella Pass, the road levels out into a dramatic plateau. Sat in a cabin lined with sporty Alcantara trim, the perfect driving position also affords exceptional views. To the south, the Marmolada glacier – the Queen of the Dolomites – shimmers on the horizon.

Parking at the crest, the silence of the 3,343m peak is only broken by the distant chime of a chapel bell and the crunch of skiers’ boots on ice. Here, caught between the earth and the sky, a journey in the DBX S has felt less like a drive and more like an ascent into another world entirely.

Driving the DBX S in the Dolomites is a reminder of how intoxicating a high-performance V8 engine can be. The sound, the urgency, the bottomless pit of power – it all adds up to a terrifically exciting vehicle, one that also happens to carry a family and 685 litres of their luggage to the ski slopes in supreme comfort.

It’s taken millennia to shape the highest peaks of the Alps and little over a century to create one of the pinnacles of Aston Martin. Bring them together in the Dolomites for the drive of your life.