Aston Martin DBX crossover is 'thing of beauty,' CEO Palmer says

LONDON -- Aston Martin says its much anticipated crossover will be the "most beautiful" ultraluxury vehicle of its kind on the market. The sports-car maker expects the DBX, which will go on sale in 2020, to become its top-selling model and its success is crucial to Aston’s global expansion plans."One could argue that making an SUV more beautiful is not a very high bar, but our car is thing of beauty," Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer told Automotive News Europe in a recent interview.Aston Martin could create "beautiful dimensions" for the DBX because designers were not limited by using a shared platform when building the car, Palmer said. He was referring to the Bentley Bentayga, which uses Volkswagen Group's MLB architecture like its siblings, the Lamborghini Urus, Porsche Cayenne, Audi Q7 and Q8, and VW Touareg. The DBX uses an adaptation of Aston’s new bonded aluminum sports car platform.Aston's crossover keeps the name of the DBX concept unveiled at the 2015 Geneva auto show. Aston released more details about the DBX last month in its investors' prospectus. The concept was a three-door but the production model will have five doors. "In pure dimension terms there is little resemblance," Palmer said of the production model. He described it as the "GT of SUVs" with a lower height compared to rival models such the Bentayga and Rolls-Royce Cullinan.Aston Martin released pictures of a DBX underoing tests in the hills of Wales on tough roads used for rally races. The crossover will undergo further tests in some of the world's harshest environments such as the frozen Arctic, Middle East deserts, high Alpine passes, German highways and Nuerburgring's Nordschleife, the automaker said in a news release. The DBX is keenly awaited by Aston Martin dealers in the key markets of the UK and U.S., said Max Warburton, an analyst for Bernstein Research. "The DBX cannot come soon enough," he wrote in a recent note to investors.

Aston Martin DBX crossover is 'thing of beauty,' CEO Palmer says

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