Aston Martin DB11 Facelift Will Be Called DB12, Trademark Application Suggests

Aston Martin has filed a trademark in the U.S. for the nameplate “DB12,” as first reported by CarBuzz.The DB12 is expected to be revealed this year as a refreshed version of the DB11, which has been on sale since 2017.We expected the DB12 to retain the twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8, but it may gain a 48-volt hybrid system.

Aston Martin’s aging sports-car lineup is due for a major overhaul, and a new trademark filing—first reported by CarBuzz—suggests that this update will usher in a new nameplate. The British automaker has filed for the name DB12 with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which will presumably be applied to a heavily refreshed version of the DB11 expected to make its debut later this year.

Jessica Lynn Walker|Car and Driver

Last year, Aston Martin chairman Lawrence Stroll said that all of the company’s sports cars—the Vantage, DB11, and DBS—would be overhauled in 2023. Stroll revealed that the changes would be so drastic that they would essentially be “all-new cars,” and the new trademark seems to confirm that. This would be the first time since the DB6 went out of production in 1970 that one of Aston Martin’s DB series of sports cars would bear an even-numbered badge.

Along with revised styling, the update is expected to bring a more modern infotainment system that will scrap the touchpad setup and be better differentiated from the Mercedes-Benz system on which it is based. The DB12 will likely retain the twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8—also borrowed from Mercedes—although it could gain a 48-volt hybrid setup like in the Mercedes-AMG GLS63. It’s unclear if the V-12 will live on in the DB12. More details should arrive later this year.

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Caleb Miller began blogging about cars at 13 years old, and he realized his dream of writing for a car magazine after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University and joining the Car and Driver team. He loves quirky and obscure autos, aiming to one day own something bizarre like a Nissan S-Cargo, and is an avid motorsports fan.