Last Update on : February 29, 2008
Troy dealer debuts 007 super coupe
 Aston Martin's newest flagship dropped anchor in Troy Thursday evening.
The 2008 DBS, a $265,000 super coupe, was shown at the Aston Martin of Troy dealership amid popping champagne corks and surrounded by fine artwork from the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit. The DBS stopped in Troy as part of a tour of Aston Martin's 32 North American dealerships. The car leaves today to continue its tour.
"This is the only DBS in North America right now," said Brian Bucholtz, the sales manager in Troy.
About 50 invitation-only guests sipped wine and checked out the DBS after the unveiling at the one-year-old dealership.
The tour is designed to create excitement for the new, high-performance two-seater coupe. The powerful machine was first seen in public during the James Bond film "Casino Royale," in which Bond shamefully destroyed it in a spectacular accident.
While the real model does not include an optional defibrillator, it does come with at least one Bond-esque device: A $35,000 Jaeger LeCoultre watch that can lock and unlock the car. The Swiss-made time piece is only available to DBS customers, who obviously already have everything else.
And despite the high price tag, there appears to be no shortage of customers.
"I have seven confirmed deposits," Bucholtz said. "We're trying to get more cars allocated t o us to fill the orders."
Some customers, however, will need to brace themselves for a long wait before hopping into their DBS, said Edmunds.com editor and chief Karl Brauer. It could take years between the time someone orders the DBS and it arrives.
"You want any exotic vehicle to have an air of exclusivity, but there's a fine line on how long some customers will wait," Brauer said. "What ends up happening, you have people buying a higher place in line because they have to have it now."
Aston Martin plans to make about 1,000 DBS models each year, meaning the wait list could stretch up to three years. Only 300 a year will be allocated for the U.S. market.
A car with a price tag that hits $280,000 after taxes and options are included typically doesn't involve customers trying to work out a monthly payment plan.
"Most just write a check," Bucholtz said.
The British carmaker, sold by Ford Motor Co. last year for more than $900 million to a Kuwaiti investment company, continues to show an ambitious growth plan, albeit with low numbers. Last year, Aston Martin made 7,000 cars, 2,000 more than it built in 2006.
Brauer said he expects Aston Martin to continue to build well-made exclusive vehicles as the exotic car market continues to grow.
"Even with the slowdown in the U.S., the world market is getting larger and larger for these kinds of cars," Brauer said. "These are global brands and the people with money around the world, already know about these cars, and want them."
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