The new Aston Martin DB12 is officially in North America, though you still can't buy one. Deliveries of the new GT car will begin later this year, but you can look at it right now at Aston Martin's new ultra-exclusive location in New York City. And if you're an Aston Martin customer with an appointment, you can go even go inside and view it up close.
The building is officially called Q New York, billed by Aston Martin as the "ultra-luxury flagship location" for buyers seeking to create their dream car using the company's Q by Aston Martin bespoke service. Hence the name Q New York, but it's more than just a fancy dealership. Located on Park Avenue in Manhattan, it's positioned in the heart of New York's luxury row and it will also serve as a location for special events, product launches, and even an overnight hotel for the most distinguished Aston Martin customers.
Gallery: Q By Aston Martin New York
As for the average car enthusiast, merely going inside Q New York is an appointment-only affair so sadly, you'll have to window shop. At least the automaker offers large windows, with Aston Martin stating the location features one of the largest single-pane pieces of glass ever used in a New York building. Through that glass, they can see the new DB12 and something even more exclusive, the Valkyrie AMR Pro.
What they can't see is a massive 35-foot by 10-foot LED screen on a wall, providing Aston Martin buyers a full-size view of their proposed car as they plug in various Q by Aston Martin upgrades. The posh location also features videoconferencing to the Q by Aston Martin team located in the UK, allowing for real-time face-to-face chats about even the tiniest customized features the customer is looking for.
Gallery: Aston Martin DB12
Q New York is certainly a very exclusive venue for a niche market, but it's a market Aston Martin says is growing in the US. On average, the company states its buyers are willing to spend an additional 30 percent of the vehicle's purchase price on bespoke options and upgrades. Global sales of vehicles with such treatments are up by 51 percent year over year, but in the States, the increase is a whopping 92 percent.
"We recognize the growing trend of personalization across the luxury goods segment and see huge value in investing in our customer experience to create the best specification experiences available anywhere in the world," said Aston Martin Executive Chairman Lawrence Stroll. "With a 92-percent increase in Q by Aston Martin take-up in the Americas last year, this is the perfect time and the perfect place for us to open our very first global flagship location."
The new DB12 will likely be a hot item for affluent buyers to customize. With a new-yet-familiar exterior and a 671-horsepower twin-turbocharged V8 sourced from Mercedes-AMG under the hood, Aston Martin says its new car isn't a grand touring machine, but a super tourer. Pricing for the DB12 hasn't been announced yet, but the first production model already sold for $1.6 million at auction.
