Aston Martin just pulled the wraps off a new SUV concept, and it’s unlike anything the company has ever produced. For starters, the sport-ute is built for challenging off-road conditions in a way the current DBX 707 never was. And secondly, the Aston Martin Dreadnought is destined for the digital world only, appearing as a supporting player in the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4.
Aston Martin Builds One For Gamers
Aston Martin Dreadnought for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4Aston Martin
The Dreadnought is the first product of the automaker’s new partnership with Activision Blizzard, the video game production company behind Call of Duty. Conceived by the Aston Martin Design team, the large SUV will appear in the latest entry in the first-person shooter franchise, which takes place during a fictional invasion of South Korea by its neighbor to the north. In the game, the Dreadnought features a long-travel suspension and all-wheel drive for rough-road traction, while the roar of the automaker’s V12 emanates from under the hood and out the tailpipes.
But just because it’s a military vehicle doesn’t mean the Aston Martin Dreadnought has forgotten its luxury sports car roots. The two-door SUV wears bodywork that looks like it could be the love child of a 1977 Aston Martin V8 Vantage and a spacecraft, with a long, chiseled hood and distinctive grille pattern recalling the brand’s signature design features. The flat roof and bobtail rear spoiler are more modern, as is the bold dot-matrix taillight pattern borrowed from the contemporary Victor supercar.
Dressed in satin-finished Chiltern Green, it’s not quite the Humvee-spec olive drab seen in some of the game franchise’s other cars. And military-issue vinyl upholstery has given way to a full leather interior with lovely herringbone carbon fiber accents and Oxford Tan contrasts on the door pulls. During gameplay, the driver will face an oblong steering wheel with gold metallic accents, behind which lies a minimalist set of physical gauges; an array of digital displays spans the width of the dash in front of the passenger.
The Second Digital-Only Aston Martin
Aston Martin Dreadnought for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4Aston Martin
The Dreadnought joins a very small club of game-specific cars from the brand, the first of which was the Aston Martin DP-100 Vision Gran Turismo. The supercar was designed for Gran Turismo 6 and appeared in Gran Turismo Sport and Gran Turismo 7 as a playable machine. As with the Dreadnought, Aston Martin’s own designers brought the DP-100 to life, giving it an unusually rounded, mid-engine design powered by a twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter V12 with 799 horsepower.
The Dreadnought’s specifications haven’t been revealed, but a full-scale model of the car will be on display at Fanatics Fest in New York City this weekend. When Modern Warfare 4 launches on October 23, the mil-spec Aston Martin can be found in both the “DMZ” and “Warzone” gameplay modes, where its speed, armor, and storage capacity will make it a crucial sidekick for rescue and asset recovery missions.
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:
Unfortunately, Aston Martin has been hit with a tough financial situation. The partnership with Activision Blizzard could therefore be seen in a couple different ways. One says that the automaker is desperate for any revenue stream it can find, and teaming up with a video game producer could bring in some licensing and design fees. The other, more charitable answer behind the collaboration is that A-M wants to cultivate a different customer by giving younger people more touchpoints with the brand. And of course, it’s possible that Aston designers were just a little bored and wanted to have some fun with a digital-only design. Whatever the case, we’ll watch for more Dreadnought content the moment it drops.
Base Trim Engine
4.0L Twin-Turbo V8 Gas
Base Trim Transmission
9-Speed Automatic
Base Trim Drivetrain
All-Wheel Drive
Base Trim Horsepower
697 hp
Base Trim Torque
663 lb-ft
Base Trim Fuel Economy (city/highway/combined)
15/20/17 MPG
Infotainment & Features
9 /10
Source: Aston Martin
