Aston Martin to launch updated DBS late next year

The Aston Martin DBS has only been on the market now for five years, but the DB9 on which it's based has been around for eight. That's a fairly long life-cycle for any car, but it seems the DB9/DBS will have to soldier on a bit longer. Its replacement – based on new architecture – isn't due to arrive until 2015 at the earliest. In the meantime, Aston is planning a fairly comprehensive facelift for the DB9 family.

The changes are tipped to arrive first on the higher-end DBS before trickling down to the rest of the family. Design touches are expected to be borrowed from the One-77 supercar, bringing the influence of the company's design boss Marek Reichman to overshadow that of his predecessor, Ian Callum, now at Jaguar.

Among those touches are expected to be a new fascia that, surprisingly, ditches the company's trademark shape in favor of a new single grille opening, coupled with hood vents and sharper lines all around.

A refreshed interior is also expected, as is an upgraded engine with about 20 more horsepower to draw on from the 5.9-liter V12, up to 530 hp in DBS trim. Expect the revised DBS to arrive sometime late next year, with the new DB9 to follow shortly thereafter.