Good news! There’s a new Aston Martin! This, Internet, is the Aston Martin DBS Superleggera, the 715 bhp successor to the Vanquish.

Now, we’ve tested the Aston Martin Vanquish S, we thought that, even though it was getting on a bit, it was stupendous. And a lot of that love came from the way it looked. Cripes, it was a great-looking car.

Happily, the DBS Superleggera looks even better. These pics leaked onto the internet hours ahead of the official reveal. And what they show is that classic Aston coupe shape, modelled quite heavily on the DB11, but with more angular, aggressive front and rear lights, and plenty of added raciness.

The styling isn’t writing cheques that the car can’t cash, either. As we said earlier, the Aston Martin DBS Superleggera packs 715 bhp, courtesy of an uprated version of the 5.2-litre V12 engine found in the DB11. Factor in the 664 lb-ft of torque, and you get a 0-100 km/h time of 3.4 seconds.

Indeed, the Aston Martin DBS Superleggera is an altogether more violent proposition to the DB11. Its sculpted body produces 180 kg of downforce at top speed – more than any other car that Aston has produced. The power is fed through a ZF 8-speed automatic gearbox, which we’re told will be lightning-quick with a couple of hyper-aggressive drive modes.

And while nothing’s been said about the steering or suspension, we’d expect the DBS Superleggera to feature harder springs and quicker steering. With this car, Aston Martin is absolutely going after the likes of the Ferrari 812 Superfast, so it had better perform.

But Aston has at least hinted that the DBS Superleggera won’t be a madman all of the time. Some of the pictures illustrate the car as a simple GT cruiser capable of fitting a bunch of luggage in the boot. And the interior isn’t festooned with racing harnesses and carbon fibre – it all looks rather pleasant and civilised.

The hope, though, is that Aston Martin hasn’t simply given the DB11 a new face and a bit more power – the point of the DBS is to be the pointy, sporty version of the DB11.

Anyway, we’ll find out more in due course. What we do know is that the Aston Martin DBS Superleggera will be available later this year in coupe form, and that a Volante convertible version will come out sometime next year.