- The Aston Martin DBX 707 is the official medical car of the 2023 Formula 1 season.
- The 707-hp SUV is equipped with numerous emergency equipment as well as FIA-approved racing seats and harnesses.
- The ’23 F1 World Championship season begins this weekend on Sunday, March 5, where the medic-equipped DBX 707 will also debut.
Not a single Formula 1 driver wants to get into an accident this upcoming 2023 season. However, when accidents inevitably occur, medical responders will be rushed to the scene in a 707-hp SUV—the Aston Martin DBX 707, to be exact.
The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) announced today that it has named the DBX 707 as the official medical car of the ’23 F1 season, which will kick off this weekend with the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday, March 5.
Painted Aston Martin Racing Green and equipped with emergency lights on top, the medical version of the DBX 707 features numerous safety equipment and other equipment necessary to respond to an accident. As one would expect, that list includes fire extinguishers and a defibrillator, but its passengers can also hear race control communications and access biometric data from the drivers. This helps paramedics assess the accident before they arrive.
To ensure that emergency personnel get to racetrack crash sites as quickly and as safely as possible, Aston’s high-powered SUV is driven by a professional driver. All passengers are also strapped in by a set of FIA-approved racing seats with six-point harnesses.
During the past two F1 seasons, the FIA has used the regular 542-hp DBX as the official medical car. However, it is much less powerful than the 707 variant, which is also enhanced with track-ready hardware such as carbon ceramic brakes and a nine-speed automatic transmission with a wet clutch pack.
In our testing, the DBX 707 hit 60 mph in 3.1 seconds and ripped through the quarter mile in 11.5 seconds and 119 mph. Not too shabby for a 5128-pound SUV. And in the hands of a pro hotshoe, the official FIA version will make sure that when F1 drivers are in danger, they get the medical attention they need as soon as possible.
Senior Editor
Eric Stafford’s car addiction started before he could walk, and it fueled his passion to write news, reviews and more for Car and Driver since 2016. His aspiration growing up was to become a millionaire with a Jay Leno-esque car collection. Apparently, getting rich is harder than social media influencers make it seem, so he eschewed financial success altogether to become an automotive journalist and drive new cars for a living. After earning a degree from Central Michigan University and working at a daily newspaper, the years of basically burning money on failed project cars and lemon-flavored jalopies finally paid off when Car and Driver hired him. His garage currently includes a 2010 Acura RDX, a manual ’97 Chevy Camaro Z/28, and a ’90 Honda CRX Si.
