Aston is working with its agency, Splendid, to create the DBS of car configurators, and by the looks of it, the site must have cost a lot more to build than a DBS does. Splendid started off by creating a 3D render of the car that actually looks photorealistic and not like a virtual representation that gets lost somewhere in the uncanny valley. When you change the color -- to any of 2.5 billion combinations, according to the DBS designer -- you aren't simply tinting a model of a car, you're looking at a car in that color.

Inside, the configurator is detailed enough to let you zoom in to see individual stitches on various interior surfaces. And each part of the car is highlighted, so you can choose your wheels with full-screen images and get complete specs on the wheels alone. And when you need a break from deciding on the red brakes or silver, you can watch videos and create your own video channel.

After you've configured the car you want, the fun continues at the dealership. Dealers will be provided with Samsung UMPC's that allow further configuration -- even matching the color of an item you bring in for the paint job on your DBS. It's a setup worthy of Q himself, although they didn't mention whether you could install a defibrillator in the glovebox. Click the link to check out a demo of the keynote video that explains it. (Note: you need Silverlight to view it.) Thanks for the tip, Ben!



[source]