Hong Kong will always move at a faster-than-usual speed, but some things still demand the slow, deliberate strike of a chisel.

Hong Kong artist and actor Carlos Koo has spent years proving that true luxury isn’t mass-produced. It is etched, one precise blow at a time. Now, his centuries-old craft of copperplate engraving collides with one of the most potent machines on the road: the new Aston Martin DBX S.

When Hammer Meets Horsepower

Koo first learned metal engraving the hard way. Unable to find anyone in Hong Kong willing to customise his Harley-Davidson by hand, he taught himself on YouTube, then refined the technique under Indonesian master I Dewa Saputra. What began as a personal obsession became a philosophy: every mark must mean something.

That same philosophy now meets Aston Martin’s newest flagship SUV.

The DBX S is the purest expression yet of the “S” lineage that stretches back to the 1953 DB3S racing car. Power climbs to a thunderous 727PS and 900Nm of torque, drawn from turbo technology transferred directly from the forthcoming Valhalla supercar. Zero to 62 mph disappears in 3.3 seconds. The top end remains a cool 193 mph. Yet the real story is not the numbers. It is the intelligence of the engineering.

A new optional carbon-fibre roof, the largest single carbon element ever fitted to an Aston Martin, sheds 18 kg from the highest point of the car, lowering the centre of gravity. Optional magnesium 23-inch wheels, a first in the SUV segment, remove another 19 kg of unsprung mass. A lightweight polycarbonate honeycomb grille with more than 25,000 individual facets further shifts weight distribution rearward. The result is a machine that feels sharper, more alert, and more alive than its already formidable sibling, the DBX707.

Aston Martin’s design team has given the DBX S an unmistakable identity: pure-black vaned grille, upturned side air splitters, vertically stacked quad exhausts, and solid-metal “S” badges glass-enamelled in red, the same treatment once reserved for the V12 Vantage S and Rapide S. Inside, a herringbone pattern expands upward across the seats like speed lines frozen in Alcantara and leather. The “S” is embroidered, embossed, and carved into the very DNA of the cabin.

Verses in Chisel, Verses in Carbon

Koo’s works such as Phantom Peace, Tides of Culture, and Purple Dawn Ascending explore tension, hybrid identity, and resilience. Each piece is the product of hundreds of hours of absolute focus. “Metal engraving is all or nothing,” Koo says. “There is no room for error.”

That same intolerance for compromise defines the DBX S. Its 9-speed wet-clutch transmission can send 100 percent of torque to the rear wheels. Its electronic roll control keeps body lean to a mere 1.5 degrees even at the limit. Carbon-ceramic brakes measuring 420 mm up front deliver near-inexhaustible stopping power. Every component has been considered, refined, and made to matter.

And the parallel is deliberate. Koo’s chisel and Aston Martin’s engineers both reject the disposable. One works in copper and meaning; the other in carbon, magnesium, and velocity. Both create objects that reward attention and endure.

The frames for Koo’s exhibition, designed by Hong Kong visual-effects artist Victor Wong, already blur heritage technique with contemporary form. Imagine that same sensibility applied to the DBX S: the permanence of hand-engraved detail meeting the kinetic sculpture of a 727-horsepower ultra-luxury SUV.

The Statement

Aston Martin CEO Adrian Hallmark has spoken of the brand’s commitment to class-leading performance, ultra-luxury design, and innovation. Carlos Koo speaks of passion as the only path to excellence. Together they form a quiet but powerful argument: in an age of instant everything, the most desirable objects are still those that required time, skill, and uncompromising intent.

Some stories are written in ink.

Others are written in copper.

The rarest are written in both, and then driven at 193 mph.