CarBuzz spy photographers have donned their mittens and braved the icy cold of Northern Sweden near the Artic Circle to bring you these images of the Aston Martin DB11 replacement undergoing cold weather testing. According to the brand's product roadmap, the sports car is one of many that will be revealed in the second half of this year, with customer deliveries of the DB11 replacement to begin in Q3.

The DB11 successor may be called the DB12, but that will not indicate that it is an all-new car. Instead, it will be a comprehensive evolution that company executive chairman Lawrence Stroll says will include "some carryover" but will essentially have "no similarity at all to the current cars." How so?

Stroll says that the Vantage, DBS, and DB11 are being updated to make them "what those cars should have always felt like." Each is impressive in its own right, but compared to the current crop of competitors, Aston Martin's sports cars are lacking. Shortcomings in infotainment are being addressed and will soon feature a proper "English accent," according to Stroll. The performance characteristics of these practically geriatric cars will also be refined.

There's no point enhancing the bones of these vehicles if customers still see an old product, so the DB11 replacement you see here is concealing some significant changes, the most obvious of which is a larger grille opening up front, flanked by new headlights and housed in a refreshed bumper. A chunkier splitter is evident too.

Aston Martin is also using the opportunity provided by this comprehensive overhaul to save costs in some areas. The clamshell hood that made topping up oil so dramatic has been replaced with a conventional unit that relocates the vents. Presumably, the simpler hinge system will help reduce weight and complexity ever so slightly.

At the rear, the updates are less obvious, but the taillights are sexier with modernized graphics, while the fender accents no longer feature an integrated strake. Under the skin, the suspension will be overhauled, and engines will be updated, but a V12 is highly unlikely, so bank on multiple variants of the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 being utilized.

Expect the teaser campaign to kick off sometime next quarter, bringing with it more information on what to expect from Gaydon's next grand tourer.