Aston Martin DB9

The Aston Martin DB9 is a grand tourer first shown by Aston Martin at the 2003 Frankfurt Auto Show. Available both as a coupe and a convertible, the DB9 was the successor of the DB7. It was the first model built at Aston Martin's Gaydon facility.

The DB9, designed by Ian Callum and Henrik Fisker, is made largely of aluminium. The chassis is the VH platform, also found in the Aston Martin DBS. The engine, on the other hand, is the 6.0L V12 from the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish. The most recent Aston Martin has a top speed of 295 km/h and a 0 to 97 km/h time of 4.1 seconds.

The DB9 is rated well by car critics, who appreciate the car's interior and exterior design. Additionally, in spite of the DB9's weaker engine and handling, reviewers liked the car's ride and driving experience. They held issue with the DB9's small rear seats and cargo space and poor satnav, however.

Aston Martin Racing has adapted the DB9 for sports car racing, producing the DBR9 for FIA GT1 and the DBRS9 for FIA GT3. These two cars are lightened DB9s; the interior features are removed and the aluminium body panels are replaced by carbon fibre panels. Additionally, engine has been tweaked in both the cars to produce more horsepower. The DBR9 has won in several events, including its debut event.

The DB9 was designed by Ian Callum and Henrik Fisker, and was first revealed at the 2003 Frankfurt Auto Show. The moniker "DB" stems from the initials of David Brown, the owner of Aston Martin for a significant part of its history. Despite being the successor of the DB7, Aston Martin did not call the car the DB8 due to fears that the name would suggest that the car was equipped with only a V8 engine; the DB9 has a V12. It was also reported that Aston Martin believed that naming the car "DB8" would indicate a gradual evolution and misrepresent the car.

The DB9 is the first model to be built at Aston Martin's Gaydon facility in Warwickshire, England. In a 2007 interview, Aston Martin CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez stated that, though Aston Martin was traditionally a maker of more exclusive automobiles, he believed Aston Martin needed to be more visible and build more cars. At launch, Aston Martin planned to build between 1,400 and 1,500 DB9s per year.

The DB9's interior is made with leather and walnut wood. In newer editions, the leather is additionally given hand-stitched accents and joins. On the dashboard, satnav and Bluetooth come standard. A Dolby Prologic sound system can be hooked up to satellite radio, a six-CD changer, an iPod connector, a USB connector, or an auxiliary input jack. This sound system can be upgraded to a Bang & Olufsen stereo.

The coupe comes standard with two front seats and rear seats. A seating package, which removes the back seats and replaces the front seats with lighter seats made of Kevlar and carbon fibre, can be chosen. The boot is 186,891 cm3 in the coupe or 135,921 cm3 in the Volante.

Made to follow Aston's DB7 model, the DB9 is, according to Aston's initial press release, "a contemporary version of classic DB design elements and characteristics". It retains the traditional Aston Martin grille and side strakes, and the design attempts to keep the lines simple and refined. The boot of the car is pronounced, like that of the DB4 and DB5. At the front, DB9 is without a separate nose cone, and has no visible bumpers. The exterior skin is largely aluminium, though the front bumpers and bonnet are composite.

For the 2013 model year revision, Aston made minor changes to the bodywork, including enlargening the recessed headlight clusters with bi-xenon lights and LED daytime strips, widening the front splitter, updating the grille and side heat extractors, updating the LED rear lights with clear lenses and integrating a new rear spoiler with the boot lid.

The Aston Martin DB9 was initially launched equipped with a 6.0L V12 engine, originally taken from its sister car, the V12 Vanquish. The engine provides 569 N·m of torque at 5,000 rpm and a maximum power of 456 PS at 6,000 rpm. The DB9 can accelerate from 0 to 97 km/h in 4.7 seconds and has a top speed of 299 km/h. The engine largely sits behind the front-axle line to improve weight distribution. Changes to the engine for the 2013 model year DB9 increased the horsepower to 517 PS and torque to 620 N·m. The car's 0 to 97 km/h time decreased to 4.1 seconds and the new top speed is 295 km/h.

The DB9 can be equipped with either a six-speed conventional manual gearbox from Graziano or a six-speed ZF automatic gearbox featuring paddle-operated semi-automatic mode. The automatic gearbox increases the 0 to 97 km/h time to 4.9 seconds, though the top speed remains the same. The gearbox is rear-mounted and is driven by a carbon-fiber tail shaft inside a cast aluminium torque tube.

The DB9 initially launched with 483 mm wheels with a width of 216 mm. These were later changed to 20 in wheels with widths of 216 mm in the front and 279 mm in the back. The tyres are Pirelli P-Zero with codes of 245/35ZR20 and 295/30ZR20. The brakes are carbon-ceramic with six-piston calipers in the front and four-piston calipers in the back.

Car critics have generally rated the DB9 coupe and Volante well, praising the car's luxurious interior and exterior design. On the British automotive show Top Gear, the DB9 is thought of highly. Notably, on the show's "Cool Wall" segment, the presenters called the DB9 "too cool" for the wall and gave it its own category, dubbed the "DB9 Sub Zero Fridge", a mini-refrigerator containing the car's card. While reviewing the Volante, Richard Hammond called the interior of the DB9 "one of the best known to man". He felt that the car was less stiff than the coupe, however, to the point that the car was "wobbly".

Both Edmunds.com and Road and Track critiqued the DB9 for not having as good handling as other sports cars, noting that the car isn't stiff enough. However, Edmunds noted that while the Mercedes-Benz SL600 and SL55 AMG were objectively better cars, the DB9 was more desirable. When compared directly against other cars, like the Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet and the Ford GT, the DB9 was ranked poorly, though the reviewer noted that comparing it against faster cars "highlighted its shortcomings". Likewise, when compared to the Bentley Continental GT, Mercedes-Benz CL600, and Ferrari 612 Scaglietti F1, the DB9 ranked poorly again, though reviewers said that "despite its problems, the DB9 would be their personal choice". The issues with stiffness were largely fixed by later iterations of the DB9, however, as noted by Autoweek and Edmunds.

The DB9's interior has been called "regal" and "dazzling", with Edmunds saying, "words like 'rich' and 'crafted' just don't cut it, though 'decadent' and 'sculpted by the Almighty himself' get close". Critics liked the comfort of the almost racecar-like driver's seat. Reviewers complained about the back seats however, with Forbes saying "think of it more as a padded parcel shelf". Likewise, reviewers complained that the space for cargo was limited, though many quipped the small back seats could help hold luggage. Another common complaint was car's poor satnav system, which Automobile Magazine called the car's "Achilles heel", noting that "selecting a route is painful at best". Newer models still contain old satnavs that are outdated and difficult to figure out.

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