We live with Aston's gorgeous V12-engined DB9 and discover a few interesting results.
Zlatko Mulabegovic

I am definitely not the right person to judge Aston Martin’s classy Grand Tourer, since I’ve had the lifestyle genes removed at birth; so wood and leather don’t do much for me, but camshafts and camber angles do. Curiosity did kill the cat, yet I was dying to find out how good would the DB9 be for a guy like me? In all honesty, my expectations were of an overly comfy, luxurious and softened Beach Road cruiser, but my back still hurts from the interesting “findings”.

First things first, and a six footer is not the guy sports cars are designed around; sometimes I had to use Houdini’s skills in order to get in and out of certain cars, so I approached my foreplay with the Aston rather cautiously. Once I figured out the GT-R like handle, I pulled the door to witness a semi-Lambo kind of operation; looks good, although it always feels it isn’t fully open. The next thing I noticed is the proverbial handbrake between the doorsill and the driver’s seat, but I see no problem there thanks to my extensive exposure to RHD cars. Finally, I slide down in the seat and exhale - this was easy, I’m in! What was not easy was finding the right seating position; the telescopic steering column did help to a certain extent, yet I was unable to adjust the seat and probably ended up looking like an adult riding a kiddie kart. Hm, not the best of starts.

And, entangled as I was with these lifestyle, wood and leather issues, I completely forgot that the DB9 is powered by a V12 engine coupled to a gem of a gearbox, something guaranteed to get me hooked on the luxury sports car. That’s right, the elongated hood hides a brilliant motor that has been developed from the one used in the Vanquish. Aston Martin engineers, in partnership with Ford's RVT (Research and Vehicle Technology), designed the advanced quad-cam 48-valve engine and we’re going to verify their performance claims.

On the outside
There’s no mistake here, the DB9 is styled in the tradition of great British grand tourers, where elegance and sportiness meet to deliver the picture of a muscle car in an evening dress. The silhouette of the car might be sleek, but walk around it and you’ll be intimidated by those broad shoulders and thrilled by the elongated front-end housing the torquey motor. The car has desire written all over it and, like Jeremy Clarkson put it, if you own one, chances are you’ve got both money and taste.

In essence, the DB9 is a modern interpretation of Aston Martin’s classic sports cars, featuring clean but elegant lines and some fine design details reminiscent of its glorious predecessors. It’s got attitude too, with its sleek body work wrapped around chunky 19-inch wheels, the right ratio of sportiness and elegance in one.

The work place
The cabin of the DB9 is exactly what you’d expect it to be at this level, sophisticated, well designed and feeling expensive, bare for a few execution flaws. We loved the crystal starter key and the dash-mounted gear buttons, but did not appreciate the overly hard seats and expected better finish for a car in this segment.

The sitting position could be better, but maybe it’s the size of my carcass that makes things more difficult, as I found myself sitting on the floor, with the steering wheel right between my legs and my back in a position that would have my physiotherapist worried. And, if Aston tells you this is a 2+2, do not believe them, as this car only accommodates two adults in the front seats, the rear ones are there purely for show.

The motor
Knowing that you have 12 cylinders and 6 liters of displacement working to deliver 470 horsepower is reassuring to say the least. Reassuring of a great performance, that is. And that is exactly what the Aston’s engine is about; torque, responsiveness and elasticity. It certainly doesn’t break a sweat to deliver a deadly punch, which translates in an unseen ease of getting off the line, overtaking and high speed cruising.

Being mated to the awesome paddle-shift operated ZF six speed transmission only makes things better, as the ‘box delivers precise and quick shits, and makes for a race car experience under hard acceleration.

The experience
Aston engineers hit the nail on the head when they decided to adopt the race-style starter motor. Slot the crystal key in, depress it, and the first thing you hear is the whirr of the starter motor - pure motorsports! The engine performs great around town, where gobs of torque make for effortless taking off the line and cruising. Should you dare to push the pedal to the metal, you’ll be rewarded with both strong acceleration and some aural delights, especially past 4,000 rpm when the engine note changes to a racy tune.

The rest of the car follows suit and, as the story unfolds, you discover a stiff but supple suspension, awesome brakes and a very communicative steering column. And, although I could have been happier with the sitting arrangements or not pleased with the finish of some dashboard panels, I discovered that the dynamics of the DB9 more than made up for it, and the four days spent testing this car turned into a journey of discovering a magnificent grand tourer and enjoying its performance more than anything. I’ve learned to respect the racing heritage and the engineering gone into building these cars, and I take whatever pre-conceived notions I had about the car, back.

The DB9 is a surprisingly hard car that begs to be driven hard, yet it’s a luxurious VIP grand tourer that’s right at home cruising the boulevard and making you feel good. There is no doubt the Aston is primarily engineered to perform, and the fact that the cruising bit comes as part of the package is an added bonus.