Aston Martin DB9 (4 of 4)

If the transmission gets nine point seven out of ten in our estimate, the engine gets full marks. Derived from the magnificent four-cam V12 engine in the Vanquish, itself an uprated version of the unit first seen in the DB7 Vantage, the DB9’s 5,935cc Cosworth-assembled motor is one of those engines that you want to use hard all the time because you love music it makes.

It starts with a deep V12 bark and as the revs rise, the mellifluous gathering of intake, and smoothly accelerating components are overwhelmed by the exhaust note rising through the octaves until it has become a spine tingling sound like ripping silk. Then you upshift. But as the engine has only dropped around 1,000rpm, the symphony gets to start again from somewhere near the top.

Performance

Wind it out from a standing start and 60mph comes up in 4.8 sec, 100mph in 10.1 sec, fast enough for a car of this size and weight. But it is the strength and fluidity of delivery and the amazing sound it makes that is the real attraction. The 186mph top speed is also par for the course, matching rivals like the 911 Turbo.

Within a mile of our hotel, the hills were alive with the sound of the V12’s sonorous tune rising and falling between corners and the bark of its twin exhausts echoing off the stone walled landscape. The driver’s window stayed open for some miles as we soaked up one of the best engine and exhaust symphonies ever. The odd tunnel along our route was also too tempting, and the one-shot electric window button was cued a second before the inevitable downshift and full throttle run.

The power-assisted rack and pinion steering is weighted medium to heavy, a tad heavier than a 996 Carrera, but lighter than the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. Someone commented that it was too heavy for a luxury GT, but as we became more familiar with the cars' responses and handling balance at ultra high speeds, we found it to be ideal.

Confidence

On the return leg, with over 150 miles under our belt, we really picked up the pace and the DB9 effortlessly raised its own game to match. In one long fast corner with unrestricted visibility, we felt confident enough to explore the cars high speed cornering ability. 100mph plus and building was the easy exit speed from this long bend on a fast country road, and at that pace, the DB9 felt poised, balanced and well within its limits.

Later, we approached a more pronounced right-hander and went through this with no confidence lift or touch of the brakes on the way in at 90mph in fourth. The Aston was through the bend in a perfectly balanced four-wheel-drift with no intervention from the electronic safety net, and accelerating away before my passenger could utter the word ‘amazing’.

The Chassis

The key to this impressive chassis performance is a very stiff bodyshell on which to hang the suspension and an ideal 50/50 weight distribution. Based on the dimensionally flexible ‘Vertical’ and ‘Horizontal’ platform designed to be literally the backbone of the DB9, the forthcoming V8 Vantage and the next generation Vanquish, the DB9 has impressive structural rigidity.

Chief Project Engineer, David King spoke of 27,000Nm/degree of twist. Just to put that in perspective against some of the benchmark cars of recent years that derive their excellent handling from a stiff structure, the all-steel monocoque Porsche 996 Carrera 2 has 16,500Nm/degree while the carbon tub-based Pagani Zonda boasts 24,000 Nm/degree.

Alloy double wishbones and a coil spring over an aluminium bodied damper sit at each corner of the DB9. To ensure the car turns left and right equally well, a substantial cast and machined alloy torque tube houses the immensely rigid single-piece carbon-fibre propshaft tasked to relay the V12’s prodigious power and torque to the rear-mounted gearbox.

The charismatic 5,935cc V12 motor sits very far back in the chassis with the last two cylinders literally under the bulkhead overhang. Placed aft in front of the rear axle trans-axle style, the gearbox with its unique casing and differential mounted immediately behind, helps achieve the ideal 50/50 weight distribution for the DB9’s 1,710kg.

Ride

Some cars trade handling for ride or vice versa, while others deliver precision at the expense of bump steer. As we pushed the Aston harder and harder over a variety of roads with corners of different radiuses and over surfaces of different complexions and cambers, we became ever more impressed with its ability to take everything we could throw at it in its stride.

8.0J and 9.0J x 19-inch alloys carry 235/40ZR19 and 275/35ZR19 bespoke Bridgestone Potenza RE050 tyres that are bespoke for the DB9. Bump steer is almost non-existent, even when braking hard into a turn on an uneven surface. The modest 8.0-inch wide front wheels definitely mitigate any potential problems at the front end.

It is on roads like these that many so-called sports saloons quickly run out of answers when pushed beyond a certain point, and where supercars with lots of grip and handling but limited suspension travel sometimes run down cambers and aviate over big bumps. Such cars, with a few honourable exceptions, are often either biased too far towards comfort or outright grip and handling on a relatively smooth surface.

Such Skills

And that is why the DB9 impresses so deeply. It rides like a good sports saloon at low speed, but its suspension control at high speed and when pushed hard in the bends is not far off that of the best supercars. It does not offer up the ultimate answer in any one discipline, but scores an easy nine out of ten across the board. That confident overall ability is what makes it so appealing on so many levels.

The Aston Martin DB9 can be a Grand Tourer to cross continents in, a sportscar to enjoy a fast drive on a demanding country road or the aristocratic transport that delivers you to your town or country Club in style. Unlike the DB7, whose gorgeous styling wrote cheques its chassis simply could not cash, the DB9 is the consummate all-rounder, the quintessential gentleman’s sporting carriage. Like a handsome prince who also happens to have a Mensa IQ and a karate black belt, the DB9 needs no excuses and takes no prisoners. Rivals should be intensely jealous.

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cacatous

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