A well-established trend exists when it comes to new Aston Martins, stretching back quite a few years now. There's a great deal of excitement about the latest model, which looks fantastic and makes an incredible noise, but when it comes to the driving, it leaves something to be desired. It happened with the V8 Vantage (noticeably improved with the 4.7-litre engine) and with the Rapide, which got a whole lot better as an 'S' with more power and a new gearbox. It's still the case today, in fact; the DB11 AMR was such a step on from the standard V12 just a couple of years after launch that the latter was discontinued, and the Vantage F1 Edition feels exactly like what that car should have been from the get-go.
Happened with the DB9, too. Everyone loved the look, the snazzy new interior and the glorious V12, but some questions were raised about the handling. But then, over its near decade on sale, the DB9 got better and better and better, as little updates and improvements made a noticeable impact.
For PHey types, the DB9 holy grail is a 2009 (or later) model year car, with extra power and torque from the 5.9-litre V12, plus the Sports Pack (more in a sec) and the manual gearbox. Because the Touchtronic auto is fine, but torque converters have come on some way since the early 2000s. Where its inadequacies might frustrate now, the old school nature of an Aston manual (we're being kind) will continue to appeal as the DB9 moves into classic territory.
No prizes for guessing what we have here then. A 2008 DB9 in a lovely Tempest Blue colour, with 44,000 miles on the clock and three pedals in the footwell. For such a drastic going over, 'Sports Pack' rather undersold the changes rendered. It used titanium wheelnuts, for example, screwed into lighter alloy wheels for reduced unsprung mass. Ride height for SP cars was 6mm lower on significantly stiffer - 68 per cent front, 64 per cent rear - springs, with a thicker front anti-roll bar, revised dampers and bump-stops included. Aston even fitted a new aluminium undertray for the Sports Pack, taking the place of the standard composite item for the benefit of structural stiffness. There was far more to it than met the eye, in best understated Aston fashion.
The Sports Pack was received very well, with one review calling it a "big improvement" over standard, noting gains in traction, turn in, body control, steering and even ride - despite that spring rate increase. Presumably the lighter wheels helped with that. But for just £2,495, the Sports Pack delivered a much more rewarding DB9 driving experience, which is why plenty are available now - from less than £40k, too.
But you won't find many manuals. In the PH classifieds there are only two (out of nearly 50 available), with both of those DB9s fitted with the Sports Pack. The advert for this one claims it's one of just 18 specified this way; presumably that's with the 2008 update and the Sports Pack, but could well just be SP - the listing also reckons there were just 62 UK manuals in the car's lifetime.
As such, a premium is likely. So much so, in fact, that the Tempest Blue one is at POA; a lower mileage, pre-revision car is for sale at £57,990. Bear in mind that an automatic Sports Pack with even fewer miles can be £10k less and it's clear the kind of premium the manual now commands. Which is nothing if not a tad ironic, given the manual actually saved buyers £3k over the auto back in the day. We'd expect this one to be a little over £50k, and what a way to spend it.
Elsewhere the DB9 is ageing just as gracefully as we'd all hoped, and in its most driver focused specification it should continue to entertain for many years to come. The rarity ought merely to serve as a cherry on top of the very tasty cake. There really aren't many more affordable ways into a modern, manual V12...
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