The Aston Martin DB9 was launched back in 2004 and ran on for 12 years until 2016. Quite a long time for an exotic Grand Tourer. It was designed by Ian Callum and Henrik Fisker, however, both dispute each other’s contribution to the DB9’s design.
The DB9 started a completely new era for Aston Martin in terms of design language and engine choices. Under the hood is a 5.9 liter Aston Martin V12 which was also used in the V12 Vantage, both Aston Martin Vanquish generations, and the Rapide. Essentially the engine used in the DB9 was used in pretty much every single V12 Aston Martin until around 2018 when the Vanquish and V12 Vantage went out of production.
The DB9 is arguably one of the best-looking cars in history. The lines on this car are just so sexy, especially on the facelift model. It’s just so classy, so beautiful, so elegant. Nowadays, these cars are somewhat cheap on the used market for what they are, but should you buy one? Let’s find out.
picture via : carmagazine.co.uk
It’s A Perfect All-Rounder
The DB9 is comfortable, elegant, fast, and in some cases somewhat practical. Let’s first start with how comfortable this car is. The interior of this car is fantastic. It’s full of leather, wood, lots of subtle aluminum, etc. The whole design is genuinely world-class however, build quality isn’t as good. The stitching can be a bit off, the dials can feel cheap, and the infotainment system is awful.
The seats are very soft and are full of support. The leather on the seat is very smooth, the leather on the doors is very soft and the steering wheel just feels so luxurious. The door handles look so awesome, the speaker covers just sitting at top of the door panels, etc look so classy. I love it all.
The elegance this car has is off the scale. The DB9’s predecessor, the DB7 was nice but it just was a Jag in drag. The DB9 is a whole new car from the ground up. At the time of launch, no other Aston Martin looked like the DB9 ever. It was a whole new chapter for Aston Martin. The swan doors on this car look fantastic, the way they open up slightly. These doors are still on all Aston-Martin’s even today.
The Vantage though, the baby Aston Martin, was designed before the DB9 despite that coming out a year later than the DB9. That car did somewhat inspire the DB9 design but that’s another story. Most Aston Martin’s since the DB9, have used the same door handle design. It’s a flush door handle that you have to push inwards to open the door. It’s a timeless design that does work well today. The keyword there is timeless. This car is completely timeless in every single way. The whole silhouette still looks so modern today, and the interior was we mentioned earlier is effortlessly elegant.
Then there is the speed. This car packs a 5.9 liter V12 under the hood with 450hp and 420 lb-ft of torque when launched in 2004 but then in 2009 power was increased to 470hp and 443 lb-ft of torque. Then again in 2013, power was increased to 510hp and 457 lb-ft of torque. The same sort of power that the DBS produced.
The 0-60 is around 4.7 to 4.5 seconds depending on the model year. Flat out, this car can do over 180 mph which is crazy. The way the speed is delivered is also very linear so it does feel effortless to drive. The gearbox is either a 6-speed Touch Tronic automatic to a very rare 6-speed manual.
Practicality-wise, this car may seat 4 but that’s not entirely true. It has two proper seats and two things that are apparently called “seats.” Even small kids would find the rear seats uncomfortable. Nevertheless, they’re seats at the end of the day and if you do have to sit in them, it is legal. The boot is big enough for a set of golf clubs which for most DB9 owners, is all that matters.
It Beats Its Rivals.
The Bentley Continental and the Mercedes CL55/CL63 are two huge rivals for the DB9. However, I do think the DB9 somewhat beats both of them. It certainly is the best-looking car out of all of them. The Bentley Continental has more power but it just wasn’t as classy as the DB9.
The new Continental was the first Bentley built under the VW Audi group. It was a very cool car indeed, and it completely transformed the brand. It made Bentley cool and it transformed Bentley’s reputation from a brand that made unreliable re-badged Rolls Royce cars to a brand that builds cars that truly are in a league of their own.
The Continental was miles better than the DB7. This is why Aston Martin had to create something that was truly unique. They couldn’t compete with Bentley on technology since they did not have the funds. Aston Martin at the time was owned by Ford. the Ford Group shared many parts within their company. The DB9 had many Volvo parts including the key.
The USP of the DB9 was the looks. It always has been. When it was launched, everyone was shocked. How could a car be so good-looking? So handsome? It completely trumped the design of the Continental, a car that had controversial looks.
The CL55 and CL63 AMG Mercedes were faster. However, the badge really isn’t as cool as Aston Martin is it? Sure they’re both so much more spacious but in reality, they’re not as good as the DB9. The DB9 is the ultimate GT that every car brand aims to beat.
The 599 Ferrari was a rival for the DB9. Though, the DB9 did fall short of that car. Therefore, Aston Martin created the DBS which was a more hardcore version of the DB9 which replaced the previous Vanquish S.
To conclude:
A beautiful car. A genuinely beautiful car especially in facelift form. The design is timeless inside and out and the speed of this thing is incredible. It may not have a lot of power nowadays, but at the time it had more power than a 360 Ferrari and almost as most as a Lamborghini Gallardo. The DB9 was a proper super GT.
This car is a true dream car for many, and it’s now pretty cheap to buy. However, service and fuel costs are very expensive still which is a huge shame.