That's modulated only by the adaptive suspension, which now has three settings (normal, sport, and track) with a wider range of responsiveness that in almost any circumstance is adept enough in the base setting.
The combination of that, a lightweight aluminum body and a conventional drivetrain gives its a more natural attitude than almost anything in its class.
ASTON MARTIN DB9 VOLANTE FULL
It gathers itself for a split-second, and then the DB9 takes full charge of full throttle, yanking itself into warp mode, staying true to a line with precision its still-hydraulic steering can still deliver through 20-inch wheels and tires. Remain calm and carry on may as well be its tagline. Stand on the throttle-the DB9 won't break loose out of control with the 180-degree zeal of a pre-2013 Viper. Or even social science, with apologies to those degree holders and their barista skills. Provoking that big-displacement block into a full-blown snarl isn't rocket science. Jaguar's grand tourers will jump the same performance hurdles, but without the subaural brain-stem vibrations of a double-six.
Without the exotica of a dual-clutch or even an eight-speed transmission, the DB9 can vault itself undramatically to 60 mph in about 4.6 second, and to a top speed of 186 mph.
ASTON MARTIN DB9 VOLANTE UPGRADE
The 6.0-liter V-12 emits 510 horsepower-a key upgrade from the Virage-and does so over a relatively narrow powerband, building up velocity calmly and evenly through a six-speed ZF automatic hooked up to the rear axle. The DB9 has plenty of power on reserve, but objectively it's in a middle tier of performance.
It's a grand tourer, not a hypercar, after all. It's a stray of the contemporary supercar-GT breed-turbocharged V-8s and V-10s-and its deep tenor purr can only sway those who haven't run a finger down the spec sheet. If the backpedaled bravado of the DB9's sheetmetal can't cause your next arrythmia, the array of twelve cylinders might not, either. Restraint would never work on a Lamborghini. Still, it's serene, leathery, and undisturbed by the growing presence of LCD screens. Whether it's trimmed in wood or carbon fiber, the DB9's cabin doesn't venture too far from the one in the Vantage or the Rapide. The door handles still take a recess into the doors, almost invisibly, when they're not needed.Ĭonsistency is Aston's armor and its fontanelle, just as much in evidence in the cabin as in its elegantly drawn skin. Aston's grille is now widely mimicked, but nowhere else does it taper into a hoodline like it does here. The new fillips and touch-ups are grace notes on a timeless look: the tight decklid spoiler curls up at the ear, the fender vents now are LED-bedazzled. It laid out the blueprint, with its ageless proportions, expertly underplayed details, classic grand-touring stance. It's more difficult to discern how it's changed, than to show how clearly the DB9 has telegraphed the intent of a whole generation of Aston Martins.
The DB9 had never left, so it never was resurrected-but it has been re-dressed in Virage form. The Virage drifted in, and drifted out, why left unclear. Architecturally similar, separated only by degrees of swank, the older DB9 made retirement noises when the plusher Virage appeared in the 2011 model year.Īnd then the threat disappeared. Just over a year ago, we took off for southern Spain-under mysteriously identical circumstances-to drive the Virage, the car that once would have replaced the DB9. What to do then, when the only slot for driving the only steel-grey Aston Martin DB9 Volante opens up-in a December gone sharply cold? You take it anyway, and hope for the lead in the sky to hold under its own weight.
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