ASTON MARTIN DB9

The Aston Martin DB9 is a sports car with GT levels of comfort and refinement. Its design philosophy is uncompromising and brings together everything that makes a sports car great with that unique Aston Martin character. It has a fully equipped cabin trimmed in the finest quality materials; DB9�s 6.0-litre V12 and shift-by-wire fully automatic transmission.

The Aston Martin DB9 is a grand tourer launched by Aston Martin in 2004 and is the first new car to be built at Aston's Gaydon facility. The name "DB" stems from David Brown, the owner of Aston Martin for a sizeable part of its history. This model, which was designed by Ian Callum and finished by his successor, Henrik Fisker, superseded the now-discontinued Aston Martin DB7 (also by Callum) which started production in 1994.

Aston Martin DB9 Specifications:

Make and Model: Aston Martin DB9
Year: 2004
Engine Type: 48-valve, 5935cc V12
Torque: 420lb-ft@5000rpm
Acceleration 0-60: 4.9 s
Suspension: Independent double aluminium wishbones, coil over aluminium monotube dampers and anti-roll bar
Wheel Base: 2740 inches
List Price: $155,000
Horsepower: 450bhp@6000rpm
Top Speed: 186 mph
Brakes:
Vented Discs
Transmission: 6 speed Manual
Weight: 1710 lbs

The DB9 comes in two variants; coup� and "Volante" convertible, each with a 6.0 L 450 brake horsepower (335 kW) V12 engine taken from its sister car the V12 Vanquish. The Vanquish engine produces 10 bhp (7 kW) more. In fact, this V12 engine is why Aston Martin did not call the car the DB8, which could suggest that it has only eight cylinders. One report states that Aston Martin believed that this car was such a huge leap from the Jaguar XJ-S based DB7 that it named it DB9 instead of DB8, which they thought would indicate a gradual evolution. As of 2004 production is expected be up to five thousand units a year which is roughly the same as its rivals, in particular the Ferrari F430 and Porsche 911 Turbo. This car was designed to ensure Aston Martin's continued survival into 21st century in light of its past financial troubles. Traditionally being a maker of more exclusive automobiles, CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez assures Aston loyalists that production numbers of the new DB9 will be slightly higher than previous models; however, the Aston will still retain only a small statistical percentage of the high-end sports car market.

The car has an artificial neural network implemented at the hardware level to detect engine misfires. The car has been adapted for sports car racing by Prodrive. The DBR9, as it is called, first saw competition at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2005 and won the LMGT1 category, but was beaten by arch-rivals Corvette Racing in the Le Mans GT1 class.
In 2006, Aston Martin introduced a "Sports Pack" for the DB9, which includes increased structural stiffness, lighter 19-inch forged aluminium alloy wheels complete with titanium wheel nuts, 6mm lower ride height, as well as revised spring and damper rates. This upgrade suits the more spirited driver.
Aston Martin's Rapide four-door sports car is heavily based on the DB9.