The time came to say goodbye to a car that marked all the spirits, the Aston Martin DB9. When it appeared in 2003, it was breath-taking with its massive V12 under the bonnet, developing then 470 bhp, and rocketing the car from stop to 100 kph in just 4,6 seconds. On the road, it has one of the best driving experiences there is. But now, time come for Aston Martin to say its fair wells to the DB9, with a last edition : The DB9 GT.
First thing is first : What is it?
From the outside, it looks like any aggressive Aston : An aluminum body 2-doors coupe, with Vanquisher looks, a huge grill, aerodynamic profile, the rear lamps of the 2013 DB9. On the inside, it has pure Aston Martin’s DB GT cars spirit. Under the bonnet, lies the massive power unit of the car. A 5.9L V12, atmospheric, producing up to 540 bhp @6750 rpm and 620 Nm of torque @5500 rpm. It is a double Over-head camshaft, 48 valve aluminium block, front-mounted engine. Power is transmitted to the rear wheels via a 6-speed automatic “Touchtronic 2” gearbox. 0 to 60 mph (100 kph) is slightly improved compared to the DB9, and it became 4.5 seconds. The pleasure of hearing this car roar is thanks to a catalysed stainless steel exhaust system with active bypass valves. Fuel consumption has been kept the same as the DB9 it is 19 mpg’s . Top speed for the DB9 was 190 mph (310 kph) but the GT top speed has been lowered to 183 mph (295 kph).
The interior is rich, it mixes class and sportiness. It is covered with a full-grain leather body. The Steering wheel is Alcantara made. The seats are electronically adjustable. When it comes to technology, the DB9 GT came ready for everything, it has sat nav, cruise control, automatic temperature control, Bluetooth telephone preparation, front and rear parking sensor, integrated Apple connectors, remote control central door locking, and the list goes on for the interesting features. Sportiness is present with the dark grey attitude, the simplicity of it, it doesn’t have a 3000 buttons to do all sort of stuff, Aston Martin engineers made sure to put what is necessary for the driver to be comfortable, to be able to choose its wanted driving mode (Normal, Sport or Track mode, that is to choose how mad you want the car to be) seat adjustment, interior temperature…
The BD9 GT sits on 20-inch 5 spoke wheels, that do come with Pirelli P Zero tyres. Suspension is electronically regulated in height according to the driving mode. The car comes with independent double wishbones incorporating anti-dive geometry, coil springs, anti-roll bar and monotube adaptive damper for both front and rear suspension. For the Brakes, the four wheels are equipped with ventilated carbon ceramic discs, 398 mm diameter with six-piston monobloc calipers. It is fitted with ABS, DSC, EBD and to make the car mess with its tail, a traction control (that is required to be OFF for fun mode). To ensure aerodynamic stability, the body is volante-like made, the car is fitted with a carbon-fiber rear diffuser. The body is made of aluminum, carbon-fiber and magnesium alloys for weight gain reasons, and the car weights just close to 1900 kgs, which is 100 kg lighter than the old DB9.
The DB9 GT is the last of the Martins DB9’s. It marks the end for such an amazing car. The price put on it is justified by the pleasure it offers to drive it, or just even to look at it, 200,000$.
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