Aston Martin DB9

The Aston Martin DB9, is a Grand tourer launched by the Aston Martin company in 2004. This was the first new car to be built at Aston's new Gaydon facility. The "DB" part of the name comes from David Brown, the owner of Aston Martin for a large part of its history. This model, the Aston Martin DB9, was designed by Ian Callum and finished by his successor, Henrik Fisker, was meant to supersede the now-discontinued Aston Martin DB7, which started production in 1994.You can have the Aston Martin DB9 in two versions. The coupe and the "Volante" convertible, each boasting a 450 bhp, 6.0 litre V12, which has been lifted straight out of the V12 Vanquish and seems to have lost 10 bhp along the way. People say that Aston Martin believed that this car was such a quantum leap from the DB7 that they named it DB9 instead of DB8, as it was that much better than the DB7. As of 2004 production was said to be up to five thousand units a year which is roughly the same as its closest rivals, the Ferrari 360 Modena and Porsche 911 Turbo.
In 2006, Aston Martin introduced a "Sports Pack" which includes increased structural stiffness, lighter forged aluminum wheels, lower (by 6mm) ride height, revised spring and damepr rates and the like. The upgrades address the criticisms to the car as expressed by some automotive journals, in particular the UKs Evo Magazine