Mounting the transmissions at the rear with the differential yields the perfect 50/50 front-to-rear weight distribution for race-car handling prowess in this relatively lightweight package. The transaxle final drive ratios will be 3.15:1 for the automatic and 3.54:1 for the manual.
Like a handful of other manumatic transmissions, the ZF Touchtronic 2 blips the throttle automatically between gears when you pull the left paddle for a downshift, so the car doesn't break traction at a critical moment. Full-throttle upshifts are likewise computer-matched to the engine, which features the world's first neural network to detect and correct misfiring.
The suspension underneath the DB9 is a combination of Dynamic Suspension coil/shock units, upper and lower control arms, the front steered by ZF Servotronic speed-sensitive power rack-and-pinion steering. The DB9 uses new, radially grooved aluminum-caliper 14-in. Brembo four-piston disc brakes front and 13-in. Brembo rear brakes, in a chassis fitted with ABS, electronic brake force distribution, brake assist, dynamic stability control (for the first time on any Aston Martin) and traction control. Aston Martin states the electronic driving aids were designed from the beginning to help right the car in an emergency situation but not to interfere when you're just out there driving around and having fun, so the interventions don't show up very often even in, shall I say, spirited driving.
There will be several Speedline wheels to choose from, all mounting Bridgestone's brand-new RE050 high-performance tires, P235/40ZR-19 front and P275/35ZR-19 rears.
The DB9 exterior is designed to reflect all of the time-honored DB design cues dating back to the DB4 of the 1950s, and it is perhaps the most beautiful of all the DB series so far. Beautiful, but not brutish. From its covered multi-element clear-lens headlamps, to the trademark fish-mouth grille opening, to the lines that converge at the rear end of the car, this is a thoroughbred sports car that simply doesn't have a bad angle. The camera, and the human eye, worship this shape.
The only detail I don't care for is the extra piece of chrome trim at the trailing edge of the DB9's front fender vents, pasted onto the door skin, as it is on the Vanquish. I just think this is a fussy detail that could have been left off to great effect. But the rest of the car is heartrendingly, beautifully minimalist, purposeful as a 9-lb hammer, smooth as velvet, and ready to kick some serious ass. Each DB9 gets 50 hours' worth of painting, 25 hours of prep and 25 hours to lay on nine coats of paint.
The delicious leather, chrome and wood interior features Bridge of Weir leather in 20 colors and three different woods-walnut, mahogany and bamboo-in an instrument panel that Fisker said has the biggest single piece of wood in the industry. As far as the DB9 being a 2+2, that must be Aston Martin's idea of a joke, because the only thing you can put on the back seats is a briefcase or a purse or a small package. Legroom is effectively zero back there. The front seats are a different story, built to accommodate a 97th-percentile man, which means about 6 ft 4 in. tall, and they are very, very comfortable, with huge upper and lower wings on them, like racing seats, to keep you in place. What's more, the power seat buttons are on the sides of the console, not on the outboard side of the seat-very easy to find and use.
The panorama that stretches out before anyone in the driver's seat includes massive amounts of stitched leather on the dashboard, instrument panel, doors, console surround and headliner. The instrument faces appear as though they were milled from aluminum bar stock, made to look very much three-dimensional and illuminated in yellow by a new technology from Pioneer called Organic Electroluminescent or OEL. The center stack contains a pop-up navigation screen, two large center air vents, the transmission shift buttons, an analog clock matching the speedo and tach design, the entertainment system, and HVAC controls in a combination of wood and brushed aluminum. Gorgeous. What's behind it all and makes the electronic systems work is a new Volvo Volcano software protocol and a wiring harness from the Volvo S80, modified for the DB9.
Electronics include an optional 960-watt Linn six-CD stereo system and a new Motorola four-band phone, the very first application for this phone in any automobile. Other options include an alarm and immobilizer system, navigation, cruise control and a tire-pressure monitoring system.
After salivating over the DB9 for close to six months, I finally got my chance behind the wheel at the five-star Domaine du Chateau de St. Martin, in the hills north of the French Riviera, only a few miles from the Nice airport, but a world away from the hustle and bustle. My test car was a metallic silver one with the light bamboo interior trim and black leather seats, satellite DVD navigation, the optional Linn sound system and the manumatic transmission. Armed with a map, a route book and a trusted navigator, I turned left out of the chateau and into sports car Fantasyland, a set of roads that would make Carroll Shelby weep.