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Aston Martin DB9
The Aston Martin DB9 is a two-door grand tourer car that was produced by the British carmaker Aston Martin in Gaydon, Warwickshire. It was manufactured both as a coupé starting in 2004 and a convertible known as the Volante from 2005, until their discontinuation in 2016.
Succeeding the DB7, which Aston Martin produced from 1994 until 2004, the DB9 was designed by Ian Callum and Henrik Fisker and debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2003, while the Volante debuted at the Detroit Auto Show in the subsequent year. The DB9, which is built upon Aston Martin's vertical/horizontal platform, employs extensive use of lightweight materials—including aluminium and composite materials—throughout the body. Over its production, Aston Martin implemented a series of updates to the car; the first two—which occurred in 2008 and 2010—involved minor changes to elements like the headlights, tail-lights, engine and interior. The third and final update occurred in 2012, when Aston Martin completely restyled the front fascia; its largely redesigned headlights gave the DB9 a design reminiscent of the 2011–2012 Virage.
The company's racing division, Aston Martin Racing, adapted the DB9 for sports car racing in the form of the DBR9 and the DBRS9 for the FIA GT1 and the FIA GT3, respectively. They were extensively modified; the interior features were removed and the aluminium body panels were replaced by carbon fibre panels. The engine was modified in both cars to produce more horsepower and torque. Aston Martin released three special editions of the DB9: the DB9 LM, the DB9 Zagato Spyder Centennial and the DB9 GT. The car was well-received by critics, with one reviewer describing its interior as "one of the best known to man", but faced criticism for its handling and limited cargo space.
The letters "DB" are the initials of David Brown, the owner of Aston Martin between 1947 and 1972. Although the DB9 succeeded the DB7, Aston Martin did not name the car DB8 due to fears that the name would suggest that it featured a V8 engine—the DB9 has a V12. Reports indicated that Aston Martin held the belief that naming the car "DB8" would suggest a progressive evolution, given that the DB9 marked the introduction of an entirely new vehicle.
In 1994, Aston Martin, which Ford Motor Company owned at the time, began producing the DB7, a grand tourer positioned as an "entry-level" model within the company's lineup. It was the only Aston Martin that used steel monocoque construction, which was designed by Jaguar—a company that Ford also owned at the time. Designed by Ian Callum, the DB7 was available as both a coupe and convertible, the latter known as the Volante. In 1999, Aston Martin began manufacturing the DB7 Vantage, which featured a V12 engine developed by Ford in the United States. It became so popular that it started diverting sales from the six-cylinder model, leading to the latter's discontinuation later that year. The DB7 remained in production until 2004, when Aston Martin had produced about 7,000 examples. At the time, it was the best selling model in Aston Martin's history, though it was later surpassed by its successor, the DB9.
In the late 1990s, Aston Martin developed a model strategy that aimed to introduce various new technologies. Ford made significant investments in enhancing engine and structural technologies to create an entirely new platform, helping to restore Aston Martin's reputation as a desirable luxury automaker. The Vanquish, introduced in 2001 to replace the Virage, was the first car of this new era. Following the rejection of previous product proposals, the replacement for the DB7 was announced as the "DB9". This platform, named "vertical/horizontal", would underpin most mass-produced Aston Martins produced between 2003 and 2016.
We started working on this after we did a V8 mid-engined car, which was the AM305 concept – I worked on that car at TWR with a small V8 in the back. Then Ulrich Bez took over the company at this point, and he didn’t want a mid-engined car; he said Astons have to be front-engined. He obviously had an engineering strategy as well, where he could use the front end of the big car on the smaller one but I disagreed with him and said that it could be a mid-engined car […] and he had the view that British cars should never be mid-engined.
In July 2000, Ford appointed Ulrich Bez as chief executive officer and chairman of Aston Martin. The entry-level DB7 was due to be replaced by a car with the project codename "AM802", slated to be a 2+2 grand touring car. During this time, a third project was in development, codenamed "AM305". It was to be a smaller, two-seater car intended to compete with the Porsche 911 and the Ferrari 360. This car became the Vantage in 2005.
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Aston Martin DB9
The Aston Martin DB9 is a two-door grand tourer car that was produced by the British carmaker Aston Martin in Gaydon, Warwickshire. It was manufactured both as a coupé starting in 2004 and a convertible known as the Volante from 2005, until their discontinuation in 2016.
Succeeding the DB7, which Aston Martin produced from 1994 until 2004, the DB9 was designed by Ian Callum and Henrik Fisker and debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2003, while the Volante debuted at the Detroit Auto Show in the subsequent year. The DB9, which is built upon Aston Martin's vertical/horizontal platform, employs extensive use of lightweight materials—including aluminium and composite materials—throughout the body. Over its production, Aston Martin implemented a series of updates to the car; the first two—which occurred in 2008 and 2010—involved minor changes to elements like the headlights, tail-lights, engine and interior. The third and final update occurred in 2012, when Aston Martin completely restyled the front fascia; its largely redesigned headlights gave the DB9 a design reminiscent of the 2011–2012 Virage.
The company's racing division, Aston Martin Racing, adapted the DB9 for sports car racing in the form of the DBR9 and the DBRS9 for the FIA GT1 and the FIA GT3, respectively. They were extensively modified; the interior features were removed and the aluminium body panels were replaced by carbon fibre panels. The engine was modified in both cars to produce more horsepower and torque. Aston Martin released three special editions of the DB9: the DB9 LM, the DB9 Zagato Spyder Centennial and the DB9 GT. The car was well-received by critics, with one reviewer describing its interior as "one of the best known to man", but faced criticism for its handling and limited cargo space.
The letters "DB" are the initials of David Brown, the owner of Aston Martin between 1947 and 1972. Although the DB9 succeeded the DB7, Aston Martin did not name the car DB8 due to fears that the name would suggest that it featured a V8 engine—the DB9 has a V12. Reports indicated that Aston Martin held the belief that naming the car "DB8" would suggest a progressive evolution, given that the DB9 marked the introduction of an entirely new vehicle.
In 1994, Aston Martin, which Ford Motor Company owned at the time, began producing the DB7, a grand tourer positioned as an "entry-level" model within the company's lineup. It was the only Aston Martin that used steel monocoque construction, which was designed by Jaguar—a company that Ford also owned at the time. Designed by Ian Callum, the DB7 was available as both a coupe and convertible, the latter known as the Volante. In 1999, Aston Martin began manufacturing the DB7 Vantage, which featured a V12 engine developed by Ford in the United States. It became so popular that it started diverting sales from the six-cylinder model, leading to the latter's discontinuation later that year. The DB7 remained in production until 2004, when Aston Martin had produced about 7,000 examples. At the time, it was the best selling model in Aston Martin's history, though it was later surpassed by its successor, the DB9.
In the late 1990s, Aston Martin developed a model strategy that aimed to introduce various new technologies. Ford made significant investments in enhancing engine and structural technologies to create an entirely new platform, helping to restore Aston Martin's reputation as a desirable luxury automaker. The Vanquish, introduced in 2001 to replace the Virage, was the first car of this new era. Following the rejection of previous product proposals, the replacement for the DB7 was announced as the "DB9". This platform, named "vertical/horizontal", would underpin most mass-produced Aston Martins produced between 2003 and 2016.
We started working on this after we did a V8 mid-engined car, which was the AM305 concept – I worked on that car at TWR with a small V8 in the back. Then Ulrich Bez took over the company at this point, and he didn’t want a mid-engined car; he said Astons have to be front-engined. He obviously had an engineering strategy as well, where he could use the front end of the big car on the smaller one but I disagreed with him and said that it could be a mid-engined car […] and he had the view that British cars should never be mid-engined.
In July 2000, Ford appointed Ulrich Bez as chief executive officer and chairman of Aston Martin. The entry-level DB7 was due to be replaced by a car with the project codename "AM802", slated to be a 2+2 grand touring car. During this time, a third project was in development, codenamed "AM305". It was to be a smaller, two-seater car intended to compete with the Porsche 911 and the Ferrari 360. This car became the Vantage in 2005.