Aston Martin DB9

The Aston Martin DB9 is a grand tourer launched by Aston Martin in 2004.

The DB9 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 significant part of its history. The DB9, which was designed by Ian Callum and finished by his successor, Henrik Fisker, superseded the now-discontinued Aston Martin DB7 (also by Callum) which started production in 1994.

DB9 comes in two variants; coupé and "Volante" convertible, each producing 470 bhp (350 kW; 477 PS) coming from a 6.0L V12 engine, originally taken from its sister car the V12 Vanquish. 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.

In 2006, Aston Martin introduced a "Sports Pack" for the DB9, which includes increased structural stiffness, lighter 19-inch (480 mm) forged aluminium alloy wheels complete with titanium wheel nuts, 6 mm (0.2 in) lower ride height, as well as revised spring and damper rates.

Information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aston_martin_db9

Related Pages: Cars, Aston Martin DBS, Aston Martin Virage, Aston Martin Vanquish

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