The two V12s I drove were in California. The ride on the freeways was jittery because of the tar strips and not very settled. Certanily not comfortable for any length of time. When driven on smooth mountain roads the ride was obviously better. I drove my SP roadster from LA to Monterey for the concours and the overall ride was better and not as affected by road conditions. Hence my opinion that the SP is the best overall suspension. The V12 is supposed to be a more focused sporting machine as AM puts it and I agree. Thats why I look at it as more of a short blast car than one with the SP. BTY the S can get a bit old on freeways and rougher roads. Thats why the adjustable dampers would make such a huge improvement for the entire range. I guess we will have to wait and see.

 

I personally would not get a V8V, the power is simply lacking. Coming from a touring car background and having been in various racecars for the most part since 2003, I'm used to very fast cars both on and off the track, the V8V is beautiful indeed but it's kinda slow (relatively speaking), I have not driven a V12V however, I would imagine shoehorming a 6L v12 in the Vantage chassis would make a big difference, the brits must have consulted Carroll Shelby on this one!

I love the DB9 because it's a great GT car, that's a nice compliment to my GT2, which is essentially a violent and brutal monster in terms of performance. So the Aston DB9 is the perfect car to compliment it...and the DB9 makes good power, and is a great car for cruising, long trips, and driving around town and in the city, things the GT2 is not good for unless you want to rattle off all your teeth and have a sore butt

 

Nope - stiffer again
I went from a 4.7 sports pack to an S with sport pack wheels
The sport pack wheels do help as they reduce the unsprung weight hanging off the end of the shocks so it reacts quicker.
Steering ratio is superb
Brakes are a little too good
Apparently the box has lower losses than the 6 speed so you do get more ponies & talks at the wheels.
Never dynoed it or my last 4.7 though.

 

If you say so - you've got one sat there after all!

Your brakes are the same spec as mine (380mm with 6 pots)... they are rather good aren't they? On the Goodwood trackday I kept braking too early at first and would be almost stopped dead by the corner!

 

I much prefer my S to my SP car.
The brakes are very good.
First time I hit them hard I nearly fired the wife out the car!

 

Sunir,

Interesting that you think a V8V isn't fast enough, given that you're buying a DB9. Run a 4.7L V8V against the DB9 and see what happens...

 

^^^ I'm not considering the db9 because I want to compete w the v8v, They are / entirely different cars, one is aimed at the sports car market and is slower then it's relative competition, the other is a gt car and arguably one of the best at that in it's segment, moreso then the bentley continental or even the ferrari 575MM.

There are so many things I love about the db9, for starters it looks amazing and I love the proportions in the body and the design, vs the vantage's shorter and overly rounded look.... Db9 has a proper Aston 6L v12 mated to a rear mounted transaxle which is better than the gearbox in the vanquish, plus it is a phenomenal GT car, which is what I am looking for...and the fact that it has 460 bhp, does 60 in 4.5 secs and has a top speed of 190 are just icing on the cake

The db9 is purpose built, its a defining car in its class as a gt car, i dont want it to be a crazy sports car or brutally violent or have incredible figures and specs, it has good numbers but its sooo much more than that...it's a refined, elegant, very well designed transcontinental class dominating hand crafted machine. If i wanted a sheer performance car I would forego the vantage altogether, if I wanted a real sports car to buy for the price of the vantage I'd get a Porsche turbo Pdk, or heck just hop into my gt2 for that matter...for a mind blowing and violent drive though the mountains or blasting around town or the like lol! If I wanted a sledgehammer I'd look at Mercedes Amg, heck my modded sl55 will do 10s in the quarter... And if I wanted to go on track I'd use my racecar. In my estimate a car is designed for a segment or a purpose...and if it dominates in that purpose then it's a great car for what it is and what it was meant to do. The db9 does that very well. In the end of the day I like a db9 specifically for what it is, a db9, not a vantage, not a DBS (I'd get a gt2rs for that money or a 458 italia)... But a beautiful, great GT, and proper Aston!

 

Sunir,

You say you’re “not considering the db9 because I want to compete w the v8v.” Well, I didn’t think you wanted to compete with the V8V – that’s not the point. But why apply different standards to the V8V as you support the DB9? Especially since you started with saying you wouldn’t get a V8V because “the power is simply lacking.” Given the performance offered by the V8V -- especially in 4.7L form -- in comparison to the DB9, I find that a rather odd statement…

You say a V8V is “slower than its relative competition” and “kinda slow.” Aside from the issue of whether that “should” matter, the accuracy of your statement depends on what you consider its competition. A 4.7L V8V is right on par with an Audi R8, every bit as quick as a Gen 1 997S, and pretty much right there with a Gen 2 997S. It’s quicker than a Maserati GranTurismo in any form. It’s quicker than a Jag XK, and right there with the XKR until the 5.0L version arrived. Etc., etc., etc. Obviously the V8V doesn’t have the torque of the supercharged cars, but the power is there if you use the gearbox.

But here’s the really perplexing part of your post. This supposed “lack” of performance relative to its competition rules out a V8V for you, yet you are buying a DB9. You compared it to the Bentley Conti GT, which is faster, and a Ferrari 575, which is faster. Why doesn’t it matter that the DB9 “slower than its relative competition”? Seems a bit hypocritical. Is it because you see the DB9 as a GT, so performance doesn’t matter? Seems improbable. Funny that you’re buying a DB9 that isn’t as fast as the “kinda slow” V8V.

You say the DB9 is “purpose built.” And the V8V isn’t??? You prefer the looks of the DB9. Some prefer the looks of the V8V. They’re both GORGEOUS. They both play the roles of sports car and GT car, but in different proportions – the V8V is more sports car than GT, the DB9 is more GT than sports car. It’s nice to have choices. Yes, the V8V was intended to go after 911 buyers – and it has succeeded – but it was not intended to BE a 911.

The DB9 has a “proper Aston 6L v12.” So, if an Aston has fewer than 12 cylinders it isn’t proper? A DB4/5/6 doesn’t have a proper Aston engine? Nor does an Ulster? Nor does a Newport Pagnell V8? BTW, the DB9 doesn’t have 460 hp (that’s the Vanquish), it has 450 (through MY08) or 470 (MY09 on).

A DB9 is “more than its numbers,” you say. I completely agree. A V8V is also. The attributes that make a DB9 so special and make it an Aston Martin also apply to the V8V (and the Virage, and the DBS).

 

I agree with Sunir.

An Aston is meant to define what a GT car is, it is not meant to be a sportscar and never has (at least since the days of the original V8 and Virage models). Porsche 911 or Boxster are sportscars. The V8 Vantage straddles the line and therefore is neither GT not sportscar. The V12 Vantage moves closer to the GT role with the V12 motor and therefore is closer to the Aston 'image'.

Disclaimer...all of this is my opinion

 

Nicely thought out response and well put together rebuttal, this is what I enjoy about the forums a civilized discussion where arguments are well thought out and crafted...

XJRS Owner and I seem to be in the camp that Astons are more GT cars in general than sports cars, with this premise I will go through each of your paragraphs and respond accordingly:

Para 1) DB9 and V8V are 2 different cars, I wouldn't compare them, one is a tight 2 seater smaller chassis and engine made to challenge Porsche as a sports car, the other is a larger v12 highway car made for GT duty, therefore holding the DB9 to the same performance criteria doesn't make sense, rather I would gauge the DB9 on how my back feels after having driven lets say 400 miles across the mountains and through the highway on a long trip.

Para 2) I don't consider any of the cars you list in this paragraph to be really fast, the only one I was not sure about was audi R8 (the 5.2L v10 is fast the other one is not). I have a very high bar for what fast is, I guess that's from coming both from an Engineering background and racing background as well as having worked with forced induction cars. Cars I consider fast (production cars): Porsche Turbo and GT2 and Panamera turbo, Mercedes AMG engined cars, Nissan GTR, Ferrari 599 GTB, Lambo LP560-4 (inc. Superleggera and Bicolore), Dodge Viper ACR, Corvette (Zo6 and Zr1) etc...etc...there are more but that should give an idea.

Para 3) Yes the DB9 may not be as fast as the Bentley Conti GT or Ferrari 575...but again I don't use the same metrix to compare GT cars as I would sports cars. As a GT car the DB9 is adequetly fast, and with a manual gearbox and sports package its more of a true GT car and even better...but I gauge GT cars by how they drive over long distances and how comfortable they are over range, can they overtake well, can they eat up the miles without causing a driver fatigue.

Para 4) I agree with you mostly here, they are both GORGEOUS and it is nice to have choices. I will say that although the DB9 was created to be a GT and is a class dominating one, the v8v was created to be a sports car and it is neither a true GT nor is it a true sports car. It therefor is a comprimise between the two.

Para 5) I've always associate Astons with GT cars and just fine cross country machines. I've always seen GT cars as having 12 cylinders, such as the great front engine GT cars Ferrari made in the 50s, the 275 Lusso, 275 GTB 4 cam, 1964 500 Superfast etc...etc... and Aston too has used the 12 cylinder engine as it's flagship. However you are right and I stand corrected the term "proper Aston" should perhaps not be reserved to the v12 cars, I will concede that point

Para 6) I agree the Astons are special, regardless of which one, they are more than a sum of their performance numbers. That's why I am buying one...they have certain intangible qualities that make them special. We agree again

 

XJRS,

One of best things about the V8V, IMO, is that, rather than being neither, it plays both the sports car and the GT roles very well -- great handling, involvement, poise, sharp and exploitable balance, while also being very comfortable, very stable at speed and a superb high speed long distance touring car. It's great to drive hard and fast (if not as hard core as Ferrari, GT3 and the like), but importantly it's also great to drive NOT fast. DB9 and V8V are both compromises -- it comes down to which compromise one prefers.

It's interesting that you consider the V12V "more of a GT" than the V8V. The V12 is the most hard core, most focused, most firmly-sprung, semi-track tire equipped, version of the Vantage line. To me, that makes it the least GT-like, most sports car-like, Vantage of all, though still very capable as a GT.

Aston has long made sports cars and GTs. Surely the pre-war cars are sports cars, not just GTs. DB2 and DB4, for example, also do great sports car and GT roles. Later cars got bigger and heavier -- does that render the earlier Astons less "Aston-like"? Surely not. By your own statement, the original V8 and Virage were GTs -- if that's so, sine they're V8s, how is it that a V12 -- which didn't even exist until the DB7 Vantage -- is now needed in order to be a proper Aston? By your reasoning, the earlier V8s and Virages as epitomizing Aston as a GT should make the V8V more of a GT than the V12V?

 

Sunir,

Thanks for the good words.

Clearly your standard of “fast” is rather lofty! I do find it interesting that you consider the Ferrari 575 a GT in the DB9 mold (rather than in the DBS or Vanquish category). Do you also consider the 550 a GT? I ask because, while I’ve driven the 550 and found it pretty sports car-like, the 575 (which I've not driven) is often said to be a bit softer (without the handling pack, anyway).

Looks like we agree on many points, however there is one more I feel compelled to make. IMO, the V8V (especially in 4.7L form) is every bit as much of a standard setter in its class as the DB9 is in its class, whatever those classes may be.

Enjoy the DB9 -- they're wonderful cars!

 

You r on point the db9 is lofty indeed but so is the vantage we agree. The db9 is a true GT car both look great as the vantage but the 9 is the true GT car the vantage is no more a sports car then it is a GT car. That's all I'm saying I love
All astons for sure !!!!

 

The V12V is NOT more GT than the V8V. Quite the opposite.

 

Well said