I think that the PH article makes a really valid point the fitment of the ZF eight speed in the Aston would require a new mounting system at the rear of the car, which would probably investment and R&D prohibitive for them - I suspect that this is the root cause of the Vanquish not having the updated box. Otherwise why would they really not wont to take the opportunity for lower CO2 and differentiation from the DB9?

All that being said I find my DB9 TT2 to be absolutely fine and not wanting in any way really. I had a V6S F-type for a few days and was quite impressed with the car overall (still think it has odd proportions though) , but I didn't think that the gearbox was anything notably better than my 9's. Perhaps I am just too soft of a driver

 

I'm probably the outlier on the subject of transmissions. Due to a left foot injury, a third pedal is out of the question for me. I tried the DCT in an '11 M3, and I didn't love its behavior at all at low speed. Like the PDK, it's a marvel of technology for the track, but for my taste too perfect and seemless for casual driving. As odd as this may sound, the SS II in my V8VS is like a manual in terms of the slight loss of power between upshifts after letting up on the accelerator and the rev matched downshifts, but I just don't have to mess with a clutch. That's also handy in SoCal traffic. Sometimes the latest technology can be too good.