DB9 is a thoroughbred sports car with GT levels of comfort and refinement. Its design philosophy is uncompromising and brings together everything that makes a sports car great with that unique Aston Martin character, borne out of craftsmanship and use of the finest quality materials.

So what is it that makes a great sports car?

Most cars are a series of compromises. The result is usually rational - even impressive on paper - but often bland and soulless in reality. Sports cars should be all about character and driver involvement. They need to look great, sound great and have power and performance to stir the soul.

Sports cars are meant to be beautiful, and no maker of sporting cars has a better reputation for understated elegance and graceful styling than Aston Martin. Their beauty comes from harmonious proportions, a ground-hugging stance, taut surfacing, and thorough attention to detail. They are subtle, not attention-seeking. DB9 appears as if milled from a solid piece of aluminium.

Its side profile is typically Aston Martin: very clean, with a single sweep roofline. The uncluttered lines flow through to a distinctive tail, and the haunches on the rear wings are wide and curvaceous. Key Aston Martin design characteristics include the distinctive grille, metal side strakes and signature rear window shape.

DB9 is new from the ground up. Every feature has been tailored to make the world's finest sports GT. The starting point was to define the ideal dimensions, proportions and materials for the chassis. Aston Martin did not use an adapted platform from an existing family or luxury saloon - the most common starting point for GT cars. This approach can lead to compromise in styling and weight and loss of character.

Aston Martin developed its own incredibly light and strong aerospace-specification bonded aluminium structure. This 'VH' (Vertical/Horizontal) architecture, which is unique to Aston Martin, has given DB9 one of the most structurally efficient body frames in the car industry. Its enormous rigidity aids handling, driver feedback and safety. More than any other single component, the advanced aluminium structure is the reason for DB9's extraordinary nimbleness, responsiveness and overall character.

It takes one push of a button and a mere 17 seconds to raise or lower the roof of the Volante. Hood up or down, the lines of a DB9 Volante remain breathtakingly beautiful.

DB9 was conceived and designed, from the outset, as both a Coupe and a convertible (Volante). This uncompromising approach is typical of the whole DB9 engineering philosophy. That is why DB9 Volante is one of the most structurally rigid and best handling convertibles in the world. It is also one of the fastest and quietest. It looks elegant and perfectly proportioned from every angle - with roof up or down.

As with all Aston Martins, beauty and proportion is of key importance.

Great sports cars must handle superbly. They should respond quickly and predictably to driver commands; they should be nimble and agile.

The front-to-rear weight distribution of DB9 is near perfect with 85 percent of the car's mass sited between the front and rear axles. The aluminium V12 engine is mounted as far back as possible in a 'front mid-engined' layout. The compact aluminium transaxle housing the gearbox and final drive is positioned at the rear, forward of the rear axle.

A lightweight and rigid carbon fibre propellor shaft, housed in a cast aluminium torque tube, transfers torque from the front-mid engine to the rear-mid transmission. This gives DB9 its superb balance.

Designed to Stir the Soul

A great sports car needs a great engine - it is the heart of any high performance machine. In DB9's case, that great engine is a powerful yet refined all aluminium 6.0-litre V12. It produces 335 kW (450 bhp) and 570 Nm (420 lb ft) of torque. That results in a power to weight ratio of 194 kW/tonne (263 bhp/tonne) - one of the highest figures in its class.

Performance is enormous, yet usable. Top speed is 300 km/h (186 mph) and acceleration sees 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.9 seconds (add two tenths of a second for the automatic). These figures are impressive and DB9 will respond with real passion.

Two-Way Communication

More than any other quality, DB9 seeks to serve up the richest driving experience in the sports GT class. It serenades the driver with its balance of engine and exhaust notes; it scintillates with its performance and agility; it charms with its delicious blend of fluent steering and linear controls. And if you wish to relax and just enjoy a leisurely drive, you can indulge yourself with the superb, industry-leading Linn audio system and select the car's full automatic transmission mode.

This match of performance and luxury is the reason why DB9 can be both out-and-out sports car and refined GT. The cabin of DB9 is built around the driver. You sit as low and as close as possible to the car's centre of gravity. Combined with the rigid body structure and all-aluminium, double-wishbone suspension, the result is unfiltered feedback of the car's dynamic behaviour.

Elegant & Luxurious Cabin Hand-Trimmed in Natural Materials

DB9 is a luxurious sports car. It is supremely comfortable, with a cabin hand-trimmed in beautiful, natural materials - primarily wood and leather. There is the latest in modern technology, yet there are no superfluous controls or displays. There is a minimum of distraction. Even the satellite navigation screen motors seamlessly away when not in use.

Yet the car has very high equipment levels, as you would expect in a thoroughbred sports car with GT levels of comfort and refinement.

An Exclusive Sports Car Tailored for Individuals

Aston Martins are hand-built cars, made to order. This exclusive, bespoke tailoring philosophy means any combination of paint and leather trim colour is possible. That is the essence of hand craftsmanship; it's what makes Aston Martin's new Gaydon facility the Savile Row of sports car production.

There is, of course, an extensive palette of standard body colours and interior finishes. These have been specially chosen by Aston Martin's team of designers, who have scoured the world to gain inspiration for colours, materials, surfaces and finishes.

Twenty paint colours, categorised as 'contemporary' and 'fast track', vary from subtle metallics to the brightest hues. Twenty shades of the finest, softest leather, eight colours of carpet and four choices of wood trim - piano black, walnut, mahogany and bamboo - complete the 'standard' choice. For DB9 Volante, six roof colours are available, from black to sandstone.

Technical Innovation Tested Meticulously

DB9 is the most thoroughly tested and engineered car in Aston Martin's history. It is also one of the most technically sophisticated cars in the world.

The long list of design and engineering innovations includes the Organic Electro Luminescent (OEL) displays in the instrument pack and centre console. These provide higher resolution, and improved clarity, compared with conventional electronic displays.

Other innovations include LED (Light Emitting Diode) rear lamps that project through a reflector, dispensing rays more evenly than other LED systems. They also react more quickly, giving earlier warning to following drivers when braking.

Reassurance in an Unpredictable World

DB9 offers class-leading safety. Its structure is designed to provide a supremely robust passenger cell that cocoons its occupants who are further protected by extruded aluminium crumple zones front and rear.

Dual-stage driver and passenger airbags, seat-mounted side airbags and seat belt pretensioners offer further protection. In the Volante, rear roll-over hoops are automatically deployed, when required, from the rear headrests.

DB9's active safety - the ability to help avoid an accident occurring in the first place - begins with its inherent agility and responsiveness. The lightweight, rigid body structure and superbly tuned suspension and steering are further aided by a host of advanced electronics. These include Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) and the latest-generation ABS brakes which, should the system detect loss of grip, combine to help keep the car stable and balanced.

Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) and Emergency Brake Assist (EBA) are also employed. EBD balances the front-to-rear braking bias, to give optimal braking performance. In an emergency, EBA sensors detect when maximum braking is required and automatically apply the appropriate force.

DB9 is the first Aston Martin to be produced at the company's new world headquarters in Gaydon, in historic Warwickshire. Gaydon is a dedicated, high-technology facility where DB9 is hand-built at a series of work stations by technicians and craftsmen. This hand-craftsmanship has nothing to do with nostalgia. Hand-craftsmanship can deliver superior finishes and unique design details. It can also deliver engineering and design solutions for an exclusive sports car that mass production would find impossible.

The 'single cut' headlamp apertures in the front wings remove the need for unsightly cut or join lines and can only be achieved using Aston Martin's hand-build processes. Hand-painting and hand-finishing deliver a better paint finish than any mechanised process, and each DB9 benefits from 25 man-hours of painting, to ensure a perfect finish. Customer visits are welcome and form an important part of the unique Aston Martin buying experience.

• Two door coupe or convertible (Volante) body style with 2+2 seating
• Extruded aluminium bonded body structure
• Aluminium and composite body panels
• Extruded aluminium door side impact protection beams
• High Intensity Discharge (HID) projector lamps (dipped beam)
• Halogen projector headlamps (main beam) with power wash
• LED rear lamps

Engine

• All alloy, quad overhead camshaft, 48-valve, 5935cc V12
• Compression ratio 10.3:1
• Visteon engine management controlling fuel injection, ignition, diagnostics and misfire detection system.
• Stainless steel by-pass valve exhaust system
• Maximum power 335 kW (450 bhp) at 6000 rpm
• Maximum torque 570 Nm (420 lb ft) at 5000 rpm
• Acceleration 0-60 mph in 4.9 seconds
• Maximum speed 186 mph (300 km/h)

Transmission

• Rear mid-mounted 'Touchtronic 2' six-speed gearbox with electronic shift-by-wire control system
• Rear mid-mounted six-speed manual gearbox
• Limited slip differential
• Final drive ratio 3.54:1 (manual) / 3.154:1 (Touchtronic 2)

Steering

• Rack and pinion, servotronic speed-sensitive power-assisted, 3.0 turns lock to lock.
• Column tilt and reach adjustment

Suspension

• Front: Independent double aluminium wishbones incorporating anti-dive geometry, coil over aluminium monotube dampers and anti-roll bar
• Rear: Independent double aluminium wishbones incorporating longitudinal control arms, coil over aluminium monotube dampers and anti-roll bar.

Brakes

• Radial-mounted four-piston monobloc calipers, Anti Lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD), Emergency Brake Assist (EBA), Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) and Traction Control
• Front: Ventilated and grooved steel discs 355 mm diameter
• Rear: Ventilated and grooved steel discs 330 mm diameter
  

Wheels & Tyres

• Lightweight aluminium 19" alloy wheels - 10 spoke design
• Front: 8.5J x 19
• Rear: 9.5J x 19
  

Tyres

• Front: 235/40 ZR19
• Rear: 275/35 ZR19

Interior

• Full grain leather interior
• Walnut facia trim
• Driver and front passenger dual-stage air-bags
  
• Front occupant side air-bags
  
• Automatically deployed roll-over bars (Volante)
  
• Memory seats and exterior mirrors (3 positions)
  
• Ten-way electrically adjusted seats (including height, tilt and lumbar adjustment)
  
• Heated front seats
  
• Heated rear screen
  
• Automatic temperature control
  
• Organic electroluminescent (OEL) displays
  
• Trip computer
  
• Cruise control
  
• Powerfold exterior mirrors
  
• Reversing sensors
  
• Tyre pressure monitoring *1
  
• Alarm and immobiliser
  
• Remote-control central door locking and boot release
  
• Aston Martin Umbrella and holder
  
• Battery disconnect switch
  
• Battery conditioner
  
• Linn 128 W audio system with radio and six CD autochanger

Dimensions

• Length: 4710 mm
  
• Width: 1875 mm
  
• Height: 1270 mm
  
• Kerb weight: 1760 kg (manual) 1800 kg (automatic)
  
• Fuel tank capacity: 80 litres
  
• Wheelbase: 2745 mm
  
• Boot capacity: 186 litres
  
• C02 Emissions: 421 g/km (manual) / 394 g/km (touchtronic)

Optional Equipment

• Sports Pack
  
• Bright finish grille
  
• Front parking sensors
  
• Mahogany, Bamboo or Piano black facia trim
  
• Matching wood door trim
  
• Personalised sill plaques
  
• Auto dimming interior rear view mirror
  
• Auto dimming interior rear view mirror with garage door opener*1
  
• Heated front screen
  
• Alarm upgrade (volumetric & tilt sensors)
  
• Tracking device*1/2
  
• Integrated GSM telephone
  
• Alternative brake caliper finish (black, red, silver)
  
• Sports Pack (Coupe)
  
• 19" alloy wheels - 15 spoke
  
• First aid kit
  
• Smokers' pack
  
• Linn 260W audio system with Limbik 5.1. Linn 950W audio system with Dolby Pro Logic II.

*1 Not available in all markets
*2 Complies with UK Thatcham Category 5 requirements. Excludes subscription. Standard in the UK.