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NEWS
New Aston Martin DB9 vanquishes Virage
British sportscar specialist updates its long-serving DB9, making the Virage redundantAston Martin just last year added the Virage to its range, but that model turned out to have one of the shortest lifespans in history as the imminent introduction of the facelifted MY2013 DB9 has sounded the death knell for it.
Following closely in the wheeltracks of the new Vanquish, the updated version of the eight-year-old DB9 scores a more powerful V12, latest-gen adaptive damping and some subtle visual tweaks that only the keenest of train-spotters will pick up on.
The new 6.0-litre V12 borrows some of the hardware developed for the Vanquish, and the result is that power is up to 380kW, while torque rises to 620Nm – increases of 30kW and 20Nm respectively.
Aston Martin claims a 0-100km/h acceleration time of 4.6 seconds (down 0.2 seconds) and top whack of 295km/h, which is oddly 11km/h slower than the old DB9 but more or less puts it on par with the new Porsche 911.
Key features of the uprated V12 unit include a revised block and new head including dual variable valve timing, enlarged throttle bodies, uprated fuel pump, revised intake manifold and machined combustion chambers.
Offsetting the extra urge is a set of Brembo-sourced Carbon Ceramic Matrix (CCM) discs and calipers, which promise added stopping power and better fade resistance.
The brake rotors (398mm diameter at the front, 360mm at the rear) are mounted onto the bespoke disc bells using a ‘floating disc’ system, and Aston says this allows the discs to flex relative to their mountings thereby making them less prone to judder.
The updated DB9’s handling dynamics should also benefit from the ‘Gen4’ VH version of the Adaptive Damping System (ADS), which in its latest guise offers three modes: Normal, Sport and Track. Aston claims the different damping modes available help appreciably broaden DB9's character, ranging from a comfortable and compliant GT car in Normal mode to a firm and direct sports car in Sport setting and even more so in Track mode.
Visual changes are subtle, to say the least, but look closely and you’ll pick up on the new bi-xenon headlights with LED daytime running lights. There’s also a larger lower front grille that feeds air into the Carbon Ceramic Braking system, while the front splitter serves to visually widen the car. The flanks are distinguished by Vanquish-inspired side strakes and LED side repeaters, while out back there’s a more pronounced lip on the bootlid to aid high-speed stability.
MY13 ASTON MARTIN DB9 FAST FACTS:
Engine: Mid-front-mounted 6.0-litre V12
Power: 380kW at 6500 rpm
Torque: 620Nm at 5500 rpm
Acceleration: 0-100km/h in 4.6 seconds
Max speed: 295km/h
Transmission: Rear mid-mounted ‘Touchtronic 2’ six-speed automatic with electronic shift-by wire control system
Wheels: 20-inch five-spoke cast alloy – 8.5J x 20-inch (front); 11J x 20-inch (rear)
Tyres: Pirelli P Zero 245/35 ZR20 (front); 295/30 ZR20 (rear)
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Written byGautam Sharma
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