Review: 2016 Aston Martin DB9 GT Volante
15 December 2017, Neil Parkhi
Introduction
In 2004, the most iconic of the DB series has come, which is the DB9, which has been there for 12 years. The original design was done by Henrik Fisker, who now is the CEO of Fisker Automotive, which had a 5.9 litre during its lifetime, and had one facelift. Since the DB11 came out in 2016, for the last year of production of the DB9, all DB9s had the DB9 GT Badge.
Heritage
The original Aston Martin DB series car was the DB1, which had an inline 4 cylinder engine and only 15 of those were made. In 1950, Aston Martin introduced the DB2, which was produced from 1950 to 1953, and only 411 units were made. That had a new 2.6 litre Lagonda Inline 6 cylinder designed by Walter Owen Bentley, who was one of the founders of Bentley Motors. Since the DB2 ended production, the DB2/4 Mark I had its debut. That was produced from 1953 to 1957, and 764 of those were made in terms of the Mark I and Mark II. The same engine by Walter Owen Bentley was used in this vehicle, until 1954 when Aston Martin started using a new 2.9 litre inline 6 in the Mark II, which had more power and had an increased top speed. The DB2/4 Mark III came out in 1957 and used the same 2.9 litre Lagonda engine. The Mark III ended production in 1959 with 551 of those produced. After all three of those, in 1958, Aston Martin had introduced the new DB4, which had a new design, and a new engine again with a lot more power in them. Production ended in 1963 and 1204 of those were made. In 1963, the new DB5 had came out, which was not that much different than the DB4, but it had more power, and it was a lot more refined than the DB4, and 1059 of those were made. After that, the Aston Martin released the DB6, which was almost the exact same as the DB5, but had some differences. About 1788 of those were made. Then came the DBS, which was the third to last inline 6 Aston Martin, while the original Vantage came as well with one of those, and so did the DB7 when that came out in 1997. The DB7 however also had an optional 5.9 litre V12 as well, which had also a different transmission for better handling. For the DB7, the Volante or convertible was also offered as well.
Review
The DB9 is such an amazing car! I had the opportunity to do a full review of this car and wow it was a lot of fun. The ride was great and fun, but also its feel inside was a whole lot different than I thought. It felt a lot more real in person than even on pictures and videos.
Specifications
| Steering and Transmission | |
|---|---|
| Steering Type | Speed Proportional, Electric Assist, Servotronic Rack and Pinion Power Steering |
| Transmission Type | 6 Speed Automatic |
| Gear 1 Ratio | 4.17 |
| Gear 2 Ratio | 2.34 |
| Gear 3 Ratio | 1.52 |
| Gear 4 Ratio | 1.14 |
| Gear 5 Ratio | 0.87 |
| Gear 6 Ratio | 0.69 |
| Reverse Gear Ratio | 3.40 |
| Wheels and Tires | |
| Front Wheel Type | 20 x 8.5 inch 5-twin spoke alloys |
| Rear Wheel Type | 20 x 11 inch 5-twin spoke alloys |
| Front Tire Type | 245/35R20 |
| Rear Tire Type | 295/30R20 |
| Front Brake Type | Carbon Ceramic Disc |
| Rear Brake Type | Carbon Ceramic Disc |
| Suspension | |
| Front Suspension Type | Double Wishbone |
| Rear Suspension Type | Double Wishbone |
| Suspension Features | Stabilizer Bars, Coil Springs, Premium Shock Absorbers |
| Dimensions | |
| Length (in, mm) | 185.5in, 4712mm |
| Width (in, mm) | 74in, 1880mm |
| Height (in, mm) | 50in, 1270mm |
| Wheelbase (in, mm) | 107.9in, 2740mm |
| Weight (lb, kg) | 4058lb, 1840kg |
| Engine Specifications | |
| Engine Type | 5.9 litre 48 valve V12 |
| Power (bhp, PS, kW) | 540bhp, 548PS, 403kW @ 6750RPM |
| Torque (lb-ft, Nm) | 457lb-ft, 620Nm @ 5500RPM |
| 0-60 mph (0-97 kmph) | 4.4 seconds |
| Top Speed (mph, kmph) | 186 mph, 300 kmph |
| Drivetrain | Rear Wheel Drive |
| Fuel Tank Size (gal, L) | 20.6 gallons, 78L |
| Fuel Type (AKI, RON) | 91 Octane/AKI Petrol (95 RON) |
| City Fuel Economy (mpg, kmpL) | 13mpg, 6kmpL |
| City Fuel Economy (mpg, kmpL) | 19mpg, 8kmpL |
| Price Range | |
| U.S. Dollars | $213,250 |
| Canadian Dollars | $274,039 |