Great Britain, great cars. The UK motor industry is respected the world over, and though many of the vehicles are actually owned by foreign manufacturers, there can be no doubting of the fantastic heritage of the British motor.
To celebrate Britain’s famous history CarSupermarket.com is launching a series looking back on some of the most famous vehicles the UK has ever seen.
Aston Martin DB9
Some might say that Aston Martin were living off their past reputation at the turn of the millennium, their DB7 model was hugely popular and a true classic of its generation, but it the motoring public demanded more luxury and more oomph.
The Newport Pagnell company needed to make a statement and with their new Gaydon facility screaming out to produce a new car, Ford, who owned Aston Martin appointed Henry Fisker to the project to produce a worthy successor to the DB7. The natural successor to the DB7 would have been a DB8, but Aston Martin were worried that the public would think the car was equipped with a V8 engine, so the DB9 was born.
Denmark’s Fisker had earned his reputation at BMW, working on the Z8 and X5, he would later be named as one of the 10 greatest car designers of all time, Goliath.com saying he created “some of the modern masterpieces in the automobile industry.” - The DB9 was certainly one of them.
Launched at the 2003 Frankfurt Auto Show, the DB9 would be available in both coupe and convertible bodystyles and was a hit with the critics, praised for both its interior and its exterior design. That new-look exterior was built by Fisker using a revolutionary glued aluminium and composite body structure, a feature which had been developed by Lotus when building the Elise. The aluminium outer made for a superlight car, which when partnered with the 5.9 litre V12 engine, previously used in the Vanquish, we had a seriously powerful motor. Able to accelerate from 0-60 in 4.7 seconds, and with a top speed of 186mph, the DB9 certainly moved the needle forward in terms of performance.
Popular opinion conceded that the DB9 was a winner, Top Gear even gave the car its own category on its famed ‘Cool Wall’, with Richard Hammond describing the interior as “one of the best known to man.”
The DB9 enjoyed many years at the top of its game and after 12 years of production was finally retired in 2016.
Years of manufacture: 2004-2016
Price when new: £125,050
Price now: £30,000-£170,000
Engine: 5,935cc 12cyl petrol, 444bhp
Top speed: 186mph