Review: One last hurrah for the Aston Martin DB9 GT

This is a eulogy for one of the greats, not that it ever got the attention it deserved.

Hard to believe it's been 12 years since Aston Martin introduced the quintessential GT car, the DB9. A true Grand Tourer deserving of all the capital letters. It's never been perfect and maybe this is just early-onset nostalgia, but man was it ever close.

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We will remember the DB9 like this: Barrelling down the Mulholland Highway like a freight train on velvet rails, floating over them, V12 winding up and down its range, sounding like St. Vincent might after a decade of whisky and cigarettes. DB9 power sliding all day, but the quilted headliner doesn't even care. DB9 carving canyons like a GT car really shouldn't. DB9 overlooking the Santa Monica mountains as the sun sets, heat haze spewing from the hood vents, metal pinging. Los Angeles' Real 92.3 is on the radio sounding more real than ever; Kendrik Lamar coming through the DB9's many-watt Bang & Olufson. And on Highway 101, in five lanes of traffic, DB9 relaxing on the cruise back home, providing a spa-like atmosphere in which the day's adrenaline can fade away. DB9 only ever scraped ground once all day.

In photos: Aston Martin DB9 inside and out

Why didn't we realize what we had before it was gone? Why only now the DB9 is on the cusp of death, about to be succeeded by the DB11 next year, do we suddenly not want it to go?

Car people are insufferably nostalgic, always looking backward, not forward. The DB9 lasted long enough – so much longer than any of its peers from 2003 – that it's pulled off the incredible trick of being simultaneously new and classic.

It's a simple car, not especially powerful. It doesn't have radar-cruise or auto-parking or a good sat-nav or a dashboard you can read when it's sunny. The faithful 6.0-litre V12, even in the final edition DB9 GT – the most powerful DB9 ever – has only 540 horsepower. Machines from M and AMG churn out 600-plus no problem. There are maybe 10 buttons on the DB9 dashboard, and only a few basic ones on the steering wheel.

But you do not want for anything inside a DB9. Only the six-speed automatic can't keep up any more. Everything else is just right. The suspension is masterfully tuned – it's had 12 years of refinement – so it absorbs positive and negative impacts by floating right over them, and yet the chassis feels nimble and tightly controlled. It's not a sports car – not frantic or twitchy – but it will handle any road you care to throw it down. And the Aston Martin V12: so torquey and smooth you imagine it's running on full-cream.

While the younger metal grabbed headlines – New AMG! Another Porsche! – the DB9 was always there in the background. While others moved on, the DB9 stood its ground. Yes, partly out of necessity, but it came out better for it. Today, the only other car which might compete is a Ferrari F12, and it's nearly double the price and has many buttons on the steering wheel. The DB9 GT is an appropriately understated last hurrah.

So: DB9, it doesn't matter how many features the new DB11 might have, you are a modern classic and you will be missed.

You'll like this car if ... You are a romantic, prone to nostalgia.

TECH SPECS

• Base Price: $211,150
• Engine: 6.0-litre V-12
• Transmissions: 6-speed auto
• Fuel economy (litres/100 km): 21.6 city, 10.0 highway (EU test)
• Drive: Rear-wheel drive
• Alternatives: Mercedes SL65 AMG, Porsche Turbo S, Audi R8 V10, or maybe a Knighthood

RATINGS

• Looks: Gorgeous and understated, now more than ever. Most remarkable though is that it’s still fundamentally the same shape we saw all those years ago. Can you name another car from 2003 that’s aged so nicely?
• Interior: The final GT version adds fluted leather and an Alcantara-trimmed steering wheel and other details. Special mention must go to the stitched leather headliner and extra comfy front seats. The car is handmade and it feels like it. The back seats are a joke, but useful for extra luggage or a briefcase.
• Performance: The all-alloy 6.0-litre V12 made 450 hp in 2003. Now it’s up to 540 at 6,750 rpm and 457 lb-ft of torque at 5,500 rpm. Zero-100 km/h takes 4.5 seconds. It’s not the quickest car in Aston’s lineup, or among rivals, but that’s missing the point. Engines like this are not long for our world. It’s a rare treat.
• Technology: Aston Martin has tried to update the DB9 with better nav and a touchscreen display, but it’s still behind the times. There’s only so much you can do with an old platform when you’re a small, independent company.
• Cargo: The trunk opening is small, but it’ll hold enough for two people on indefinite vacation.

The Verdict

8.5

Flawed, but still the single most desirable grand tourer money can buy.

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