V12 soft top questions

[BIRMA]

I am in the process of deciding on my next car, I am part of the way decided that a 997 Turbo soft top would suit nicely after trying one but wonder about an Aston Martin v12 soft top.
There seems to be a model change in 2009 is the 'facelift' car of that period better in any way to the previous model.
I have also seen a Lemans version although this is only available as a coupe I wondered if it was desirable or just a model that had a few bits stuck on it and not of any note over a standard car.
My budget could stretch to £65K.

[JimboA]

If you are referring to the Vantage V12 Roadster... I didn't think there was a model before that one. You may want to be a little more specific as the V12 engine runs across all the Aston models.

[mikey k]

The Vantage is similar wheelbase to the 911 so I presume that is the Aston you are thinking about?

The manual roadsters are very limited and highly collectable
The V12VS roadster is very new and only a couple have come up used recently.

Lots more volante options if you are happy with the longer wheel base V12's (DB9, Virage, DBS, DB9.2 and Vanquish)

BTW the Le Mans edition is a DB9, there were no volante version AFAIK

Edited by mikey k on Sunday 29th March 23:05

[BIRMA]

Thanks for the replies, it looks like I need to do a bit more research as to model types. I was looking at DB9 Volante's which are rather long wheelbase just realised they seemed a bit longer than other models.
So my question should be about DB 9's around model changes around 2005-2009. I still quite like the idea of the LeMans model though despite being a coupe.

[Big Ry]

BIRMA said:

Thanks for the replies, it looks like I need to do a bit more research as to model types. I was looking at DB9 Volante's which are rather long wheelbase just realised they seemed a bit longer than other models.
So my question should be about DB 9's around model changes around 2005-2009. I still quite like the idea of the LeMans model though despite being a coupe.

For the in's and out's of every Gaydon model (including all MY changes) get 'The Book'. It will tell you everything you need to know regarding exactly what things were and were not included over the years, it's a Gaydon Aston bible.

You can get the order link from the top of the Aston PH page (The Definitive Guide.......)

[silverspeed]

BIRMA said:

Thanks for the replies, it looks like I need to do a bit more research as to model types. I was looking at DB9 Volante's which are rather long wheelbase just realised they seemed a bit longer than other models.
So my question should be about DB 9's around model changes around 2005-2009. I still quite like the idea of the LeMans model though despite being a coupe.

The LM was only built as a Coupe in 2008 - originally 124 planned only 69 actually built. Last of the original interior cars . Romans had one for sale early part of last year at £65k IIRC. Don't see many for sale. Love mine and can't imagine it not being in the garage however it was launched at the time of 2009 MY with new interiors, improved performance and gearbox revisions . Enjoy doing the research .

[BIRMA]

silverspeed said:

BIRMA said:

Thanks for the replies, it looks like I need to do a bit more research as to model types. I was looking at DB9 Volante's which are rather long wheelbase just realised they seemed a bit longer than other models.
So my question should be about DB 9's around model changes around 2005-2009. I still quite like the idea of the LeMans model though despite being a coupe.

The LM was only built as a Coupe in 2008 - originally 124 planned only 69 actually built. Last of the original interior cars . Romans had one for sale early part of last year at £65k IIRC. Don't see many for sale. Love mine and can't imagine it not being in the garage however it was launched at the time of 2009 MY with new interiors, improved performance and gearbox revisions . Enjoy doing the research .

Thanks, as far as I can see there are a few dial changes on the centre console on later cars. Are the performance and gearbox revisions a significant improvement?

I think the car I saw recently that I quite liked was a V12 Vantage as it had vents on the bonnet and wide rear arches so a budget revision may be required.

[downr]

For the db9 - the big model change was for my09 (about August 2008 onwards). Car got a few more horses under the bonnet, a switch to the ecu key, some minor revisions to the interior dash and some suspension tweaks

I suspect as alluded to above that the 997 and the db9 aren't totally comparable; both from a driving perspective and an ownership perspective; you'll find the db9 is faster in real world driving than a 997 as people will let you out at junctions

[Big Ry]

BIRMA said:

Thanks, as far as I can see there are a few dial changes on the centre console on later cars. Are the performance and gearbox revisions a significant improvement?

I think the car I saw recently that I quite liked was a V12 Vantage as it had vents on the bonnet and wide rear arches so a budget revision may be required.

That would indeed have been a V12V if it had the carbon louvres in the bonnet, however i'm not sure the V12 is any wider at all than the V8.

They start at about 70k+ for an example from a non-AM dealer. There's a silver one up for £75k at Startstone I believe.

Seriously though, if you really want to get a true understanding of the models then get the book

[mikey k]

Big Ry said:

BIRMA said:

Thanks, as far as I can see there are a few dial changes on the centre console on later cars. Are the performance and gearbox revisions a significant improvement?

I think the car I saw recently that I quite liked was a V12 Vantage as it had vents on the bonnet and wide rear arches so a budget revision may be required.

That would indeed have been a V12V if it had the carbon louvres in the bonnet, however i'm not sure the V12 is any wider at all than the V8.

They start at about 70k+ for an example from a non-AM dealer. There's a silver one up for £75k at Startstone I believe.

Seriously though, if you really want to get a true understanding of the models then get the book

on both counts V12V is same width as V8V

[BIRMA]

Thanks again, bit more research and a visit to an Aston Martin dealership will be required. The reason I will probably settle on a V12 is that my last car which I have just sold only did 1200 miles between MOT's so the extra fuel consumption is not an issue. I have recently tried a 2009 997 Turbo and it is fast although again upping my budget brings me into Gen2 PDK cars what is the general opinion about the semi-auto paddle shift box on the Aston Martin?

[Neil1300r]

Buy the book!
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Then decide if its a DB9 or a V12 Vantage you want. They have different gearboxes and are very different cars.

[BIRMA]

Right I've booked a visit to HWM they have a rather nice green V8S Vantage as I still have the test drive in the 911 fresh in my mind. I can have a good look around the various cars they have for sale and make up my mind

[Big Ry]

BIRMA said:

Right I've booked a visit to HWM they have a rather nice green V8S Vantage as I still have the test drive in the 911 fresh in my mind. I can have a good look around the various cars they have for sale and make up my mind

If that's a V8S Roaster that you're talking about, keep in mind that it was a press car so had every journo under the sun ripping the arse out of it. Tom Hartley tried to shift it for a couple of months and couldn't, and now it's at HWM.

http://goo.gl/afBYtQ

Not saying it's not a good car or anything like that, but just be aware of what you're looking at......

As for the ASM vs PDK thing, they are VERY different beasts. PDK is a dual clutch setup, ASM is an automated manual. You still need to drive the ASM exactly like a manual, but you change gear with the paddles instead of a clutch and gearstick. Don't assume you can pop the ASM into D and smoothly trundle along. It will of course work, but you'll get neck ache pretty quickly.

If you want a smooth auto then a DB9 is your only option (based on your budget).

I went from a Vantage Roadster to a 997.2 S PDK, and then back to a Vantage in the space 10 months. The Porsche whilst technically superb just didn't give me any emotion at all....dare I say it but it was boring.

Edited by Big Ry on Monday 30th March 12:43

[mikey k]

BIRMA said:

Right I've booked a visit to HWM they have a rather nice green V8S Vantage as I still have the test drive in the 911 fresh in my mind. I can have a good look around the various cars they have for sale and make up my mind

Be aware that V8VS was a launch car thrashed round Ascari by every journo on the plant!

[BIRMA]

Big Ry said:

BIRMA said:

Right I've booked a visit to HWM they have a rather nice green V8S Vantage as I still have the test drive in the 911 fresh in my mind. I can have a good look around the various cars they have for sale and make up my mind

If that's a V8S Roaster that you're talking about, keep in mind that it was a press car so had every journo under the sun ripping the arse out of it. Tom Hartley tried to shift it for a couple of months and couldn't, and now it's at HWM.

http://goo.gl/afBYtQ

Not saying it's not a good car or anything like that, but just be aware of what you're looking at......

As for the ASM vs PDK thing, they are VERY different beasts. PDK is a dual clutch setup, ASM is an automated manual. You still need to drive the ASM exactly like a manual, but you change gear with the paddles instead of a clutch and gearstick. Don't assume you can pop the ASM into D and smoothly trundle along. It will of course work, but you'll get neck ache pretty quickly.

If you want a smooth auto then a DB9 is your only option (based on your budget).

I went from a Vantage Roadster to a 997.2 S PDK, and then back to a Vantage in the space 10 months. The Porsche whilst technically superb just didn't give me any emotion at all....dare I say it but it was boring.

Edited by Big Ry on Monday 30th March 12:43

Thanks for the heads up about its past, I did mention to the sales man that as someone with a degree of mechanical sympathy at over 3000 rpm the engine did not sound nice at all, he did comment that dry sump engines do sound like that but I didn't like it. You are spot on about the gear change and I soon got into changing smoothly. The big let down was as you say is in D and it reminded me of my 3 minute test drive in a Maserati 4200 Gambioshyte model and that has just put me right off this type of gear change system. I will have to try a manual now. One thing I did like was the B&O sound system, my Phat One has a stonking sound system and being a big car the sound develops I brought my favourite cd just to check and was not disappointed in any way with that.