RE: Aston Martin DB9 Manual: Spotted
Tuesday 12th April 2016
Aston Martin boss Andy Palmer has regularly stated his intention to offer a manual option where possible across the model range, taking pride in being among the last mainstream manufacturers to do so. Of two big announcements for the brand last week it was confirmation of a new manual version of the V12 Vantage S that got us most fired up - a win for PHers if ever there was one! After this it was only natural we'd browse some previous manual Astons in the classifieds to see what your used choices might be. And here we have a rare three-pedal DB9.
Right off the bat some will question the necessity of a manual DB9. They'll claim it should be crossing continents with one hand on the wheel and the other caressing the smooth, leather-trimmed cabin. Not stirring a manual shifter around. To get an idea of how rare a car like this is we put a call into Aston Martin specialists Nicholas Mee, who reckoned as few as five per cent of DB9s were optioned with a manual. Exclusivity is clearly a major appeal of Aston ownership; in the case of a car like this you're looking at the only example in the PH classifieds.
Aston Martin DB9 Manual: Spotted
Aston has set itself up as the saviour of the manual sports car - here's one it did earlier
The creamy V12 is a true Aston Martin engine, capable of floating you from country to country with almighty power reserves on tap. New-to-old comparisons are as irresistible as they are predictable but for the price of a specced up Mercedes A45 AMG you could have something much more proper and the car Prince Philip would let his hair down at the weekend in. If he had any.
Additional appeal for this DB9 over and above the rare transmission choise includes a full service history all the way up to its current 38,000 miles, serviced at Aston specialists throughout its life. With cars like this - and the manual Ferrari 360 Modena we were talking about last week - attracting increasing interest from a small but passionate group of purist buyers you'd have to hope on it holding or even increasing in value. Certainly with Aston supporting this crowd interest in manual sports cars can only increase, their rarity adding to the appeal. Future classic? Often claimed, possibly true!
ASTON MARTIN DB9 COUPE
Engine: 5,935cc, V12
Transmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 456@6,800rpm
Torque (lb ft): 420@5,000rpm
MPG: 17
CO2: 389g/km
First registered: 2005
Recorded mileage: 38,000
Price new: N/A
Yours for: £39,995
See the original advert here
 |
 |
Words: Lee Stern
Discussion
The resale value thing is a red herring I think. I've never noticed manual Astons to have a price difference with autos. If anything the manuals are more desirable.
Lots of people seem keen to pigeon hole cars like this - it's a big 2+2, therefore it should be as detached as possible because nobody will every want to enjoy it in any way except wafting. That's b
ks. If anything a 6 litre V12 is the ideal car to have as a manual GT. There's engagement and great sound track if you want it, but the engine is torquey and flexible enough not to need constant gear changes if you aren't feeling energetic.
A manual N/A V12 coupe I can go around a corner in without scraping the wing mirror on the ground, AND which I can squeeze my kids into? YES PLEASE!
Lots of people seem keen to pigeon hole cars like this - it's a big 2+2, therefore it should be as detached as possible because nobody will every want to enjoy it in any way except wafting. That's b
ks. If anything a 6 litre V12 is the ideal car to have as a manual GT. There's engagement and great sound track if you want it, but the engine is torquey and flexible enough not to need constant gear changes if you aren't feeling energetic.A manual N/A V12 coupe I can go around a corner in without scraping the wing mirror on the ground, AND which I can squeeze my kids into? YES PLEASE!
pistonheads is getting carried away with this whole manual thing. It's overrated. Putting a manual in a car does not simply make it better imho.
It works beautifully in certain cars, the whole thing needs to be looked at as a package: gearshift, engine, clutch, throttle, steerting etc. In other cars a manual is a pain.
Does the manual work in the E34 M5 - yes, it's a wonderful package. Does an auto work better in a 500E - yes. Would I want a manual in a 500E? No!
I don't think a manual suits the DB9. It is more suited to a full automatic or automated manual
It works beautifully in certain cars, the whole thing needs to be looked at as a package: gearshift, engine, clutch, throttle, steerting etc. In other cars a manual is a pain.
Does the manual work in the E34 M5 - yes, it's a wonderful package. Does an auto work better in a 500E - yes. Would I want a manual in a 500E? No!
I don't think a manual suits the DB9. It is more suited to a full automatic or automated manual
rtz62 said:
As above, plus... It should be made law that Aston Martin DB9's and Ferrari 550's are manual only.
My personal choice of either of those cars would always be a manual over an auto. Same with a 911.....
A manual is a far superior choice in a 550....clearly. In the DB9, I'm not sureMy personal choice of either of those cars would always be a manual over an auto. Same with a 911.....
Of course each of us would love a V12 with a stick.
Now, just to play devil's advocate... Are we sure that this car is not......too large for our B roads?
...too heavy?
...too thirsty?
...too dirty with CO2?
...too spartan in terms of rear seat room?
Or is it the badge that magically ameliorates all of the above?
unsprung said:
Now, just to play devil's advocate... Are we sure that this car is not......too large for our B roads?
...too heavy?
...too thirsty?
Or is it the badge that magically ameliorates all of the above?
unsprung said:
Of course each of us would love a V12 with a stick.
Now, just to play devil's advocate... Are we sure that this car is not...
...too large for our B roads?
...too heavy?
...too thirsty?
...too dirty with CO2?
...too spartan in terms of rear seat room?
Or is it the badge that magically ameliorates all of the above?
And those are the reasons why this car is glorious. Its not just the badge, its the gloriousness of the product. a former manager here owned one and needed to fill the tank every day he commuted in it. But he loved driving it for 12 months at least. Now, just to play devil's advocate... Are we sure that this car is not......too large for our B roads?
...too heavy?
...too thirsty?
...too dirty with CO2?
...too spartan in terms of rear seat room?
Or is it the badge that magically ameliorates all of the above?
chappardababbar said:
pistonheads is getting carried away with this whole manual thing. It's overrated. Putting a manual in a car does not simply make it better imho.
It works beautifully in certain cars, the whole thing needs to be looked at as a package: gearshift, engine, clutch, throttle, steerting etc. In other cars a manual is a pain.
Does the manual work in the E34 M5 - yes, it's a wonderful package. Does an auto work better in a 500E - yes. Would I want a manual in a 500E? No!
I don't think a manual suits the DB9. It is more suited to a full automatic or automated manual
I agree that there are good and bad manuals (a lot of 1990s Mercs are poor manuals) and good and bad two-pedal set-ups (personally I wouldn't spit on a multitronic Audi A6 if it were on fire). But in addition to the machinery much depends on the driver's taste and circumstances. If I had to drive any of them within the M25 regularly I would probably have all two-pedal cars, but I live in the North and don't have to do urban / suburban commuting at all so I have a mixed fleetIt works beautifully in certain cars, the whole thing needs to be looked at as a package: gearshift, engine, clutch, throttle, steerting etc. In other cars a manual is a pain.
Does the manual work in the E34 M5 - yes, it's a wonderful package. Does an auto work better in a 500E - yes. Would I want a manual in a 500E? No!
I don't think a manual suits the DB9. It is more suited to a full automatic or automated manual
Your personal preference for a DB9 as a two-pedal is clearly the majority view, and that opens the door for you to have one of the 19 in every 20 DB9s that are automatic. Leaves the oddball manual for those of use who want it.
A (rare) manual V12 Jag is a thing of joy to me, and manual VH Astons are generally well reviewed by drivers I know and trust, especially when free of the big-city grind. If your experience of the manual DB9 you drove was painful then I suspect it wasn't in the best of health.
unsprung said:
Of course each of us would love a V12 with a stick.
Now, just to play devil's advocate... Are we sure that this car is not...
...too large for our B roads?
...too heavy?
...too thirsty?
...too dirty with CO2?
...too spartan in terms of rear seat room?
Or is it the badge that magically ameliorates all of the above?
I absolutely can't think like this, but I realise I'm the exception. Now, just to play devil's advocate... Are we sure that this car is not......too large for our B roads?
...too heavy?
...too thirsty?
...too dirty with CO2?
...too spartan in terms of rear seat room?
Or is it the badge that magically ameliorates all of the above?
I wish I was so black and white. Most people on Pistonheads and journos are black or white. It's either a 400bhp/tonne car that you can pick up and carry with 2 seats maximum OR give up completely and buy an automatic diesel German depression mobile and creep around sedately.
Those (mostly in the southern half of England who think 20 miles is "long distance") who live 1200 yards from a race track and do track days every weekend are probably the absolute worst for this.
There are many who wish to be able to enjoy nice cars with their family. That doesn't mean drifting round corners at 10/10ths, but it very much does mean 2 kids in the back, nice engine note, acceleration that the children find exciting and in a package that looks good.
That inherently means a car like a DB9. It's a coupe - it's going to be a squeeze in the back - that's ok. It's going to be heavier than a Caterham - it has a full body and 2+2 seating. It's going to be thirsty - it's quick despite being able to carry the kids and shift its inherent size and weight. You can buy ugly slow automatics for scraping against bollards anywhere.
I absolutely reject the notion that cars like a DB9 manual have no place. Of course they do. It's a niche market of people who can see shades between maximum attack track day specials and 4-door misery. Admittedly, you need a better family than many seem to have.
My kids love coming out in the Cerbera. About the only thing that could possibly come close to a Cerbera for what a guy with a wife and 2 kids who enjoy sharing the "sports / GT experience" would be something like a DB9 manual.
breezer42 said:
The appearance and the noise certainly came close to eliciting total forgiveness from me...
dlockhart said:
And those are the reasons why this car is glorious.
jamieduff1981 said:
I absolutely reject the notion that cars like a DB9 manual have no place. Of course they do.
And I fully agree. 
A fabulous machine.My rhetorical questions, above, were merely an impish way to address dichotomy. You see, there are other cars not too different in principle from the Aston Martin. But these other cars are greeted with a very different attitude in Blighty.
They are not exquisite gems like those conjured by the people in Warwickshire. They're more affordable. And some of them dare to use a single camshaft.
But these other cars are equally powerful. They're coupes with a tradition. And they can be ordered in responsible colours befitting the managing director.
Yet when these other cars are mentioned on the forum, they're often greeted with a sort of rugby scrum of comments. The posters pile on with claims that these other cars are too large, too thirsty, too much CO2, etc.
Suddenly our collective sense of motoring conforms to the tastes of a far-away auntie who runs a Peugeot 205. Or to the sort of hectoring guest at an Islington dinner party -- the right-on bloke who thinks that all cars must be destroyed, apart from the uncommon ones driven by his idiosyncratic or posh friends.
Yet... clearly our aspirations are different to those of others. After all, we're meeting here on PH.
Lowtimer said:
As with 911s it might well have hurt resale at two years old, but probably the opposite at 10 or 15 years old when it's going to a very different kind of buyer. A manual DB9 is the only Aston of the last decade that I have on my "one day" list.
Indeed...I bought a manual 997 GTS recently. When they come up they sell incredibly quickly. TO my knowledge there have been four on sale this year...all gone within a couple of days.A mate of mine has a manual DB9 which he has had since new....very low mileage too.
Because of how quickly transmission technology is advancing I think Automatic/Flappy Paddle/PDK/DSG gearboxes (or whatever you want to call them) are the thing that dates quicker on cars than any other mechanical component. Engine tech is almost exclusively going forced induction which enthusiasts tend not to like so naturally aspirated manual gearbox cars seem to be the place to be.
In the case of my car it's 30kg lighter (exactly where you want to lose weight from) and also a cheaper ownership proposition...less to go wrong etc.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff