New DB9 testing pics...

[Beefmeister]

Nice haunches, will undoubtedly be a stunner...

[Beefmeister]

Yeah, this is how I understand the range will be going. There will be this DB9/Virage replacement as the V12 GT, with the hardcore DBS above it and V8V below.

[Beefmeister]

Bit busy to re-host the pics, but there are more undisguised shots here:

http://teamspeed.com/forums/aston-martin-jaguar-lo...

Looks great!

[Beefmeister]

It saddens me so much to see manual gearboxes become more and more extinct.

I want to shift gears myself - but i can see in a few years Porsche will be the only company offering a manual sportscar, and to be honest even they look doubtful after the 991.

As an example, how amazing would the new Jag F-Type be with its supercharged 375bhp V6 and slick manual gearbox? Seriously doubt it'll come with anything but an auto though...

[Beefmeister]

v8woollie said:

Paddles are for canoes

Haha, brilliant. I may steal that one for an article i'm writing!

[Beefmeister]

Simon T said:

people probsbly protested when pneumatic tyres started to appear, same for servo assisted brakes. What about fuel injection, fly by wire throttles - I want to open the throttles myself?

I have paddle shift on my race car - its far better than the stick shift. is it that the current road car systems do not offer an improvement, perceived or otherwise on the traditional system or is that we tend to resist change?

S

A very reasoned statement. For me, it's more about the mechanical connection to the car, the feeling that i am controlling it, rather than the other way around.

Example for me: A while ago i drove my favourite section of blacktop in a 458 and a 997 GT3 RS. I went a good 15-20mph faster in the 458 and it was exhilarating but i got to the end and pondered "How much of that was actually me?"

In the RS i got to the end and my pulse was racing, while i knew that it was all me. Every perfectly timed downshift, blipping the throttle gave me a thrill, a sense of achievement.

As an engineer, I am incredibly impressed by the dual clutch boxes, and indeed if i were to have a car as a daily driver it would be some kind of auto. But when i want to drive, really get the most driving pleasure I can out of a few miles in a sportscar, i want to control it myself.

Edited by Beefmeister on Tuesday 24th April 10:59

[Beefmeister]

Well, another thread comprehensively ruined by pathetic bickering and sniping.

Well done PH.


Is there even the slightest chance, that as this was my thread, we can maybe get back to the point of the DB9/S/Vanquish in the spyshots?

[Beefmeister]

Okay then, feel free to continue bickering like a load of schoolchildren. Sheesh.

[Beefmeister]

<happy now>

Really excited with the prospect of the Vanquish returning. Though it seems odd to only have used the DBS name for one generation, it has a ring to it. Maybe they're saving it for a sportier version of the new DB11?