Botoms up

I stopped by the dealer today to check out the colors on two new DB9s.

The underside of this car is even more impressive than the top. Most of the bottom is covered with wind cheating plates to smooth airflow. All in aluminum!!! Exhaust is tucked up out of the way and is beautifully finished shiny stainless. If I didn’t know better I would think it was polished.

What was really special is the high tech heat shields. I have never seen anything like this in my life. It is lightweight and thin, highly reflective dimpled surface.

I was allowed under the car and was inspecting all of the working pieces. Touched many parts and noticed that the exhaust was hot. I thought it must have been run recently. I noticed the sound of a fan when I approached the car, which I thought was running in the workspace. To my surprise, when I walked to the back of the car I could hear the exhaust. With the other noise in the shop I had to put my hand in front of the exhaust pipe to confirm.

I could hardly believe it when I found out that the car was running at the time. I had touched the aluminum belly pan, which encloses the underside of the engine compartment and hadn’t felt a bit of vibration. :confused:

The more I look at this car the more I realize the amazing value. Having been in the business of finishing custom aircraft early in my life I am very aware of what it take to create this kind of masterpiece.

I can hardly wait until mine arrives. :) :) :)

I'm picking mine up tomorrow--almost a year to the day that I put my deposit down--meteorite silver with red foxx interior--

Wow, I bet you can hardly wait.

Please let me know what you think after a week, and please post pics.

Did you get a chance to see the underside of your car?

I picked my DB9 up on Weds 12/22--almost a year to the day since I ordered it and it was definitely worth the wait--it is gorgeous (meteorite silver with red foxx interior)--it's very fast--I also have a new Porsche Turbo S which I took delivery of the same week and the Aston and Porsche are two totally different cars. The Aston is very quick and you have to get the feel of it--I've driven Porsches for years and have grown to know how to drive them--the Aston has already scared me once or twice since it has such a quick trigger finger--I love the paddle shifting and it makes the greatest sound when you start it up and step on it--and when you down shift it gives a little throttle with the downshift and feels and sounds great--the workmanship is clearly hand done--I still have to get use to the room inside--the cabin is very wide (especially compared to the Porsche)--I have not crawled under it yet to check out the bottom--it's very low, so be careful when you pull out of the dealership--my first scraped but I know it won't be my last--it's about to rain for a week here in California so I'll have both cars just sitting in the garage looking pretty and waiting for a clear day--
I hope you enjoy yours and I'll keep you posted--
Tim

Tim,

What do you think of your DB9 now, and how do you like it in comparison to the Porsche? I was thinking of a 911 TT myself and was having a hard time deciding.

I was looking for a fast sporty car that I could do long cross country trips with my wife. She didn’t like the noise of the Porsche at constant speeds on the highway. I drove one for about 10 miles on 101 one day and must say that it is rather loud at 70+.

I found the AM to very nice at cruse, while giving the most beautiful sound when you get on it.

John

Oh yea. Mine is in build as of last week. I can hardly wait. :)

Tim,

What do you think of your DB9 now, and how do you like it in comparison to the Porsche? I was thinking of a 911 TT myself and was having a hard time deciding.

I was looking for a fast sporty car that I could do long cross country trips with my wife. She didn’t like the noise of the Porsche at constant speeds on the highway. I drove one for about 10 miles on 101 one day and must say that it is rather loud at 70+.

I found the AM to very nice at cruse, while giving the most beautiful sound when you get on it.

John

Oh yea. Mine is in build as of last week. I can hardly wait. :)

John
Well--let's see--I actually enjoy driving the Porsche TT (I got the new S version) better than the Aston but I think that is only because I am much more familiar with the Porsche since I've had a number of them over the years and this latest one is simply terrific. My wife has a C4S Cab with a tip and you wouldn't know they were from the same mold--her car (only 3500) miles on it drives a lot looser than my Turbo--not sure if it is the cab aspect, the tip vs. 6 speed or what--but I love mine--I just ordered her a new 997 S Cab and I'm hoping that is a bit more solid--I haven't spent a tremendous amount of time behind the wheel in the Aston--I won't drive it to work (employees already think I have too many cars!) so it is strictly a weekend car and since I commute during the week hitting the freeways on the weekend is not my idea of fun--my wife and I will hopefully be taking it up north on a long drive and I will have a much better feel for it at that time--you are right though, I just love the sound when you put your foot into it and especially when it first starts up--I love that roar--the other thing I love is how it gives it some throttle when you downshift with the paddles (that by the way takes getting used to--the tiptronic in the Porsche has the toggle switches that go upshift and downshift on the same button so in the Aston you have to remember that the left paddle is downshift!!!)--the other weird thing about the Aston is just how much attention it gathers--I have only gotten two tanks of gas but you'd think I just landed from mars on how people fawn over it--the other day I was driving it and a brand new 575 Ferrari pulled up side--gorgeous car--I rolled down my window and he said "I want one of those"--I said I liked his car too and he said,m "yeah, but yours is an everyday car"--I got a real chuckle out of that--only in Southern California--
Good luck on yours, if it's in build you are probably a couple of months away--let me know how you like it when you get it--
Tim

John
I haven't spent a tremendous amount of time behind the wheel in the Aston--I won't drive it to work (employees already think I have too many cars!) so it is strictly a weekend car and since I commute during
the week hitting the freeways on the weekend is not my idea of fun--

the other weird thing about the Aston is just how much attention it gathers--I have only gotten two tanks of gas but you'd think I just landed from mars on how people fawn over it--the other day I was driving it and a brand new 575 Ferrari pulled up side--gorgeous car--I rolled down my window and he said "I want one of those"--I said I liked his car too and he said,m "yeah, but yours is an everyday car"--I got a real chuckle out of that--only in Southern California--
Good luck on yours, if it's in build you are probably a couple of months away--let me know how you like it when you get it--
Tim

Are you in So Cal? I am in the north. If you are looking for a place to go, I would suggest the Heritage House. That is where the movie Same Time Next Year was filmed.

Thanks for the update by the way and please let me know what you think when you get back from your trip.

As far as the attention, I almost decided against it for that reason. I live in a small country town where my S2000 gets a lot of attention and people will sometimes look down on you if they think you have money. The nice thing about the S2000 is I can always say it’s a Honda.

I finally decided that I shouldn’t worry too much about what others think, besides I can always tell them it’s a Ford. Most of my clients tell me that they like the fact that I am successful so I guess it shouldn’t matter, however I still won’t drive it to work. I still have that lingering feeling that new clients may think I am making too much.