The DB9 is Aston Martin's 2+2 grand tourer, the first car built on the company's aluminum-intensive VH (Vertical/Horizontal) platform at its Gaydon, Warwickshire plant. This generation ran from the 2005 through 2012 model years, powered throughout by a naturally aspirated 5.9-liter V12 and offered with either a conventional 6-speed manual or a ZF Touchtronic automatic. It replaced the DB7 as Aston Martin's core GT model.
Aston Martin updated the car in 2008 with DBS-style door mirrors, a new grille and wheels, Bilstein dampers, and a compression/sump revision that lifted output from 450 hp (456 PS) to 470 hp (476 PS). A lighter refresh in June 2010 brought a new front bumper, clear tail lights, and added Bluetooth, tire-pressure monitoring, and an optional Bang & Olufsen stereo. A more extensive 2012 update introduced a further power increase and revised bodywork for model year 2013 — the start of a separate generation covered elsewhere.
US NHTSA campaigns for this model. A listed campaign may not apply to a particular car, and may already have been remedied — check a specific car by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Aston Martin doesn't publish a VH1-specific total for the coupe. The commonly cited ~16,500 (or ~10,131) figures span the entire 2004-2016 DB9 run across both this generation and the later VH2 facelift, so they overstate this generation's coupe count on their own. A registry-derived figure puts VH1-era Volante production alone at 5,230 units, but no equivalent coupe-only count has surfaced.
Yes. Unlike the automated-manual Sportshift gearbox fitted to some later Aston Martins, this generation of DB9 pairs a conventional clutch-pedal 6-speed manual with the alternative Touchtronic automatic — there's no automated-manual option on this car.
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