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The 997 Turbo is the most extroverted 911. It wears a deep nasal air dam that sucks in vast quanities of air, and possible small rodents. The revised front end displays a light pattern consisting of LED indicators and sidelights plus small halogen foglamps. In addition, the Turbo sports flared wheel arches, tapered sills, and split lateral air intakes. It also features a radically different rear end with a bigger, automatically extending biplane spoiler, a skirted apron with graphic vents, and a pair of massive exhaust pipes. The triple-spoke aluminum wheels look surprisingly good in black and can be fitted with three different tires.
Founded, as the sportscar giants we know today, in 1948 the first sports car bearing the name Porsche is unveiled - 356 Roadster. In 1951 the sporting prowess of Porsche really came to the fore with their first win at Le Mans. In 1956 the 10,000 356 left the production line, it had taken only 8 years for Porsche to become a motorcar force. 1964 sees the beginning of a new era in Porsche history, the 911 is born. More recently Porsche has seen success and recognition with the 911 Carrera 4 and Boxster ranges. Porsche has consistently produced cars of excellence and they don't look like slowing down.
The new Turbo is a vast improvement on the older model and is far and easily one of the most exciting Supercars on the market. To be fair the new Turbo has received one of the most lauded arrivals in memory. Fast, beautiful and engineered with perfection and performance in mind the Turbo is a truly exciting car. At 189mph the top speed is blisteringly fast and with 0-62mph coming up in a fraction under 4 seconds certainly isn't slow! The Turbo gives a fantastic driving experience, sticking to the road like glue the car responds perfectly and can be driven right at the limits of its performance with ease. But this car is far from just exciting on the track, it is a gem in the rough and tumble of the real world too! This car is so far forward from all other Porsches that it is hard not to get truly excited about this car.
To go with the incredible new performance of this car the designers at Porsche have given it a stunning new body. Still instantly a Porsche the car boasts aggressive new air vents on the front and side with a rear spoiler that sets this car's aggressive poise off to a tee. The interior is near perfect with driver ergonomics being considered at every turn. From the sports seats to the easy-read dashboard and leather trim the car has been finished to the highest standards. The car can perform with the very best in the world and it is certain to turn heads with them too, the 997 is a real stunner.
The form guide for the new DB9 suggested much the same. Cursed by having to follow the DB7, the most beautiful car of the late 20th century, and billed by its creators as more cruiser than bruiser - a tourer no less - it bore all the hallmarks of another gorgeous, slightly disappointing Aston.
Walk past its derivative but still achingly beautiful exterior, though, and settle yourself behind its thick-rimmed wheel and you sense at once it is going to be different. With this model the designers at Aston have tried as hard on the interior as they have on the exterior.
Under the bonnet you will find the same 6 litre V12 motor that powered the DB7 Vantage and continues to serve in the Vanquish. In this guise it develops 450bhp, a figure that Jeremy Main, its chief engineer, says could easily have been 600bhp, but they were not prepared to sacrifice its flexibility when the DB9 is meant to be the soft tourer - it's that word again - of the Aston family.
Thumb the start button and the V12 snarls back as if you had prodded a sleeping tiger. All the DB9s at the car's launch in the hills above Nice were automatic but with paddles behind the steering wheel as well, so you just tug the right-hand paddle towards you, press the throttle and ease away.
A very few cars - but not normally Aston Martins - feel right from the moment they move and within yards you will realise the presence of greatness. You often don't need to be flat out or on the limit to spot it, and in the DB9 the way the steering feels, the control of the suspension and the liquid smoothness of the engine are enough to start your heart racing. This Aston, at last, feels like it is going to deliver.
And so it does. By ultimate standards it's not that quick, though few will quibble with its sub-5sec 0-60mph dash or a top speed of 186mph. But the contemptuous ease with which the DB9 has tackled some of Europe's most challenging roads, while both thrilling and reassuring its driver, imparted a sense of occasion rarely fealt in any car, let alone one whose dynamic prowess has been downplayed by its creators.
The engine may lack the punch of a Ferrari V12 but its sound is such you find yourself looking for tunnels just so you can drive through them. The gearbox is the same six-speed auto used by Audi, Jaguar, BMW, Bentley and others and was the world's best self-shifter before Aston somehow made it even better. Use the paddles and you could almost forget there was no mechanical link between engine and gearbox, but slip it into "D" and it will change gear by itself noiselessly and seamlessly.
But even these superlative features are mere supporting acts to the tour de force that is the DB9's chassis. Supple enough to provide ride comfort absolutely in keeping with the grand touring aspirations of its creators, it also contrives to offer a level of body control and response to make many outright sports cars look incompetent by comparison.
If the DB9 trips up at all, it is in the provision of those qualities needed to live up to its grand touring billing: the rear seats are a joke and should be regarded as emergencies for small children or, more likely, extra space to complement the distinctly small boot.
Taken as a whole, the DB9 is a masterpiece and an Aston that finally fulfils the promise of its looks. Its creators may regard it as a tourer, but happily for all those who have waited so long for a truly great Aston Martin, the DB9 has other ideas about that. A Vanquish is quicker, but if you are looking for the very embodiment of what a 21st-century Aston Martin should be, you have just found it.
