News: Aston Martin's New DB9 Kills Virage Off

Never sure why we, editors in BHPmagazine love Aston Martin despite its short comings of not producing an all new engine, let alone an all new design direction. And to know that Aston Martin has officially announced the demise of the Virage and made room for an updated DB9, I forgive them. Even more frustrating, the updated DB9 even shares styling cues of the Virage and a slight know how of the new Vanquish. Still, I never question my patience with them.

And then, there's the interior which isn't what you would find in the Vanquish, all polished and jewelry like. Instead, it's the same interior back from yesteryear. Yes, you do get a full grain leather embraced in the interior plus the steering wheel, a walnut fascia trim, a graphite centre console and iridium silver surround but is it enough to convince your mates that you've got a 2013 DB9?

Not until you tell them you've got an updated engine from Aston. Before, the DB9 housed a 6.0l V12 capable of 470 bhp and 600 Nm of torque. Now, it's the same 6.0l V12 but - and it'll be a long but - Aston has revised the engine block together with the intake manifold and machined combustion chambers, given it a new head, larger throttle bodies, and uprated fuel pump allowing it to produce 510 bhp at 6,500 rpm and 620 Nm of torque at 5,500 rpm. That's DBS territory and then some. 0 to 100 km/h now takes 4.6 seconds  but top speed has been reduced to 294 km/h. Not that you'll reach that speed in Malaysia. A Touchtronic 2 six-speed paddle shifted gearbox is integrated in the car along with a limited slip differential and a manual gearbox isn't available anymore. It's a sad thing really since Aston's automated gearbox isn't as efficient as the manual version.

Because the engine is now placed lower, the car has a better center of gravity and weight distribution is a very positive 50/50. 1,785 kg doesn't make the DB9 a lightweight contender but with this amount of power, it seems enough to impress Bond, James Bond. The British marque's upgraded Adaptive Damping System (ADS) is implemented into the new DB9 and gives it a range of modes to choose from - Normal, Sport, Track. Standard equipment in the DB9 include 20-inch rims, electric sports seats, satnav, automatic bi-xenon headlights, automatic wipers while a reverse camera and removing the rear midget seats remains an option. A price tag starts from £131,995 (RM 655,901) for the base coupe model. A lot you say? Cheaper than the Virage anyway.