Where is the new DB9 built, when does it go on sale, and how many does Aston Martin plant to build this year?
The successor to the DB7, the DB9 is the first vehicle to be built at Aston Martin's new high-tech Gaydon manufacturing facility in Warwickshire, England, the first purpose-built factory in its 90 year history. While technical facilities at Gaydon are far superior to any previous Aston Martin site, the new model is still mostly hand built-it takes close to 200 man-hours to build each car, which Aston Martin says is about three times the time needed to assemble a 'mass produced' sports or GT car. AM achieved its greatest sales success ever during 2003, when the luxury marque sold 2,000 cars. The super sports car company expects to sell 1,600 to 1,800 DB9s this model year, nearly 800 of which are ordered already in North America, AM's largest market. The Coupe will be available in the spring of 2004 and the Volante (expected to be 50 percent of sales) in the fall. If the DB9 is the replacement for the DB7, then why isn't it called the DB8?
Although the newest "DB" model replaces the styling and engineering icon, the DB7, it is such a significant leap forward that AM decided to name it appropriately. Also, the company wanted to avoid any confusion that the V12 could be an 8-cylinder model. (An eight cylinder version, 2-seater version of the DB9 is likely to follow next year, however.) The Coupe was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2003 and the Volante was revealed at the North American International Auto Show in January, 2004, The DB9 Volante is the 13th convertible from the company, joining a highly line-up of post-war convertibles that stretches back to the DB2 of 1950 and includes the DB4, DB5, DB6, V8 and DB7. It will be the first convertible ever to use Aston Martin's unique VH Platform (Vertical/Horizontal) Strategy.
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