Where does the name Aston Martin come from and the designation of DB, for its super sports car?
Aston Martin began as a company to make cars for hillclimbing and racing, in 1913, by Robert Banford and Lionel Martin (hence the Martin) and was a success at the Aston Hill Climb the following year (therefore Aston). David Brown, who had previously made tractors and farm equipment, bought Aston Martin Motors in the late forties. The first DB model, the DB2, was named after him and went on to place 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the 3-liter class of the 1952 LeMans race.
What makes this modern version of a traditional sports car so special?
So many things we can only name a few. For starters, its elegant exterior, that looks like it's milled out of one piece of sheetmetal (if you think hand-built craftsmanship doesn't show-think again!); its luxury interior (20 new leather choices and a selection of walnut, mahogany and bamboo wood trims); and its cadre of modern technologies (see safety features and traction aids, for instance) and luxury accoutrements (in addition to heated seats and heated windshield, our favorite was the glass starter button that glows red when pushed to start and then turns blue). How does it drive?
We felt like super star James Bond when we drove the big -screen car icon at chase speeds (Bond made the supercar famous in Goldfinger), and a super Mom in a mobile spa, when we motored at cruising speeds through the foothills of the French Alps on the first press drive of the Aston Martin DB9. During our 250 mile-long excursion that took us from the town of Vence, perched on a hillside overlooking the Cote D'Azur, through small villages and rural countryside on narrow and winding roadways, as well as on a high-speed motorway, we were always aware of the incredible, throaty V12 power available to us, with just a slight blip of the throttle (great torque available throughout the rpm range; performance stats include a zero to 60 of 4.9 seconds; a zero to 100 time of 10.5 seconds; an impressive 50 to 70mph time of 2.3 seconds, and a top speed of 186 mph.). We also felt like we had life insurance with the supersized cast iron Brembo brakes designed to modulate the DB9's power. But what's really at the heart of this sports car is its aerodynamics and lightweight aluminum design, with a 50/50 weight balance, and its performance-benefiting, power-to-weight ratio (a manual gearbox weighs 3769 lbs.--an auto is 3,880--compared to a Bentley GT, which weighs in at 5, 070 lbs. or an SL55 AMG, at 4,310.) Great gearing is also to be had with the auto transmission, that comes with paddles on the steering wheel that make changing gears an easy pleasure. And, although we were unaware of its presence, we were also happy to have the technological advantage of AM's first use of stability control under the DB9.
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About Sue Mead
Sue Mead works as a photojournalist and features writer for more than two dozen publications. She has written for Parade, Popular Science, Open Road, the Road & Track Buyers Guide, Men's Journal, Popular Mechanics and Diversion and she has worked as an auto editor for CNN/fn. Sue has co-driven in two of the world's toughest off-road races, the Baja 1000 and the Paris-Dakar Raid. She attended four Camel Trophy adventures for Land Rover North America and has participated in several long-distance adventure drives. She recently completed her first book, "Monster Trucks and Tractors" published by Chelsea House. Sue lives in New England.
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