THE OTHER ASTON MARTIN V12 GT

There are certain Aston Martins from the early 2000s that have already found their place in the enthusiast hierarchy. The Vanquish has the drama and rarity. The DBS has the Bond connection, greater aggression and an increasingly obvious collector following. The DB9 has spent much of its life somewhere quieter in the background.

Perhaps that is because it was successful. Perhaps it is because Aston Martin built it for more than a decade. Or perhaps the DB9 simply became so familiar that, for a long time, it was easy to overlook just how significant it really was. More than twenty years after its introduction, that familiarity is beginning to work in its favour.

We currently have a low-mileage 2005 Aston Martin DB9 Coupé available at DM Historics, and spending time around the car raises an interesting question: have we been looking past one of Aston Martin's great modern V12 grand tourers?

The 2005 Aston Martin DB9 Coupé currently available at DM Historics.

A new chapter for Aston Martin

When the DB9 made its debut in 2003, it represented considerably more than a replacement for the DB7. It was the first production Aston Martin to emerge from the company's purpose-built Gaydon facility and the first to use the new bonded-aluminium VH architecture. The significance of that change is easy to underestimate today: the DB9 effectively established the engineering basis and design direction for the Aston Martin range that followed.

Yet for all the new technology underneath, the basic recipe remained reassuringly traditional. A long bonnet sat ahead of a compact 2+2 cabin, drive went to the rear wheels, and beneath that bonnet was a naturally aspirated 5.9-litre V12 producing around 450 bhp in early cars.

The 2005 example in our showroom is exactly that early specification, driving through Aston Martin's six-speed Touchtronic automatic transmission. The performance remains substantial even by modern standards, but reducing a DB9 to acceleration figures rather misses the point. This was conceived as a proper grand tourer: a car intended to cover distance quickly, comfortably and with very little effort.

Before the GT became complicated

Modern performance cars are extraordinarily capable, but that capability increasingly arrives through layers of technology: turbocharging, selectable drive modes, active chassis systems, digital displays and increasingly complex interfaces. The early DB9 belongs to a different moment.

There is a large naturally aspirated engine ahead of you, rear-wheel drive beneath you and a cabin defined by leather, timber and aluminium rather than an array of screens. It does not need to spend its time changing personality. The DB9 knows what it is: a substantial, fast and luxurious GT.

That is particularly obvious inside our Silver Metallic example. Blue leather and Mahogany veneer give it the sort of traditional Aston Martin atmosphere that now feels increasingly removed from contemporary performance cars. Heated memory seats and Linn premium audio provide the comfort expected of a GT, but the sense of occasion comes from the materials and architecture rather than a digital interface.

Blue leather and Mahogany veneer give this early DB9 a particularly traditional Aston Martin specification.

Familiarity may have delayed appreciation

One of the DB9's problems, at least from a collector's point of view, is that Aston Martin succeeded in making it far more visible than many of the cars that came before it. It became familiar. And familiarity rarely helps a car acquire an immediate sense of collectability.

For a period, cars such as the DB9 simply become used performance cars. Values soften, ownership becomes more accessible and the market begins separating examples that have been properly maintained from those that have been kept going on a tighter budget. That period is often where the most interesting buying opportunities emerge.

As production moves further into the past, the things buyers value begin to change. Naturally aspirated engines feel more special. Traditional interiors become an asset. Original specification, low mileage and a documented maintenance history carry greater weight.

Our 2005 DB9 Coupé has covered just 27,935 miles from new. Its low use is supported by a long-term MOT mileage record and the car is accompanied by a stamped service book, Aston Martin invoices, vehicle health checks and historic MOT certificates. Maintenance has included attention from JCT600, Stratstone and Aston Martin Sevenoaks, while all twelve ignition coils and spark plugs were replaced in 2018.

At the heart of the early DB9 is Aston Martin's naturally aspirated 5.9-litre V12, producing approximately 450 bhp.

What does £27,995 buy today?

This is where the DB9 becomes difficult to ignore. At £27,995, our car occupies a part of the market filled with relatively ordinary new cars, modern hot hatchbacks and a wide range of newer used performance machinery. None offers quite the same proposition.

For that money, the DB9 offers fewer than 28,000 miles, a naturally aspirated twelve-cylinder engine, rear-wheel drive and one of the defining Aston Martin shapes of the modern era. Its Silver Metallic bodywork, Blue leather and Mahogany veneer also give the car a specification that feels appropriately restrained rather than fashion-led.

That does not make a V12 Aston Martin cheap to own. Purchase price and running costs are two different things, and the latter is precisely why condition, provenance and evidence of maintenance matter so much at this point in the DB9's life. Buying the cheapest example simply because the badge has become affordable is rarely the sensible route.

The stronger argument is to find the right car while the model itself remains attainable. That is what makes the combination of mileage, history and specification of this particular DB9 worth considering rather than treating the asking price alone as the headline.

The Aston Martin we stopped noticing

It is easy to understand why collectors gravitate towards the obvious Aston Martins of this era. The Vanquish is rarer and more exotic. The DBS looks more aggressive and arrived with a ready-made cultural profile. But desirability and usability do not always follow exactly the same hierarchy.

The DB9 remains a car that could realistically take on a long weekend in Europe, a Sunday morning drive or a serious cross-country journey without making the owner feel as though every mile needs to be rationed. It offers performance and occasion, but retains the relaxed character expected of a proper GT.

Whether DB9 values rise substantially in the years ahead is impossible to know, and that should not be the sole reason to buy one. The more compelling case is already sitting in front of us: a naturally aspirated V12, rear-wheel drive, elegant styling, traditional Aston Martin craftsmanship and genuine long-distance ability, all for a figure that remains surprisingly accessible.

The Vanquish and DBS may attract more immediate attention. For someone looking for a proper Aston Martin V12 GT, however, the DB9 may be the one that has been hiding in plain sight.