► First official pictures of Aston Martin DB9 GT
► Greater power output and uprated equipment
► A 540bhp, £140,000 send-off for the DB9
As the Aston Martin DB9’s turbocharged successor continues to rack up test miles, Gaydon has readied what could well be the iconic grand tourer’s swansong model: the £140,000 DB9 GT.
Available as either a coupe or open-top Volante, the DB9 GT gets a subtle bodykit, a 30bhp power hike and a smattering of equipment upgrades.
Aston DB9 GT: what’s different?
Starting with the bits you can see, a black-painted splitter and diffuser combo (or carbonfibre as an option), subtly revised headlights and tail-lights, new 10-spoke alloy wheels and a choice of colours for the brake calipers to go behind them.
Aston Martin describes the GT as ‘the best of what DB9 can be. The 5.9-litre V12 has had its power output upped to 540bhp at 6750rpm and peak torque to 457lb ft at 5500rpm. That gets the GT to 0-62mph a tenth faster, in 4.5 seconds, with top speed remaining at 183mph. The V12’s coupled to the same six-speed paddle-shift gearbox found in other DB9s, and the GT’s suspended on three-stage adaptive dampers with Normal, Sport and Track modes.
Inside, the multimedia system has had a revamp. An evolution of the system first fitted to the new-generation Vanquish, it’s been given a revised menu system that’s said to be less fiddly to navigate, along with a text message readout function, real-time power and torque readings (which you probably shouldn’t be looking at while you’re generating meaningful amounts of either), Bluetooth audio streaming and DAB radio.
There’s form here; the DB7 GT all the way back in 2002 followed a very similar template: exterior styling add-ons (including a go-faster mesh grille), more power and sundry other minor upgrades.
What else is new at Aston Martin?
Various minor colour, trim and equipment upgrades for the Vantage and Rapide as part of a collection of updates for the 2016 model year.
They get the same new media interface (called AMi II), along with new alloy wheel designs, fresh types and colours of leather upholstery, and some new exterior colours to boot.
Click to read CAR’s long-term test diary of ten months living with a DB9 in 2014.