When thinking of Aston Martin and their line of supreme cars, racing and supreme style come immediately to mind. Within a very short time, Aston Martin has made a niche in the racing market and wooed car fanatics around the world with their sleek beauty and above average handling. Topping the list as Britain's most iconic vehicle, it comes out ahead as the first choice for 'Ultimate Dream Cars' with UK drivers. Surprisingly enough, it beats out even Ferrari and Porsche models. In just 2 short years the Aston Martin models have obtained Ferrari-style exclusivity among buyers. These cars have topped the 'Coolest Brand' list for cars 2 years running. The Aston Martin has even made appearances in a couple of James Bond 007 movies.
Production of these fine cars have grown to more than 5,000 cars per year and many are waiting to see if the momentum will continue since Ford has sold Aston Martin to a private consortium led by Prodrive founder David Richards for more than $925 million.
Aston Martin has recently released the special edition 2008 DB9 LM at the Frankfurt motor show to commemorate Aston's recent achievements in the GT1 class at the 24 hours of Le Mans racing circuit this past June. The elegance and supreme vision of this fine machine is coveted throughout Britain and the world. Would Aston Martin remodel a new machine each time they win a race? No one is quite sure yet, but I am sure there won't be many complaints if they do.
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Respected publishers such as Popular Mechanics, Car and Driver, Automobile Magazine all have raved about the quality and design of the new DB9 LM. I have yet to encounter a single negative comment about this fine piece of machinery. This vehicle is the most thoroughly tested and engineered car in the history of Aston Martin. It also belongs in a technically sophisticated class of its very own.
The Aston Martin DB9, is a Grand tourer vehicle that was launched by Aston Martin in 2004 and was the first new car to be built at Aston's Gaydon, Warwickshire facility. The prefix of "DB" comes from David Brown, the owner of Aston Martin for a large part of its manufacturing history. This model was designed by Ian Callum and finished by his successor, Henrik Fisker.
This new product is available in the coupe style only, is equipped with rear-wheel drive and comes with a dynamic Touchtronic 6-speed automatic transmission. Amazingly enough, only 124 DB9 LMs will be manufactured, 1 for each dealer, with exclusive features entailing Sarthe Silver exterior coloring, enclosing silver mesh grille inserts, exterior vents and a rear crossbar detailed in silver. A numbered sill plaque is a nice touch with the also optional DB9 sports suspension pack with red brake calipers visible under color-keyed and diamond turned 19 alloy inch wheels. The disc brakes with 355 mm at the front and 330 at the rear are ventilated and grooved to help with cooling and boost braking performance. Mounted are four piston monobloc calipers to provide great stopping power with a firm and progressive pedal.
The driving force of the DB9 LM is the Ford-engineered 450 horsepower, 6.0-liter aluminum block and valvetrain, Dual Overhead Cam (DOHC), which echoes fine performance. The newest release has rack and pinion steering with 3.0 turns lock to lock. The exceptional performance of this vehicle is undisputed at to speeds up to 300 km/h (186.5 mph) and the 0-60 ratio is in only 4.7 seconds. The 12-cylinder engine has a total of 450 (331.2 KW) horsepower at 6,000 rpm. The torque is 570.00 NM (420.3 Ft-Lbs) at 5,000 rpm. The compression ratio is 10.3:1. The top speeds are quite comparable to the Dodge Viper.
