Aston Martin DB9 '03
Laptime: 1'09.044
Driver: ChromeBallz
So, here i am, at the Deep Forest racetrack, looking at one of the most beautiful cars ever made - the Aston Martin DB9. I could spend the day just looking at it, however, i have some work to do...
I've spent a while talking to the cars owner, a wealthy businessman, Mr. Jones. We immediately came to the cars looks. The massive spoiler on the back already gave away that the car is not exactly 'stock' anymore, and this brought us to the topic of why the car looks like it does now. Turns out, it isn't just looks.
Aston Martin could not provide him with the DBRS9, the ready made racing version, within a reasonable timeframe. It seemed the car was quite popular, which is not a surprise. Jones therefore decided to buy himself a normal DB9, and with the help of a few friends (employees of AM, actually), he managed to turn the 'timid' sports car into the racemonster that is waiting for me to take place in.
The car sports a V12, 5935cc engine, which churns out 671 BHP at 6000 RPM. It's torque though falls short of my expectations, but it's still a healthy 587.60 ft.lb at the engine's peak.
Taking a look inside the car you can see it underwent some serious dietary treatment aswell. Rollbars and structure beams, aswell as a surprisingly large empty space around the driver's seat, which is still on the right-hand side of the car, making the weight clock in at 1419kg. In a car this size, considering it's a modified stock version, that's pretty light. One thing that was a little strange was the missing center console, something i always liked about the car. It was nice to just sit in it, but i guess racing does require a few sacrifices to make it work.
Anyway, it was time to take a spin (or 2) in the car on the track. Oh boy, was i in for some fun!
The car handles like a dream, even on sports tires. It's very hard to lose control of the car, unless you are using no TCS - and even then it's a pretty tough excerise in trying to lose control. On sports tires, and harder racing tires, it does have a little problems with understeer at times, but nothing unmanagable, and it still is a joy to drive.
The acceleration is barely noticable. What i mean with this is that you don't really notice you're accelerating - it just feels like you're driving the same speed all the time, for some reason. It does add to the general feeling of the car being very, very stable, but it does make cornering a little difficult to improve on when going for a fast lap. You just don't really get a sense of what you could improve on, speedwise, when going around the track.
The settings don't really seem to have a drastic effect on how the car actually handles, unless you take it into extremes. It's hard to find a good setup for this car within a reasonable time, since finetuning takes so long. It's a matter of adjusting settings by the smallest amount, and then trying to improve on your racing lines for a few laps, which is, as i already explained before, very hard to do.
But still, it's a joy to do since the car is so much fun to drive. What really surprised me though was the way softer tires affected the car despite the settings. They made the car even more responsive than it already was, and even introduced a little oversteer at some corners. Simply staying away from the curbs, or at least not taking them too aggressively, solved this little problem - or is it a problem? You simply can't make the car tedious or boring to drive, it seems. It just seems to glide over the track with ease, as if you're actually flying...
So, are there any downsides at all to this fun machine?
Yes.
It does cost quite a bit more than some of the better performing machines, although it's still quite good in it's price segment.
And for the performance on it's own, it does not bring a lot to the table when compared to everything else that's out there. The DB9 is not a supercar, or hypercar, but it's original specs are close enough to not make that matter too much. Yet, it's potential is maxed out pretty quickly, and that is a letdown.
Most importantly though, it's tough to find fitting competition for it. It's floating somewhere in between sports cars and supercars, and that makes it difficult to find a niche for it. Still, it provides a good challenge in the latter category.
It's difficult to find any real faults in the car. It's always a joy to drive, and it's certainly not uninteresting to look at, so you will be reviewing your races without you noticing at times.
If not for racing perse, you just have to have this car for it's looks and it's fun factor. There are not a lot of cars that compare, especially the feeling it gives you when you drive it is quite unique.
In any case, i'll be making sure to stay friends with Mr. Jones - this was an experience i'm very keen on to repeat some time soon, and going home that night was a bit of a sad happening. I wonder when i'll be rich enough to be able to afford this car...
I'll be sure to try out your settings as soon as I do so. The car looks remarkably like the DBRS9, which you seem to have picked up on in your review. 
