From the Archive: Six-way 2005 supercar comparison test:
Finally, as a perfect example of how the world turns, we have Porsche's 911 Turbo S cabriolet. A coupe would have suited this comparison better, but a cabrio was all Knappenberger had on hand. Even with an engine upgraded in "S" spec to 444 horsepower as a result of higher turbocharger boost pressure, the venerable Swabian sports car tails this field in output as well as alphabetical placement.
It also has an interior that is as carefully tailored as a Savile Row suit, with flawless leather hides, lovely contours, and handsome wood accents. With 449 horsepower on tap and a broad torque delivery, the Aston DB9 feels like a very fast car—until you get to the drag strip and find these other guys lined up, too. Then, the DB9's 13.2-second quarter-mile is about a second off the pace.Will the stalwart pillars of the community who aspire to these cars care about that? Probably not.
Chassis calibrations seemed a bit paradoxical to us, with relatively high spring rates producing a fairly gnarly ride, yet there was noticeable roll gain in corners. Every participating editor noted the car felt heavy and a bit ponderous. Even so, it beat the stability-control-managed AMG SL65 in our lane-change test, despite the slowest lap time at the Streets of Willow, 0.6 second behind the Porsche.
The controls seem unusually heavy for a car of this caliber, with a steering wheel that was hard to pull off-center and was always resistant to quick inputs. Ditto the brake pedal, which was wooden in feel and took considerable pressure to produce strong retardation.
In aesthetic terms, the DB9 is a delight. It surrounds the occupants with a sense of well-being and privilege. But we did find a few ergonomic contradictions. For one, the tachometer needle rotates in a counterclockwise direction. Also, although the pushbutton transmission selectors mounted high on the dash were easy to see and use, many of the secondary switches are small pushbuttons in the silver-tone center console.
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