Hi, so I picked up my new to me C63 coupe a month ago and thought I'd share my experiences. I previously had a BMW Z4MC, an amazing drivers car and I could talk about its virtues all day long but to compare the two is apples and oranges. Instead I'm lucky enough to have extensive use of a MY2008 DB9 via the family and the comparisons are much more relevant. My C63 is a performance pack vs the DB9 which has the sports pack (stiffer suspension, lighter wheels, chassis bracing) but unfortunately is not the facelift so only 450hp vs the MY2009 475hp engine.
Performance
C63. It revs faster, louder and is the iron fist in the velvet glove it promised to be. Most speeds and most gears the C63 is faster, not by much but quantitatively it is. However the DB9 is the ironfist in the cashmere glove. The torque seems to come from lower down and doesn't need to be at high engine speeds. When you are at legal speeds in a C63 cruising and the DB9 is the same, without a kick down the DB9 motor is stronger. And from the standing start the Aston gets away cleaner with its factory LSD (mine doesn't have) and 285 section tyres rather then the C63 relative bike tyres. The reason the DB9 is slower is the gearbox. With a 6 speed torque converter it has that elastic band response from low speed, is rarely in the right gear and even with the paddles has a mind of its own and a very lethargic one at that. Lions with donkeys in charge of swapping the cogs as it were. The C63 has its critics for the gearbox (MCT in this case) but I can only assume they have never driven an auto DB9.
Handling
Draw. My original assumption was the DB9 grand tourer would seem heavy compared to the sports coupe C63. Wrong. I haven't had both on a weighbridge but I think the two would be almost equal. The DB9 is almost all aluminum and despite being bigger I could swear it is lighter. The sports pack on the Aston helps with feedback and probably communicates the road surface better than the C63 and the ride is probably more supple. As a GT the steering is too over assisted and feels too light at speed. The C63 is weighted better and turns in sharper than the understeering DB9. However its much closer to call than you would expect. I can attest to this with the 'running 10 minutes late to a wedding' routine, all back country lanes you've never seen before and making time when possible without hitting villages like an F22 raptor. The C63 gets their that minute quicker but...
Occasion
DB9. When you do inevitably turn up late in the Aston you look like an international spy who's debrief overran. Forgivable and ultimately desirable. In the C63 they assume your arms deal overran and you are a bellend. In London traffic everyone lets a DB9 in, everyone keeps a C63 out. The difference in reaction is incredible especially considering the 2 similar specs of the cars, almost same colour, red calipers, 19inch wheels. Everyone from young to old wants to talk about the Aston and to be honest so does the driver. Flush door handles with LEDs, glass glowing starter button, front lit aluminum dials, factory fit umbrella. They call it an emotion control unit instead of a key but once you've driven one you understand why they need to keep it in control.
Photos attached.
I could write pages on this and many more about why I love the C63 and chose it over another DB9. Horses for courses. Anyway hope to meet many of you soon.
Performance
C63. It revs faster, louder and is the iron fist in the velvet glove it promised to be. Most speeds and most gears the C63 is faster, not by much but quantitatively it is. However the DB9 is the ironfist in the cashmere glove. The torque seems to come from lower down and doesn't need to be at high engine speeds. When you are at legal speeds in a C63 cruising and the DB9 is the same, without a kick down the DB9 motor is stronger. And from the standing start the Aston gets away cleaner with its factory LSD (mine doesn't have) and 285 section tyres rather then the C63 relative bike tyres. The reason the DB9 is slower is the gearbox. With a 6 speed torque converter it has that elastic band response from low speed, is rarely in the right gear and even with the paddles has a mind of its own and a very lethargic one at that. Lions with donkeys in charge of swapping the cogs as it were. The C63 has its critics for the gearbox (MCT in this case) but I can only assume they have never driven an auto DB9.
Handling
Draw. My original assumption was the DB9 grand tourer would seem heavy compared to the sports coupe C63. Wrong. I haven't had both on a weighbridge but I think the two would be almost equal. The DB9 is almost all aluminum and despite being bigger I could swear it is lighter. The sports pack on the Aston helps with feedback and probably communicates the road surface better than the C63 and the ride is probably more supple. As a GT the steering is too over assisted and feels too light at speed. The C63 is weighted better and turns in sharper than the understeering DB9. However its much closer to call than you would expect. I can attest to this with the 'running 10 minutes late to a wedding' routine, all back country lanes you've never seen before and making time when possible without hitting villages like an F22 raptor. The C63 gets their that minute quicker but...
Occasion
DB9. When you do inevitably turn up late in the Aston you look like an international spy who's debrief overran. Forgivable and ultimately desirable. In the C63 they assume your arms deal overran and you are a bellend. In London traffic everyone lets a DB9 in, everyone keeps a C63 out. The difference in reaction is incredible especially considering the 2 similar specs of the cars, almost same colour, red calipers, 19inch wheels. Everyone from young to old wants to talk about the Aston and to be honest so does the driver. Flush door handles with LEDs, glass glowing starter button, front lit aluminum dials, factory fit umbrella. They call it an emotion control unit instead of a key but once you've driven one you understand why they need to keep it in control.
Photos attached.
I could write pages on this and many more about why I love the C63 and chose it over another DB9. Horses for courses. Anyway hope to meet many of you soon.