[Herbie]

Face Off:

It was a time before the great wars, Aston Hills saw a new car race up, by a small partnership firm between Martin and Bamford – the year was 1913. After much thought, they named the company Aston Martin, little knowing what the future held for them or their brand. The wars came, factories were converted to make weapons and aircrafts, ownerships changed a couple of times before settling down in 1948 in the hands of David Brown, later immortalised as “DB”.

In 1931, in Germany a small company was set up in partnership between 3 individuals, Ferdinand Porsche, Anton Piech and Adolf Rosenberger. It was called Dr Ing h.c.f.Porsche GMBH. The first car designed by them by the order of the Fuhrer was the VW Beetle that went on to create history as the longest produced car ever. Then the war came, F Porsche designed the German tanks Tiger 1 & 2, the factories were converted to make weapons and aircrafts and tanks. With the end of war, Ferdinand Porsche was taken in for war crimes while his son Ferry Porsche tried to run the company. The first 356 was road certified in 1948 that goes on to become the legendary “911”

Fast forward approx. 70 years, in a small town of Cochin, by the beautiful Arabian Sea coast, I am in search of a sports car that is neither loud in your face nor invites obscenities as I drive by. I also do not wish to pledge all my life’s earnings to buy a new sports car simply because I am passionate about my cars. Some of you may have read my earlier post on my E39 530i which I had posted a couple of years back. She is still with me, going strong after 21 years in my possession as good or even better than when she rolled off Dingolfing, brand new with all the lovely up grades over the last few years. Meantime I was able to pick up and restore a beautiful carb E30 Coupe with the M10 block and currently started some work on bringing my new (old) E34 525i to its former glory. Some day I shall pen down my story on these too. No, I am not a restorer nor a collector, but simply love the classics over new cars. They really do not make them like they used to do!! None of my cars are garage queens and I drive them all every week in turns.

So where do I go from here ? My search started sometime early 2018. The brief was simple – yet not so simple. A sports car – 400 bhp or more, elegant, not loud, single owner, under 10 k kms, 6-8 years old with FSH and no accidents. I was confident I would one day find the right car reminding myself of the Paulo Coelho quote “ When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it”.

I started asking around for a SLS AMG. I was offered one after 4 months of search. Perhaps because he knew I was the extreme finicky kind, he quoted a price that was way too expensive. I cannot pledge my future to buy the car I wanted, or can I ? To what lengths would I have to go to buy my car. I saw no point in owning a beautiful sports car when I am 60 or more, I would have lost my reflexes and my joints may be creaking by then. Hell, do I even exist when I am 65 ? I had to be sensible said my wife “ With 2 kids in College, you need to be smart and not overdo it “ she reigned me in, as she has always done when I am prone to being impulsive. Thank you wifey for that.

10 months into my search, into 2019, I was no closer to my goal. I have this habit of finding the true history of the car even before I approach the owner, so that I know what exactly I am getting into. I (my connections) would talk to the dealerships, service centres to understand which is the best car that came in and if the owner would consider selling it. Having friends all over the country also helps me, as I never do the talking directly and my name never comes up until the very last moment when I step in to pick the car. As you may have guessed, I am the quiet type.

Meanwhile I saw this stunningly beautiful burgundy red Porsche 911 Turbo S at the EVM service centre when I had taken my Cayenne S Diesel for service. It belongs to a famous clothing retailer in Cochin. I simply could not take my eyes off it. Having been to BIC for the Porsche Drive in 2019, I knew reasonably well what the benchmark for a sports car on track is. I was doing my research on sports cars, specs, driving dynamics, maintenance and more. My 20+ years with my E39 has taught me quite a few lessons on how to take care of cars and not only / always depend on authorised service centres. I have sourced spares from all over the world, learning about sites, through forums and passionate followers of these cars.

In early 2020 I went with Porsche on their Yercaud drive with a bunch of amazing cars including the GT2. I was narrowing to bringing a 911 home. My friend Dr K was with me on the drive with his Cayman and we exchanged our drives on our way back. Both of us enjoyed both the cars immensely so much so that, he asked to keep my Cayenne S Diesel with him for a few days. There is something simple about the CSD- It is not loud in your face, even with its lovely bassy exhaust note from quad pipes, 8 cylinders and 850 Nm torque that deliver mind bending performance. With all its creature comforts, the adjustable air suspension and engine modes make it a race car, defying physics. So yes, I would be in familiar territory with a 911. The folks at EVM Porsche are a good friendly bunch and very supportive too.

Out of the blue my contact at Aston Martin Mr A calls me informing of his move to Bentley. He had brought the new DB11 and the new Vantage for test drives and we had become car buddies exchanging notes once in a while. I asked him if there were any good cars within my price bracket and he said, it would not be easy and I would have to wait, to find a good one at the price, but that he would pass on any leads. I continued my wait meanwhile rejecting almost 12 leads that came my way. 911’s, M5’s, AM Vantage N420 (1of 2 in India) , AM Virage Volante, AM DBS, Nissan GTR , SL AMG and a few more, all under 10 k kms. I knew what I wanted and wasn’t willing to compromise. It was nearly 24 months since I started my search. I wasn’t losing hope though, as with each rejection I was learning more about the market, the cars available, their service and ownership histories and more. It was frustrating though. And then there were always the middleman who wouldn’t tell you the full story ever and who would never put you in touch with the real owner.

The search continued – I almost bought the SL AMG with another good friend Mr A (not the one with Bentley) in Ahmedabad doing most of the ground work, but then I received this random call from a contact. It went like this

S: Chetta (term for elder brother- commonly used in Kerala), I heard an excellent DB9, just got sold. There is another one – would you be interested in a DB9 ?

Me: Yes, why not as long as I have the complete history of the car and AM can vouch for it.
S: Let me find out and come back to you Chetta.

Having waited for 2 years, I was in no hurry yet. After 2 days

S: Chetta, the car is available, needs to be serviced, price is non negotiable
Me: That’s ok as long as car is good and I can service it myself with Performance cars in Mumbai. I need more info of the car, VIN and Reg details
S : I shall revert

While this was going on, I quickly called up Mr A at Bentley to help understand if he knew the car. He promptly connected me to Mr S the service head at Performance Motors the ASS for Aston Martin in Mumbai. To cut a long story short- the car was a big “NO”. Now I was disappointed and the wait was tiring me out too. Too much energy was going into “L’Affare Auto Sportiva”

Mr A told me how good the other DB9 that was just sold- it is supposedly the only Special Edition “ Morning Frost ” in India. With FSH and serviced every year for the last 8 years at Performance Motors with only 4k kms on the clock!! It belonged to a famous builder and was a garage queen. It went for a lot of money but it was worth every penny he said.

For the first time in my 2+ years search I was disappointed and weary. Was it a story of “So near yet so far?” This was the car I was looking for. It had the iconic heritage, right ownership history, low miles and FSH.

Now I asked my contacts to search for another DB9 or similar. After about 2 months I was told there were no other cars out there.

Mid July 2020, I was informed through one of my sources that the “Morning Frost” Special Edition car was actually not sold and it could be available at the right price. I wasn’t too excited, knowing what happened last time, so I approached it cautiously this time. I asked my good friend Mr SS to work on the deal, paperwork, price negotiation etc while I stood back – not wanting to get emotionally engaged in the process.

The deal was struck and a relatively large amount was transferred as advance to a well known middle man for getting the paperwork done. Being Covid times, no physical inspection was possible, so had to do all the verification on video calls. 2 weeks after the first payment, there is no movement of paperwork when I went into the alert mode and activated my contacts yet again to find out what was happening. Info received was not too great. I was being offered double the advance amount I paid, to walk away from the deal as someone had offered 50% more for the car !!

Made a few phone calls and let the middle man know that he would end up with a poor reputation if he didn’t close the deal right away as I wasn’t backing out of it. I paid the full amount the same day and asked my contact in Mumbai to flatbed the car to Performance Motors for full service before bringing it to Cochin.

The long long wait of taking possession of the car was done. There was still the service and official name change to be done. Mr S at Performance motors did a good job. The prime reason for me to take the car to ASS was to officially record the sale on AM books and also complete the service where it was always done. There were a couple of errors and change of post cat sensors which cost a prince’s ransom. I also knew I had to replace all tyres as they were now 8 years old although with full tread having done only 4000 kms.

The car was trucked in a container to Cochin reaching here on October 1 when I went to take delivery with my son and my close buddies Mr SS and Mr MJ. It was a great moment until I put the crystal key fob into the slot to start the car and exhaust sensor error showed up. I started the car and drove home – about 10 kms away. It was with a lot of mixed feelings that I made that drive. Happiness, Pride and Sadness too. The only Aston Martin in the state of Kerala but she wasn’t running perfect. I knew I had my work cut out. I had expected this since the car was a garage queen all through.

So, over the next 3-4 months I did a lot of research, spoke to people in Dubai, UK, Canada who have worked on the DB9. It was not easy days. I was sourcing parts from AM UK; all sensors, distributor coils, inlet manifold gaskets, spark plugs and more. Being a garage queen, these were prone to failures and hence I wasn’t going to take a chance on these. I knew I had to tend to it sooner or later, so decided it was better to do it all now, than later. It was hand carried by a friend traveling back from London.

Finally in Dec 2020, I got the service person to travel to Cochin and replaced all parts, got the injectors cleaned (there was a lot of gummy petro residues on it as the car sat in an air conditioned garage for 8+ years with old fuel). After all this work the engine purred to life and for the first time drove like an Aston Martin DB9 should. Almost 3 years into my search, I finally had the car I wanted !! I heaved a sigh of relief.

Just as I completed this work, drives in my good friend Mr P on his beautiful yellow 911, telling me he’s going to leave it with me to get it back in ship shape. For the next 3 months the 911 and the DB9 shared stables and what a beautiful time it was when I could drive both these cars back to back every single day while enjoying these for their uniqueness.

While not belonging to the same class, they are close.

The 911 was priced almost 30% lower than what the DB9 was in 2012/13 when sold in India. Yet it is the closest in terms of usability.

Porsche 911 Base : Price in India in 2012/13 : Rs 1.4 cr ex showroom
BHP : 400
Engine : 3,8 Ltr Flat 6 Naturally Aspirated
Trasmission : PDK or Manual, RWD
0-100 kmph : 4.6 secs

Aston Martin DB9 : Price in India in 2012/13 : Rs 2.2 cr ex showroom
BHP : 470-490 bhp RWD
Engine : 6 Ltr V12 Naturally Aspirated
Transmission : Steptronic ZF 6 speed, RWD with LSD
0-100 : 4.5 secs


The Porsche had just under 18 k kms on the clock, drove a bit rough and had some minor gremlins. EVM Porsche ordered the parts and it took a bit to reach from Germany. While it was here, I did some cosmetic work on it and also a PPF job in the front. Had done it on the DB9 too. Being low and driven in the fast lane, stone chips are regular issues with these cars. A solid PPF cover helps.

Impressions:

I cannot call it a comparison, because the 2 cars are indeed unique in their character. The 911 is tight, taut, plentiful ground clearance and rarely touches any speed breakers. The DB9 on the other hand has a larger front over hang to accommodate 12 cylinders and its styling. Once that is manoeuvred right, rest is as easy as the 911.

Steering feedback is absolutely brilliant and precise on the 911 at any speeds, every slight input has a proper feedback. The DB9 is a more easier car with a GT feel to it. It is crisp and tight in handling, but less feedback in slow speeds. With higher speeds the steering feedback is fantastic. Brakes on both cars are excellent and almost similar. Porsche’s pads last longer!

Seats and ergonomics : DB9 cossets you in comfort. There is leather and aluminum all around with just a small bit of plastic. 911 has a very solid built to last feel to it, but plastics are plentiful. The stock music system is pathetic. DB9 comes with Std Bang & Olufsen system which is probably the best I have in any of my cars.

Suspension: 911 is firm yet forgiving. You are always connected. DB9 has double wishbones up front with adaptive dampers and the two modes are awesome. Regular set up allows the suspension to soak up the undulations and broken roads while the firmer sport mode puts you in leech mode with the tarmac. 911 never feels disconnected and you are always in the game though broken roads tend to pass through the chassis as you slow down.

Engine and Transmission: 911 wants you to push her. With an expensive full system Akrapovic exhaust, she roars like 400 hundred horses pulling at its reigns and raring to go. If you want to wake up and feel alive after a dull day or an argument with your boss, this car can wake up a half dead man to energise him to climb a mountain. The DB9 on the other hand is a ballet dancer, 12 cylinders purring gently with not a decibel of noise except at the ignition. Looks can be very deceptive. She may purr like a cat, but is in truth a stealth panther ready to pounce. Only when she hits 2000 rpm does she show some of her vocal character. Once she hits 3000 rpm, she comes alive. But in normal driving you never hit 3000 rpm- that is akin to 175 kmph in 6th gear. 911’s paddles are delightful and has a nice rev match when driven hard. DB9 is smooth and quick too – which I found surprising as I wasn’t expecting such precision from the DB9.

Both cars have rear seats which are dysfunctional and perhaps for short rides for children but best for your soft bags. DB9 has plentiful rear boot space while there is hardly any frunk space in the 911.

Driven: 911 delights in tight B roads, precise, shorter wheel base, brilliant handling with a precise transmission. DB9 can easily keep up with it, but in a more muted softer manner. If you want to do the Cochin Chennai trip – I would pick the DB9 as I have already done on 3 occasions. If I want to do the quick morning ride to the mountains of Munnar, the 911 would be my pick, though her roar would disturb the serenity of the quiet misty morning and let the birds fly away.

Kitna Deti Hain; Surprisingly the DB9 turned in 8-9 kmpl on my drive to Chennai and back. DB9 revels in High Octane fuel which markedly improves performance with improved fuel consumption. The 911 is not particular on the fuel used as long as it is above 91 Octane though I used 99 for both cars always. She turned in 7-9 kmpl on highways. Now this surprised me at first but then it is only logical. The DB9 didn’t have to go above 3000 rpm, while the 911 loves to be pushed and prodded- you tend to drive it harder and the engine is high revving too.

Almost 3 months into this adventure Mr P came back to take his beloved 911 back home. The DB9 bid adieu to her stable mate. If you want to do a Fast & Furious it would be the 911. To visit Casino Royale, well then my DB9 is ready.

These are cars that take you to another level of being. It connects you to your inner self, awakens in you a desire to excel, to out perform, to bring out your brilliance with a passion that goes beyond words. While the engineers at Gaydon and Stuttgart designed and developed these cars, they represent the evolution of two great companies and the best of their offerings. Today, both Aston Martin and Porsche have moved a long way over the last 10 years, but these icons will always remain and evolve to represent the best of an automotive world that will soon change to something of the past once EV’s start their rule. For those of us lucky enough to be part of this journey, let us take a deep breath and cherish that thought. It is not about who is the best – we will never find that out between Novak and Roger. Oh! But we never discussed Rafa- well I didn’t have the Ferrari to drive… Need to call a certain Mr B …

[Maverick5490]

Lovely write up and happy to see that the DB9 is getting used and maintained as it should! Always been a fan of your E39, they really don't make them like they used to!

Please do post a garage pic of all cars and eager to read stories about them!

[CrazyStuff]

Power.. Beauty.. Soul.. that’s exactly what an Aston Martin is! DB9 is an amazing car for the money, if you know how to maintain and look after the beauty. No matter how many brands are there in the street, this remains always a head turner.

Excellent write up @Herbie, looking forward to see more pics of this beauty...

[ArjunPadmakumar]

What a Beautiful and Tasteful car! Great to hear that shes been driven long distances

Myself and @firoshg spotted your car a while back and he posted it here

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/super...ml#post4961609 (Supercars & Imports : Kerala)

Wishing you decades of memorable ownership! Please do update often!

[R2D2]

Congrats you are a very lucky guy!

My choice would have to be the AM DB9. Eyes closed. Oh gosh Aston Martins are so beautiful and classy! The most beautiful vehicles in the world.

[androdev]

Great write up. Very lucky to drive both long enough to know them intimately. Thanks for sharing! We need more photos :-)

[AMG Power]

That resembles a certain Carrera S that I missed if it is the one that was brought from Delhi to Nilambur and currently in Cochin..

[Herbie]

I am posting a few more pics as some of you have asked, although I can only post 3 pics at a time due to the limit of 6 MB in this format.

[Herbie]

AMG Power, this is an original TN reg car

[TrackDay]

Nice write up ! I truly enjoyed each and every word that was written down. The number of pictures are truly less, but the words have spoken loud and clear !

Always felt that the presence of Aston Martins are really less in our country. They sure do have the brand presence in all those Bond movies, yet the cars are few to be seen around. The picture of the 911 and DB9 on that bridge - isn't that the dead end one with the roundabout on container terminal road ?

Also Maverick5490's post on the E39 made me look up that one. I recall reading that thread a few years back. One of my childhood dream cars and even in a shade that I love. Of the few cars that you have posted, they are truly diamonds. Looking forward to more of your rides / threads / stories. I am pretty sure they will be interesting.

[megazoid]

phew! That was a wonderfully breezy read. And knowing how you drive and use your cars, the DB9 has found the perfect home. Not to forget the old gen classics in the garage, each one of them is a delight to see and drive.

[AMG Power]

Originally Posted by Herbie

AMG Power, this is an original TN reg car

Ok..just saw that it’s the base 911.

[ChiragM]

Brilliant write up Herbie. Two brilliant cars.

The Aston looks stunning and has a completely different character to that of the Porsche. Its more of a powerful GT car. But, being a 911 fan, if I had the keys to both the cars, I would walk to the 911 first.

Glad that you got hold of the DB9 and that it is no longer a garage queen. Please write an ownership review of the DB9 taking us into the details of the interior as well. Like other BHPians, I would ask for more pics as well. Also, its great that you could get your hands on a V12, an engine that would soon be history. Enjoy it. Congrats on the car.

[Lowflyer23]

Congratulations for the beauty Herbie . It's one thing to have the resources to buy premium cars and completely another to have passion and taste for the same. Contacting Aston Martin experts from other countries and taking their advice was a great decision, I doubt anybody even does all of that these days.

People just go to a famous used luxury car dealership (the one which is associated with Bollywood songs) and pay the amount in advance without even thoroughly checking the car. Slightly but was your Cayenne S diesel a special order import? As I believe Porsche didn't offer the powerful diesel S variants for India.

[TheGearBox]

Wow, what a writeup! I must admit, when I first saw this thread listed on the homepage, I thought the author would be based somewhere abroad. Heartening to see that this happened in God's own Country. Enjoy your car, 007.