This 1:1 model is now in the care of the Aston Martin Heritage Trust in Oxfordshire as also is the AM6 Vantage cutaway seen below in the museum.

The DB9 Sports Pack’s spring rates were increased by 68 per cent at the front of the car and 64 per cent at the rear. The front anti-roll bar was modified, and the dampers were revised to support the new spring and anti-roll bar characteristics. Together, the changes optimised body control and front-end grip without compromising ride quality or adding weight. The ride height was reduced by 6mm, lowering the car’s centre of gravity and further reducing body roll while leaving ample ground clearance and backed up by modified bump stops.

The composite undertray was also replaced by a load-bearing aluminium panel that performs the same function in managing underbody airflow while adding further structural stiffness, to resist larger lateral loads fed into the front of the car by the uprated front springs and anti-roll bar.

Back in 2004 and Evo magazine was, I think, the only motoring publication critical of the DB9 handling. Well, after driving a 9 with sports pack and they were impressed and completely won over.

Also, I need to add that the Sports Pack wasn’t just available for new cars, it could be retro fitted to any DB9 by official dealers or Works Service.  The Morning Frost car (just below), a rare manual, was taken at the 2007 Geneva Salon. The Sports Pack was not available for the DB9 Volante although the lightweight wheels could be optioned on the car.

In early 2010, AM began to offer the Premium Sports Pack as an option on the coupe and for the first time on the Volante. Premium Sports Pack involved the fitting of the Adaptive Damping System as had been introduced on the DBS. This option was discontinued a few months later when the 2011MY DB9 coupe and Volante had Adaptive Damping fitted as standard.

In some circles, the DB9 Sports Pack was also known as the ‘Sport Dynamic Pack’ or SDP, but this is not the correct factory description – SDP was used to describe the uprated pre ‘S’ V12 Vanquish.

The DB9 LM was based on the final batch of 2008MY spec coupes fitted with Touchtronic 2 automatic transmission. The six-speed manual gearbox was not available even as an option. What made the car rather special was it’s unique Sarthe Silver exterior paint finish, named after the region in France where the Le Mans circuit is based. In addition, all the meshes were  finished in bright Magnum Silver, the first time that these were available on the DB9. Another DB9 first were the clear rear lamp lenses. The car was also equipped with the normally optional DB9 Sports Pack as standard. Inside, the DB9 LM was fitted with handcrafted black leather with red stitching, perforated leather inserts, unique and vivid ‘Tertre Rouge’ facia trim and numbered sill plaques.

Full specs of the DB9 LM are:-

• 2008MY Coupe with Touchtronic 2 transmission as standard
• Sports pack as standard
• Sarthe Silver coachwork
• 19 inch Sports pack alloy wheels, Sarthe Silver painted with a diamond turned finish
• Meshes in Magnum Silver
• Bright front grille
• Clear rear lenses with trim finishers in Sarthe Silver
• Small red enamelled badge on the on the boot with a map of the Le Mans 24 hour curcuit
• Obsidian Black leather with course red stitching, and perforated leather seat inserts
• Le Mans circuit map embroidered in red on the centre arm rest
• ‘Tertre Rouge’ facia and door cappings (named after the famous corner on the circuit)
• Tailors grey or black headlining
• Numbered sill plaque
• Red brake calipers

Deliveries to customers were made during February and March of 2008 at a price of £124,000 or 180,000 Euros in Germany. The intention was to limit the number of DB9 LM’s to just 124 examples although it is believed that 69 were actually made. By March 2008, the DB9 received it’s first major revision, the 2009MY DB9, together with the more powerful AM09 engine and DBS style centre console.