It's no more unusual for siblings to imitate one another in the automotive world than it is in the human world and our latest spy shots illustrate the phenomena nicely. But what's really going on with this Aston Martin?
From the front, it appears as though the gents from Gaydon are doing some high-speed testing on a new nose for the DB9 out on the Nürburgring. As we continue to look at the car from other angles, though, it actually appears to be a DBS. Though the front fascia and grille say DB9, the vented hood, deep side skirts, rear diffuser, big rear-lip spoiler and multi-spoke wheels scream DBS.
So what's going on here? Is this an updated DB9 wearing its sportier siblings clothes, or a DBS dressing down with a more subtle nose job? To be honest, we're not exactly sure, though based on the racy seats, we're leaning towards the DBS. Either way, we know that Aston Martin is testing a new nose for the DB9/DBS, one that more closely resembles that of the V-12 Vantage and the face-lifted V-8 Vantage we recently spied. Which car this nose will actually end up on, though, is a matter of speculation at this point.
There's also the matter of some interesting-looking bits hiding behind the grille in that new front fascia. The two silver-and-red tubes appear to be connected to some kind of fluid cooler, but they're hard to make out and some have suggested they could even be adjustable links connected to the new front splitter. All we know for sure is they aren't present on either the DB9 or DBS currently, so it's anyone's guess what Aston Martin is up to. We're hoping it's an oil cooler or even a water-to-air intercooler that's part of an even racier DBS package that's under development.
Thanks to: Motor Trend