The Aston Martin DB9, the first car to be produced at the company’s modern and recently completed facility in Gaydon, Warwickshire, made its world debut at the 2004 Frankfurt Motor Show.

The innovative DB9 heralds an exciting new era for Aston Martin as it reflected the direction that the company took with all future models.

Using a radical new aluminium bonded frame, the 2+2 DB9 is one of the most sophisticated and technically advanced sports cars in the world. It successfully balances the attributes of a sports car with features normally found on luxury cars.

It is also the first production model to use VH Platform strategy (Vertical/Horizontal), which is unique to Aston Martin and will form the basis for all future Aston Martin models. Its advantages are that it is very light, provides better performance, handling and durability and yet it is extremely rigid.

"The DB9 will without doubt be the most important Aston Martin model ever," said Dr Ulrich Bez, CEO of Aston Martin. "Not only is it the first time in our history that we have a purpose-built facility but we now also have a dedicated platform.

"The DB9 is an excellent example of what we as a company stand for today – namely making elegant and understated