2009 Aston Martin DBS

This car, Lot 109, sold for $140,000, including buyer’s premium, at RM Sotheby’s Amelia Island, FL, auction on March 7, 2020.

The Aston Martin DBS coupe has become a sweet-spot collectible from the U.K. company’s recent offerings.

Sometimes you just have to let something age a bit before you respect and appreciate it a tad more. It’s the old “you don’t know what you have until it’s gone” adage.

The slightly overlooked and underappreciated hero whose shining moment came during a crisis, perhaps. The unsung hero. This car entered the marketplace when the world’s economies were in the severe recession that started in 2008. This meant fewer DBS cars were sold new than originally envisioned.

This sounds a tad familiar in 2020. I wonder what we’ll look back at 10 years from now.

Excluding the underlying importance of James Bond’s connection to Aston Martin — which should never be underestimated — the DBS optioned with manual transmission has developed a robust cult following since it went out of production less than a decade ago.

Okay, well, it didn’t hurt that Daniel Craig’s 007 piloted this model in anger across a couple of Bond films — and thoroughly thrashed and outdrove the bad guys in two fantastic chase scenes. I’ll give you that. The celluloid was en fuego, and Bond-car history was etched into the brains of young kids and adults once again.

This was quite the proper step up from the Pierce Brosnan 007 era disappearing Vanquish (which, when compared to a DBS, looks bloated) and the rather flaccid and tepid DB10 that Craig drove after the DBS (arguably the dullest Bond ride since his BMW sedan days).

Now, back to the main feature.

That lovely third pedal

I lamented the passing of the manual transmission from Aston Martin’s V12 lineup more than many of my fellow dealers.

Historically, the United States’ Northeast market bucked the trend across the country, with a 50/50 split between coupe and Volante and an equally significant 50/50 split between manual and TouchTronic transmission.

Since the introduction of the DB7 into North America, Aston’s spotlight shone bright because it was the last holdout to offer a manual box in a proper GT.

The DBS was the last solution if you wanted to use your left foot while driving the “bigger Aston.” Stubborn corporate heads prevailed (thanks for nothing, Dr. Bez) and the manual gearbox went the way of trunk-mounted 10-stack CD changers.

This was also the time of mid-era “sportshift clutches,” or in other terms, the cars fewer gearheads find desirable now. Clunk, clank, jerk…

Contemporary critics may have accused management and the designers of simply tarting up the very successful DB9 and being lazy about their new halo car. (There was a significant hole left in the lineup when the last Vanquish S rolled out of Newport Pagnell a few years earlier, and a special car was needed.)

At first glance, that criticism may have been fair, but it wasn’t accurate. In fact, accusing the DBS of being a tarted-up DB9 is actually a lazy observation.

The right gear

Aston Martin incorporated copious amounts of carbon fiber throughout the bodywork and added — for the first time — carbon-ceramic brakes. This new gear helped qualify the DBS as the hard-edged sibling in the Aston Martin family, and the car deserved the respect of halo nomenclature.

The DBS was the much-needed hooligan to complement the svelte and sinewy DB9.

The DBS driving improvements included a stiffer suspension, more-direct steering, a punched-up 510-hp engine — and to this day, one of the most ferocious exhaust notes to ever growl out of an Aston V12 motor. Retrospectively, this car proved a robust, proper Aston.

It should also be noted that the creature comforts included a new B&O stereo and 2+0 seating (the option to delete the rear seat), both featured in the car sold here — a nice spec indeed. My only grouse about any DBS coupe as a whole is that you’ll rarely see one anywhere that isn’t some shade of silver, gray or black.

Thin on the ground

Although the exact number of U.S.-delivered examples with a manual gearbox and 2+0-seating is not readily available, they are rare beasts. In total I’d guess that America probably got one-third of the 6-speeds produced, which amounts to about 300 or so during the entire run. The lion’s share were built in 2009–10.

The well-maintained, low-mileage example sold here was very fairly bought and sold. The DBS three-pedal version has depreciated much less than the TouchTronic examples, has well outpaced the residual value of the previous halo Vanquish and standard DB9 — and may very well be the “Next Gen” hotshot collectible from the brand.

Find yourself a “Casino Royale” or “Quantum” Silver example (with a stick, of course) and park it next to your DB5 or V8 Vantage — and have the Bond/Aston garage you’ve always wanted. ♦

(Introductory description courtesy of RM Sotheby’s.)