A car which came to life on the drawing board, carefully sculpted first on paper and then with a full size model, with the aim of creating a unique object in terms of style and quality. The new sporty, elegant, alluring Aston Martin DB9, the latest addition to the British manufacturer’s product range, is the result of a working approach which has become increasingly difficult to implement in the modern car design context, but which is still feasible with the luxury of a limited production run.
The starting point for a dream car like the DB9, never aggressive or exaggerated, is a classic definition of beauty based on proportions and limits: “What counts in all types of objects – explains the brand’s design director Henrik Fisker – in all sectors, are proportions. Pushing these to the limit, touching the boundaries but never crossing them, means achieving balance in every project, and I think that with this car we have been particularly successful from that point of view”.
After a lot of drawing work, practically alone, where Fisker mulled over and developed the initial idea for the car, analysing its place in the range and in the sector in general, the next natural step was the construction of the first (and only) full size model, which for almost a year was used as a “drawing board” for the staff of the Style Centre in Irvine, California. The next stage led to the final version half way through 2002: a distinctive identity with its side profile without visible bumpers, the front mass which accentuates the presence of the engine, and a deep-rooted overall sense of balance which conveys the evolution of the brand’s values.
The article continues in Auto & Design no. 147
