qwik240z Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 Went out for a cruise with a friend from out of town today. He is in town to run in the Marine Corp Marathon tomorrow. He needed to go and register so I took him for a ride in the Z. Nice weather for cruising. Anyway, we are going down the highway and here comes this brand new (temp Tags) Aston Martin DB9 in the rear view. As he pulls around me to pass, I drop it into 2nd and hit it. The rear breaks loose and starts to slide but I am used to that. The guy looks over and smiles. He nails it and so do I. We are side by side and WOT. I hit 3rd and the rear breaks loose again. Readline comes up fast and I shift to 4th and keep going. Here comes redline again and I decide that is fast enough for public roads. We both back off. He never pulled away from me. We stayed side by side the entire time. As we slowed down to normal speeds, he keeps looking over and giving me a big thumbs up. The gut is all smiles. I give him the thumbs up too. I know that he was very surprised by the look on his face. I needed to take the next exit so I tuned off and settled back down. My friend was amaZed. He couldn't believe that my little Z car could hang with a modern supercar like the DB9. Nice to know my $25K Datsun can hang with the $155K DB9. For those of you not familiar with the car, here is some info from the Aston Martin website: A great sports car needs a great engine - it is the heart of any high performance machine. In DB9's case, that great engine is a powerful yet refined all aluminium 6.0-litre V12. It produces 335 kW (450 bhp) and 570 Nm (420 lb ft) of torque. That results in a power to weight ratio of 194 kW/tonne (263 bhp/tonne) - one of the highest figures in its class. Performance is enormous, yet usable. Top speed is 300 km/h (186 mph) and acceleration sees 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.9 seconds (add two tenths of a second for the automatic). These figures are impressive and DB9 will respond with real passion. Aston Martin DB9 Vehicle type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2+2-passenger, 2-door coupe Estimated base price: $155,000 Engine type: DOHC 48-valve V-12, aluminum block and heads Displacement: 362 cu in, 5935cc Power (SAE net): 444 bhp @ 6000 rpm Torque (SAE net): 420 lb-ft @ 5000 rpm Transmissions: 6-speed manual with automated shifting and clutch, 6-speed automatic Wheelbase: 107.8 in Length/width/height: 184.9/73.8/51.9 in Curb weight: 3750-3900 lb Manufacturer's performance ratings: Zero to 60 mph: 4.7-4.9 sec Zero to 100 mph: 10.8-10.9 sec Top speed (drag limited): 186 mph Projected fuel economy: EPA city driving (C/D est): 11-12 mpg EPA highway driving (C/D est): 18-19 mpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v8dats Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 wow sounds like one hell of an encounter! not only did u happen to see one but u got a chance to run with it. i bet u are still smiling right now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love-my-V8-280Z Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 That is what its all about... Just made every penny invested worth it.. You have to go home and place another notch in the head board... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 Those Aston Martins are just sick expesnsive cars, but man, they look sweet as can be. I love to see them in the Bay Area traffic once in a while. At first I think it's a Jaguar and then, bang, it hits me: this is no Jag! Cool story and I would expect nothing less from and LS1 powered Z car... Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 Wow sounds like a lot of fun and I've actually never seen one on the road. I got to mix it up with an Maserati Coupe during a open track event at Roebling Road and had a blast. I had pointed him by a couple of times on Saturday but on Sunday I was pushing it a little harder and could hang with him. I had been behind him for several laps with him pulling me hard on the straight and then me slowly reeling him in through the twisties. I didn't realize how hard he was pushing it and he spun right in front of me as we were entering turn six. My instructor had been pushing me to hang with him and we were high fiving and laughing as we passed by the Masersati. His personalized tag said "Does 185" btw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 I got to drive a brand new Aston Martin, the Vanquish S, V12 and like 500hp. Only up and down the street, never got above 45, but DAMN the forces felt when I dipped into the throttle for like one full second.... insane. They are not as quick as one would hope for 500 hp though I guess because they are heavy? Definately FELT like a heavy car in my trip down the street. Belonged to a friend of my boss, a VERY cool guy, we talked for like 30 mins about cars. He loved my turbo Z, used to have a 240 'when I was about your age' . I offered him to drive it but he declined... I was totally joking when I asked if I could drive his but he just straight said 'sure, you want to take it down the street?' !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As cool as that was... I wanted to ask him to race but I just felt like... somehow that would have been disrespectful or something I dunno. I figure with his traction control he'd have whupped me either way because I can't launch for crap, but with an equal start I think he'd have had a hard time shaking me... 500 hp is nice but considering he's got 1600lbs more to haul around woulda been interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwik240z Posted October 30, 2005 Author Share Posted October 30, 2005 I got to drive a brand new Aston Martin' date=' the Vanquish S, V12 and like 500hp. Only up and down the street, never got above 45, but DAMN the forces felt when I dipped into the throttle for like one full second.... insane. They are not as quick as one would hope for 500 hp though I guess because they are heavy? Definately FELT like a heavy car in my trip down the street. Belonged to a friend of my boss, a VERY cool guy, we talked for like 30 mins about cars. He loved my turbo Z, used to have a 240 'when I was about your age' . I offered him to drive it but he declined... I was totally joking when I asked if I could drive his but he just straight said 'sure, you want to take it down the street?' !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As cool as that was... I wanted to ask him to race but I just felt like... somehow that would have been disrespectful or something I dunno. I figure with his traction control he'd have whupped me either way because I can't launch for crap, but with an equal start I think he'd have had a hard time shaking me... 500 hp is nice but considering he's got 1600lbs more to haul around woulda been interesting.[/quote'] I hear you about the traction control. Luckily we had a rolling start from about 45mph so I had more traction then if we had started from a dead stop. They are heavy at 3900 pounds (auto) but at 450hp they should move ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 tuff z Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 nice one dave, i'd say that trip along made all the sweat and stress this summer worth it, and then some... david Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 tuff z Posted November 1, 2005 Share Posted November 1, 2005 the little stuff for the v8z swap, $5000 on the card, ls1 engine, tranny and other stuff that had to get done, $8,000 on your card, ear to ear grin when your little ole hybridz hangs with a $150,000+ exotic PRICELESS! for everything else, well-is there really anything else?!?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted November 2, 2005 Share Posted November 2, 2005 David, The really obvious point is that you ran with him WITH a passenger on board. Might have been different if the Aston had two people instead of just the driver! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwik240z Posted November 2, 2005 Author Share Posted November 2, 2005 I have this problem. I am teaching my son to be a safe driver at all times . Then I showed him this thread and how much fun it is to have this type of Z and why I am willing to help him build it. Contradiction much. Great story' date=' enjoyed every minute of it. Wish I could have been in the passenger seat.[/quote'] I know how you feel. I have an 12 year old son and I want him to be safe on the road always. He has already had his first driving lesson in my 510 and he loves the go kart tracks. Especially the slick track. He loves to "slide" I try to drive responsibly but when a car like a DB9 shows up, it is hard to maintain self control. Luckily I have the wisdom to know when to back off. I'm still smiling every time I think about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silicone boy Posted November 3, 2005 Share Posted November 3, 2005 That story sends goosebumps up my spine. I can't wait to get mine running again, but I blew through my original budget a long time ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dosquattro Posted November 5, 2005 Share Posted November 5, 2005 Time to start saving. The kid can get school loans when the time comes or else just get a full ride cause daddy's Z needs a new heart. She'll understand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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