Aston Martin DB9 Coupé

At the weekend's 2010 Le Mans 24-hour race you might have seen elsewhere that CAR was embedded in the Which meant that we were well placed to pilfer one of the facelifted DB9s on display at the Aston Martin customer hospitality unit at the French  circuit and drive it back to Blighty.

A 'face lifted' 2010 Aston Martin DB9? It doesn't look very different!

Yes, let's call it the 2011 model year DB9. Aston types hesitate to use the word 'face lift', it's just part of the continuous improvement that's gradually spruced up the DB9 since launch back in 2003.

CAR bumped into Aston Martin design director Marek Reichmann in the AMR pits at Le Mans and he gave us the lowdown on the 2011 DB9. 'We are continuing the elegant feel of the DB9: there's a new front bumper, new side skirts, new colours,' he explained. 'These are mild changes – we've made 12,000 DB9s since launch and don't feel the need to start afresh. There are also plenty of under-the-skin changes.'