The Demo Site

What's not to love about a sexy, fast GT with a good old-fashioned three-pedal manual transmission? Very little indeed, but if there are any gripes to be found, a traffic-choked metropolis like Los Angeles will bring it out. And so we believe that Aston Martin had the right idea to debut the new self-shifting version of its flagship DBS at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show.

In place of the six-speed manual transaxle found in all 300 or so DBS coupes built to date is a beefed-up version of the ZF-sourced six-speed Touchtronic automatic transaxle introduced last year in the DB9. Dubbed "Touchtronic 2" in the DBS, the transmission features a shorter final drive ratio (3.46:1 vs. 3.15:1) and modified computer programming for faster shift response. Like the DB9, the transmission has a sport mode that further quickens shift speed and matches revs on downshifts. Manual shifting through the forward gears is done with racy steering-column-mounted magnesium and leather paddles. All other functions (like Park or Reverse) must be selected via the un-racy "P-R-N-D" buttons spread across the center stack.

Keep Reading: 2009 Aston Martin DBS Automatic - Auto Shows