Fire up the DB’s V12, though, prod the Drive button (all the auto gearbox functions are so controlled) then gun the throttle and minor gripes ebb away rapidly.
What strikes you – even before the V12’s sonorous bellow has started its aural assault – is how together the Aston Martin feels.
Given that Liz’s car has now covered 47,000 miles, structurally it is factory-fresh, with all the main control points – especially the steering – drum-tight.
The Aston Martin DB9 (left) and Bentley Continental GT are a pair of British brutes that saved their makers
The DB9 also has the shortest wheelbase here, so, combined with its granite-like composure, its handling has an edge to it not found in the other two: come across a fast, well-sighted bend, turn in, feel a trace of understeer, and then marvel at how controllably the car rotates around its rear axle with next to no drama.
Ultimate steering feel is second only to the Ferrari’s and, if there is a fly in the ointment, it’s that the Aston’s auto ’box takes a while to hook up – although, as we’ll find out, it’s more comfortable to live with than the Ferrari when your trousers aren’t on fire.
Neil Luce, this 612’s owner, clearly has no issue with the more abrupt shifts of his car’s automated-manual gearbox.
And that’s important, because this Ferrari really should have been easier to live with than any other.
The DB9’s side vent echoes that on classic Aston Martins
There’s visual drama wherever you look at the 612, from the V12’s crackle-red cam covers in the engine bay to the beautifully crafted, skeletal architecture of the dashboard and right down to the tiny chrome-topped reverse lever on the centre console.
Yes, the 612 was vastly more expensive than the Aston, but you would never have felt short-changed.
The cabin is also the most driver-focused of the three, with deeply bolstered seats allowing you to sit lower and closer to the action.
The Aston’s styling was a radical step from the decade-old DB7, but it paid off
Two average-sized adults would be comfortable in the rear and, with an extra 70 litres of boot space versus the Aston, there would be room for their hand luggage.
They would enjoy the soundtrack, too.
Even in this slightly muted form, the 612’s V12 is still gloriously expressive in its higher reaches, encouraging you to make full use of its performance.
When you do, a slight lift is needed between changes to smooth out the transmission’s tendency to leave you nodding like a Churchill dog; alternatively, engage ‘Sport’, live with even snappier (but quicker) changes and savour the urgency with which the Ferrari makes progress.
Agile and engaging, Aston Martin’s DB9 is a convincing sports car, too
Grip is excellent, with gentle understeer signposting its limits, but the 612’s longer wheelbase makes it more stable and less nervous than the Aston.
That said, the Italian’s steering has an extra dose of tactility versus the DB9’s, although its ultimate body control falls some way short – understandable, given its larger dimensions – becoming jittery over poor surfaces.
The Bentley quite simply goes down its own path in pretty much every respect.
From the sumptuousness and capaciousness of its private members’ club cabin, rich with lashings of leather and veneers, to the cast-iron stability wrought by its four-wheel-drive system, the Continental GT is there to shield you from the outside world rather than have you engage with it.
The Aston’s 450bhp V12 sounds glorious, especially at full tilt
The W12’s bassy grumble is hardly characterful, even when extended, and thrives on torque, so best to leave it in Drive and let it do its thing.
You feel the car’s weight through every twist and turn, its steering accurate but mute and (appropriately) lower-geared through the large-diameter wheel.
As if to prove its worth, the Continental was the only car I drove in the deluge that followed our photoshoot and, frankly, I couldn’t think of a better place to be.
The DB9’s black-leather-trimmed cabin is more upmarket exec than luxury GT
Its front-end grip is peerless, and the low-revving effortlessness of its motor gives reassurance, while the more highly strung V12s of the Aston and Ferrari would have left you on edge.
Even the Continental GT’s sheer weight – more than half a ton up on the other two – helps it to carve an arrow-straight path across waterlogged surfaces.
Does that make the Bentley the best car here? With values now starting below £20k it makes a compelling choice, yet, for all its technological prowess, it’s a blunt tool that will never reward drivers like the Aston and Ferrari (although their passengers might disagree).
And of those two, values aside, only the 612 truly fulfils the grand-tourer remit with aplomb.
Images: Max Edleston
Thanks to: Nigel Sandell; Scott Fisher at Aston Martin; Simon Drabble Cars
Factfiles
Aston Martin DB9
- Sold/number built 2004-‘12/c16,500 (all variants)
- Construction aluminium monocoque, aluminium and composite panels
- Engine all-alloy, dohc-per-bank 5935cc V12, Visteon fuel injection
- Max power 450bhp @ 6000rpm
- Max torque 420lb ft @ 5000rpm
- Transmission six-speed automatic, RWD
- Suspension double wishbones, coil springs, telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar f/r
- Steering power-assisted rack and pinion
- Brakes ventilated discs, with servo and anti-lock
- Length 15ft 5in (4697mm)
- Width 6ft 7½in (2017mm)
- Height 4ft 4in (1318mm)
- Wheelbase 8ft 11¾in (2740mm)
- Weight 3880lb (1760kg)
- Mpg 12.1
- 0-60mph 5.4 secs
- Top speed 186mph
- Price new £103,000
- Price now £20-50,000*
Ferrari 612 Scaglietti
- Sold/number built 2004-‘11/3025
- Construction aluminium spaceframe chassis, aluminium panels
- Engine all-alloy, dohc-per-bank 5748cc V12, Bosch Motronic ME7 fuel injection
- Max power 540bhp @ 7200rpm
- Max torque 434lb ft @ 5250rpm
- Transmission six-speed automated manual, RWD
- Suspension double wishbones, coil springs, telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar f/r
- Steering power-assisted rack and pinion
- Brakes ventilated discs, with servo and anti-lock
- Length 16ft 1in (4902mm)
- Width 6ft 11½in (2120mm)
- Height 4ft 5in (1344mm)
- Wheelbase 9ft 8in (2950mm)
- Weight 4122lb (1870kg)
- Mpg 13.3
- 0-60mph 4.4 secs
- Top speed 200mph
- Price new £170,500
- Price now £60-100,000*
Bentley Continental GT
- Sold/number built 2003-‘11/33,206 (all first-generation derivatives)
- Construction steel monocoque, steel panels
- Engine all-alloy, dohc-per-bank 5998cc W12, twin turbochargers and fuel injection
- Max power 552bhp @ 6100rpm
- Max torque 479lb ft @ 1600rpm
- Transmission six-speed ZF auto, 4WD via a Torsen centre differential
- Suspension independent, at front by double wishbones rear multi-link; telescopic dampers, air springs f/r
- Steering ZF Servotronic power-assisted rack and pinion
- Brakes ventilated discs, with servo and anti-lock
- Length 15ft 9in (4804mm)
- Width 6ft 10¾in (2101mm)
- Height 4ft 6¾in (1390mm)
- Wheelbase 9ft (2745mm)
- Weight 5258lb (2385kg)
- Mpg 13.9
- 0-60mph 4.9 secs
- Top speed 196mph
- Price new £110,000
- Price now £18-40,000*
*Prices correct at date of original publication
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Simon Hucknall
Simon Hucknall is a senior contributor to Classic & Sports Car