The long list of design and engineering innovations includes the Organic Electro Luminescent (OEL) displays in the instrument pack and centre console. These provide higher resolution, and improved clarity, compared with conventional electronic displays.

Other innovations include LED (Light Emitting Diode) rear lamps that project through a reflector, dispensing rays more evenly than other LED systems. They also react more quickly, giving earlier warning to following drivers when braking.

A work load monitor temporarily cancels low-importance warning information during spirited driving so as not to distract the driver. The propellor shaft is particularly innovative: it is manufactured from carbon fibre for lightness and improved transmission refinement.

A stunning DB9 design feature is the 'swan wing' doors, which open out and up, improving access and reducing the danger of the doors scuffing on high kerbs. DB9 also pioneers the use of ultrasonic welding, which is 90 per cent stronger than conventional spot welding, and results in a better finish, yet uses only 5 per cent of the energy.

DB9 prototypes were tested in locations as diverse as Nardo in Italy, Death Valley in the USA and inside the Arctic Circle in Sweden. In all, more than one million testing miles were covered.