TO THE (DB)9s; Aston Martin's DB7 replacement is dressed to thrill.

Byline: JULIAN RENDELL

Everything you need to know about the Aston Martin DB9 V12, the all-new replacement for the DB7, is summed up by the change of name.

By leapfrogging the next logical DB letter-and-number combination-DB8-Aston also vaulted over one imaginary seven-year model cycle from the DB7's reskinned Jaguar underpinnings to the DB9's bonded-alloy, new Millennium parts set.

This leap of names represents something else equally revolutionary-a complete upgrade of the company that centers around an impressive new headquarters in Gaydon, England. Behind its soft Cotswold stone faade are the flinty workings of modern glass and chrome offices where key departments of sales, marketing and engineering are together in one place for the first time in recent memory.

Part of this complex houses a new factory that by the end of 2005 should assemble 5000 new Astons a year. Considering Aston once made 14 cars in one year during the dark days of the 1970s, times are changing.

Former Porsche and BWM engineer Ulrich Bez, Aston's chief executive officer since 2000, has masterminded this revolution. "Gaydon is probably the best facility of its type in the world,'' he boasts, "and the perfect showcase for how to design and build innovative sports and GT cars for the 21st century.''

The new DB9 will be its proof. Though the concept for the car is the same as with DB7- to build "an elegant, understated, powerful, nice-handling and comfortable sports car''- the execution will be what sets it apart.