Aston Martin is on a roll of late, the latest creation its four-door masterpiece, the Rapide. While that car has its quirks, it's certainly one of the most attractive four-door sports cars in existence. Last year, the company shoe-horned a brawny V-12 engine into the Vantage, taking the car's performance to a new level. Now Aston Martin is preparing a facelift of its DB9 grand tourer, captured testing in prototype form in these latest spy shots.

Not wanting to muck around with the beautiful lines of the DB9, Aston Martin designers are preparing only a small facelift for the car, consisting of new bumpers, a bigger rear spoiler and side skirts borrowed from the more extreme DBS.

It’s not clear what changes Aston Martin has for the interior and powertrain but expect some subtle refinements and possible a small power hike. New wheel design and equipment packages may also be a part of the update.

The facelifted 2011 Aston Martin DB9 facelift will likely make its world debut at the 2010 Paris Auto Show before going on sale early next year.

Also being updated is the Vantage, which you can see spy shots of here, and you can bet the DB9 Volante convertible will also receive the same changes.