Autoblog

At the Dubai Autodrome this week, Aston Martin revealed the car that will replace the Vantage N24, which has raced successfully in the FIA GT4 class and endurance events like the 24 Hours of Nürburgring for the past two years. Named the Vantage GT4, the new racer will employ a racing version of the production car's 4.7L V8 in place of the N24's slightly smaller 4.3L V8. Other race-bred modifications include a free-flow exhaust system, dry sump lubrication and new engine management software calibrated for racing. The new GT4 is hand-built by Aston Martin and can be ordered by race teams from the factory with a six-speed manual transmission or Sportshift tranny with paddle shifters. The production car's interior gets gutted and replaced with a molding of the dash that's covered in Alcantara suede (which also covers the steering wheel), a steel roll cage and Recaro competition seats. The suspension has been beefed up for race duty and the wheels are now cast magnesium wrapped in Yokohama race rubber, but Aston has carried over all of the production car's active safety systems like stability control, traction control and ABS. If you're a gentleman racer, you can order the new Vantage GT4 from the factory for £96,645 and have it ready to race by this January.


[Source: Aston Martin Racing]

Laced with shadowy images of details of the upcoming Aston Martin One-77, the company has released their second video teaser for the new supercar. Comparing it to the company's legendary limited production DB4GT Zagato, the One-77 is said to be the "Embodiment of Aston Martin." AM tell us it should feel like it's been tailored to the driver and that it has new technologies, exclusive components and handmade body panels. The talking heads call it a piece of art and then go on to describe how this piece of art will behave, with unbelievable performance, programmable control feedback and an exhaust note beyond compare. As we've reported before, only 77 examples will be built, all powered by a hand-built 7.0-liter V12 capable of pushing the carbon fiber beast from 0-60 in 3.5-seconds, with a top speed north of 200 mph. All for just £1 million... and it's already sold out. The full video is after the jump. Aston Martin promises the next video in January 2009.



[Source: Aston Martin]

Click above for a high-res gallery of Project Kahn's interior for the Aston Martin Vanquish S

If you haven't been living in a cave, shut off from the fantastic world of European supercars for the past decade, then you'll likely know that Aston Martin has been hard at work on a succession of new flagships since the vaunted Vanquish. But Aston Martin is an automaker deeply rooted in its heritage, so even after discontinuing the Vanquish, it came back to give it some upgrades. Now, noted British tuning house Project Kahn has followed suite by revisiting the Vanquish S with a new interior package.

Kahn's vision for the Vanquish's interior includes a custom dashboard, center console, seats, door panels, steering wheel and roof lining decked out in the customer's choice of contrasting Nappa and Alcantara leather trim, deliciously perforated and top-stitched. Piano lacquer trim panels and smoked privacy glass also form part of the delectable package. Of course Vanquish owners could probably find any number of upholsterers eager and willing to work up a fresh take on the erstwhile Aston flagship's cockpit, but Kahn presents a compelling option. Follow the jump for the press release and check out the high-resolution images in the gallery below.

[Source: Project Kahn]

Click above for high-res gallery of SEMA supercars

As much as we love its tires, we are really upset with Michelin. Where is the annual supercar lovefest that has been the Michelin SEMA booth? Last year's display was an incredible assortment of stock, tuned and race vehicles from Audi, Chevrolet and Porsche. The year before that the Michelin booth had a Caparo T1, Koenigsegg, RUF, Saleen S7, McLaren F1, Bugatti Veyron and Pagani Zonda. Those are tough acts to follow for supercar fans, so Michelin just decided to stop trying and didn't show this year. In all fairness, a lot of companies are absent or here with a much smaller setup. Something about the economy. Although it's a little tougher now, it's still possible for a SEMA showgoer to get a healthy dose of supercar exposure, though. It just takes a little more shoe leather or a click of your finger to see some of this year's supercars in our gallery below. In it you'll see cars from Mosler, Spyker, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Chevy, Factory Five, Porsche, Aston Martin and more. There were also quite a few race cars scattered around the halls this year that we thought you might like to see, as well. Check out the huge gallery by clicking on any image.



Photos copyright ©2008 Frank Filipponio/Weblogs, Inc.

Click above for a gallery of the Aston Martin One-77

Despite a slowing economy, Aston Martin is not shying away from tackling some high-priced territory. Its Rapide four-door coupe is on the way, the as-yet un-named convertible DBS is due imminently, development of the V12 Vantage continues, and it's re-launching the Lagonda marque with some new luxury machinery. All the while the next DB9 and Vantage are tipped to go up-market, but not before the ultra-premium One-77 lands in the hands of a few very fortunate customers. Only six in the U.S. to be exact, with just five destined to stay in the UK out of the total production run of 77. That leaves 66 for the rest of the world, and just where they'll all end up is open to speculation, but expect a fair few to be destined for emerging luxury markets in Asia especially.

Although the One-77 won't be officially unveiled in full until next year – we got a partial preview last month in Paris – the first batch of pictures is already out, and initial specs have now found their way onto the internet. CEO Ulrich Bez has confirmed that power will come from an artfully-crafted derivative of the company's existing 6-liter V12, bored and stroked to 7 liters and producing somewhere in the neighborhood of 700 horsepower and 520 lb-ft of torque. All that power will have to move just 1500kg, lighter than the 1630kg V8 Vantage, the 1760kg DB9 and even the lightweight 1690kg DBS. Despite the One-77's imposing silhouette, at 4576mm it will actually measure 133mm shorter than the DB9, but 196mm longer than the compact Vantage, while at a stout 1223mm high and a lane-dominating 1900mm wide, the supercar will also be shorter and wider than either the Vantage or the DB9. Bez claims that an all-out performance battle with the Bugatti Veyron isn't the point of the One-77, but a top speed well in excess of 200 mph is all but guaranteed.

[Source: Autocar]

It sounds like a match made in heaven. A new duo of sedans styled by Aston Martin with Mercedes-Benz engineering prowess propping them up. Assuming that these two automakers can get their next super-sedans bolted together well enough, the first sedan from the recently-revived Lagonda brand and the next Maybach may be jointly designed by the two companies, which just recently began collaborating with each other. Early reports indicate that the two premium saloons would be based on the latest S-Class chassis architecture, with the Maybach brand getting the most luxurious accouterments and the Lagonda holding the sporty end of the stick.

Powertrain options for these two luxury vehicles would come from Daimler as a revised version of the V12 engine that currently powers the Maybach limos and which may even by hybridized. The jointly developed super saloons would theoretically cut the development time and budget for each by significant amounts, assuming that these two sets of management can find a way to work together. We have high hopes.

[Source: Autocar]

Driving an Aston Martin V8 Vantage over the Asian Highway to promote highway safety strikes us as, if not the least safe thing we can think of, certainly dubious. Yet the Project 30,000 car piloted by Britons Richard Meredith and Phil Colley made the trek safely, albeit with quite a few adventures along the way: a cattle stampede, border hassles in Turkmenistan, and a sandstorm in China. And that road you see in the picture above is apparently what they call a "detour" in certain parts of the world. Yeah. The book of the journey, Driven Together, will come out late next month. To whet your appetite, check out the gallery of photos below, or if you can't wait, head over to Mercury Books now and pre-order a copy at a discount.


[Source: Mercury Books]

One of the perks Aston Martin enjoyed while under the ownership of Ford was the use of the Blue Oval's parts bin to cut costs. Save for some switchgear and nav systems, only a few items were visible to the customer. At least that's the idea. Edward Legge, general manager of Rio Prestige hire, received a damaged key fob from a rented V8 Vantage that gave him and his team quite a surprise. The person borrowing the luxury GT somehow damaged the rich leather covering the fob, revealing a Volvo logo underneath. It wasn't a Volvo stamp in the plastic or a small, blocked out Volvo logo. Nope, this was a fully decorated Volvo key that nobody bothered to disguise. That's not something the owner of a $120,000 V8 Vantage wants to see.

The new owners of Aston Martin will point out that they're switching to the fancy shmancy "Emotion Control Unit" glass-block keys from the DBS. We'd say that's a pretty good idea, considering people wait in line for months or even years for the chance to own a car that can cost upwards of $300,000. But as far as we're concerned, every Aston could be started with one of those colored keys from the local hardware store and it wouldn't much matter to us. It's still an Aston Martin and it's still automotive porn.

[Source: CAR Magazine]

Despite Aston Martin's efforts to keep the One-77 supercar under wraps, four images have leaked out and we expect more to follow in the coming days.

Viewed in profile, the One-77's silhouette is pure Aston, taking all the right cues from its predecessors and forming them into a slightly elongated and exaggerated form. The massive grille is an obvious nod to the Astons of yore, but the hood delves deeper than its DB9 and Vantage counterparts and benefits from four contoured strakes terminating into a set of air extractors. The creases that bisect the blacked-out headlamps and front fenders are pure aggression, and the vents aft of the front wheels ensure that the 700 hp V12 is kept cool at speed.

Out back, Aston's signature rump is present and accounted for, but a new taillight design that evolves the automaker's current offerings, a rear diffuser and a center-exit exhaust are all elements that we expect to see on future models.

Check the gallery below for all the details. Thanks for the tip, Alexander!



[Source: 925.nl]

Who's not looking forward to the new Bond flick Quantum of Solace that opens in theaters on October 29th? Agent 007 returns with an Aston Martin DBS as his daily driver and a beautiful woman on his arm, per usual. The new girl's name is Camille, and she's played by Olga Kurylenko. Her job is to make James forget about that Vesper girl, and she'll be sharing scenes with Ford's recently redesigned Ka while doing it.

Ford plans to make good use of the Ka's starring role next to Olga, and is sponsoring a slew of Bond girl events including a special on MTV that will take an ordinary Jill and give her four weeks of Bond training with Ms. Kurylenko. Other events include a behind the scenes look at the Camille character on E! Entertainment and full coverage from the red carpet premiere. We dig the cute little Ka, but we're guessing Olga will garner much of the spotlight during the efficient little hatch's big screen debut. Click the pic to the right for a high-res version and another head shot of Kurylenko upstaging the Ka with her better-than-Kinetic good looks.


[Source: Ford]