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Aston Martin V12 Rapide set for Alaskan adventure
 
The Aston Martin V12 Rapide isn’t exactly the type of car that you’d bring out on a date with Mother Nature. Sure, it can get dirty once in a while, but for the most part, it belongs in the metropolis with paved concrete streets as its jungle. So imagine our surprise when we found out that the British luxury sports saloon is being prepared for an expedition unlike anything it has ever done in the past, James Bond movies included. Aston Martin is preparing the V12 Rapide for a three-day excursion into the heart of the harsh Alaskan wilderness as a way of slamming home the point that the Rapide is more than just stunning good looks and powerhouse powertrain; it can also survive the test of endurance and durability amidst some pretty serious conditions surrounding it. The entire trip will take the V12 Rapide across 1,230 miles in Alaska, beginning in Anchorage all the way to the town of Fairbanks through the Prudhoe Bay all the way up to the town of Deadhorse just a stone’s throw away from the Arctic Ocean. Continued after the jump. Full story Aston Martin V12 Zagato limited to 150 units, priced at $530k
Aston Martin has official confirmed on their Italian Facebook page that the V12 Zagato will be put into limited production. There will be only 150 units built, each priced at about $530,000. This confirmation comes after last week the car has been officially listed into the Aston Martin web page. The new Aston Martin Zagato is the perfect combination between technology, tradition and exclusivity. The car has been designed in collaboration with the legendary Italian design studio and features a lightweight aluminum body built by hand, with carbon fiber panels and is equipped with excellent performance and road handling, proven by the success on the track. The V12 Zagato is the perfect inspiration for the next 50 years of Aston Martin. The V12 Zagato is powered by a 6.0-liter V12 engine that delivers a total of 510 HP and 420 lb ft of torque. Performance numbers haven’t been announced just yet. 2011 Aston Martin V12 Zagato Concept
Aston Martin will be celebrating the iconic DB4GT Zagato’s 50th anniversary with a new concept car developed in collaboration with the Italian design house Zagato. The concept car made its first appearance at the Villa D’Este Concours on May 21st, 2011 and will make its racing debut at Nürburgring on May 28th. Dr. Ulrich Bez, Chief Executive said: "The DNA of both Aston Martin and Zagato has combined successfully to make some of the world’s most desirable collector cars in the past and in this special anniversary year of the DB4GT Zagato it is appropriate to explore a modern collaboration. Now is the right time for a new Aston Martin Zagato and in combining our design intelligence I think we can create something fitting of the iconic DB4GT Zagato that has gone before and since established itself as one of the most famous Aston Martins of all time." The original Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato made its first appearance in 1960 at the London Motor Show. It was essentially a much lighter DB4 GT that got worked on by the Italian Coachbuilder to include a 3670 cc straight-6 DOHC engine that produced 314 HP with a top speed of 154 mph. UPDATE 07/01/2011: The V12 Zagato has finally been listed on the Aston Martin web page, giving us an official confirmation that it will soon go on sale. According to the web site, "only a strictly limited run of road going cars will be built" and we will get more details about in the next few weeks. UPDATE 07/0711: Now this is what we’re talking about! Aston Martin has finally given the pricing for the V12 Zagato. But that’s where the good news ends, at least as far as those that will have a hard time affording it. Anybody who wants to score this limited edition piece of beauty will have to shell out £330,000, which is around $528,000 based on current exchange rates. Gulp. UPDATE 08/12/11: Aston Martin announced today that the V12 Zagato concept next with the One-77 supercar will make their American debuts in Monterey from August 17th to 21st. The V12 Zagato will debut in the evening of Wednesday August 17th at McCall’s Motorworks Revival and Aston Martin has confirmed once again that a strictly limited production run of the V12 Zagato will commence in summer 2012. "Guests will be given the rare opportunity to test drive our latest model range, including the new Virage and Vantage S, as well as the four-door Rapide" commented Julian Jenkins, Vice President Aston Martin the Americas. "We are very excited about the program this year including the debut of the V12 Zagato, and we look forward to welcoming current owners, new customers and automotive enthusiasts to share our celebrations at The Aston Martin Estate." Hit the jump to read more about the new V12 Zagato endurance racer concept. Full story Aston Martin Pays the Price for All New Platform
 Investors are getting more and more strict when it comes to allowing people to borrow their money and it seems as if Aston Martin is getting the short end of that stick. The British sports car maker has secured a £304 million bond - about $440 million at the current rates - from global investors at a rather high 9.25% interest over the next seven years. That’s a 3-4% increase over the typical interest rate. Desperate or not, Aston Martin now has the money to design an all new platform for their full line of sports cars, including the DB9, Vantage and Rapide. Expect the new line to debut in 2015 or 2016 with the first details of the new design and production engineering showing up in a concept car sometime in 2012. Before the British automaker moves to the new platform, however, their current VH platform will have to be modified to obey the new Federal FMVSS pedestrian impact rules. This re-engineered platform will be used for facelift versions of all three models. The new models will also benefit from new skin panels, revised interiors, and tweaked chassis and engines. Video: Aston Martin holds "track day" at Monza
So this is one of those perks that comes with being an Aston Martin customer. We gotta say, the amount of money you shell out for any one of those British supercars sure comes with some pretty cool extra benefits like participating in the company’s very own "track day" at Monza. Specially held for customers and a select number of enthusiasts, Aston Martin spared no expense in making the event as lavish and extravagant as it could possibly get. There were driving tutorials where participants could choose from a wide range of Aston Martin vehicles, including the DBS, the V8 Vantage S, the Virage, and the Rapide. Participants also got the chance to rub elbows with some of the folks from Aston Martin, all while enjoying what looked to be a delicious feast of Italian cuisine. All in all, Aston Martin’s "track day" seemed like a perfect way to spend 24 hours of our lives. After all, if you can spend one day indulging yourselves in delicious food, good company, and free-to-drive supercars, then we’ll chalk that up as a day well spent.
1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 Cabriolet
The Aston Martin DB2/4 Cabriolet is one of the most exclusive models Aston Martin has ever built. Out of the 565 units built between October 1953 and October 1955, only 12 were built in rolling chassis form for independent coachbuilders. If that isn’t exclusive enough, only eight of those 12 units were sent over to Carrozzoria Bertone where the Italian luxury coachbuilder smoothed on the body. The vehicle seen in this image is the fifth (Chassis number LML506) of the original eight and will be auctioned off at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on July 1, 2011. Its original owner was high society elite, Edith C. Field, who succeeded in winning third place at the 1955 Pebble Beach Concours. Since the mid 1950s, this particular Aston Martin has been through the hands of four owners, including its current owner. As of late, the Aston Martin DB2/4 Drophead Coupe has been fully restored to its Concours state with over £200,000 - or $288,000 at the current rates - invested in its complete restoration. Bonhams expects the ultra exclusive sports car to sell for £500,000 - 700,000, or $721,000 - $1,000,000 at the current rates. UPDATE 07/06/2011: The 1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 Drophead Coupe actually sold for £606,500 ($975,000). Hit the jump for full details on the 1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 Drophead Coupe. Full story 2011 Aston Martin Cygnet & colette Limited Edition
The automotive and fashion world collide quite a bit to make some of the coolest, albeit expensive, vehicles for the uber elite. The latest collaboration between the two is Aston Martin’s "Cygnet & colette" model built in conjunction with Parisian fashion authority, colette. The special edition will only be built in a limited run of 14units, each hand-crafted via the company’s ultimate personalization service. The price? A staggering €48,995 ($69,325 at the current rates) compared to the £30,995 ($43,856 at the current rates) of the standard Cygnet. Something tells us the extremely limited number was a good idea. The Cygnet and collette will be painted in a Lightning Silver paint with exclusive colette blue styling details, including a race collection inspired front bumper and bonnet livery, mirror caps, and diamond turned road wheels. The silver of the exterior is being combined with a Bitter Chocolate themed for the interior. Next to these special colors, the limited edition Cygnet will also get an onslaught of features, including stainless steel hand formed and engraved door handle badges and "Cygnet & colette" branded hand enameled boot badging manufactured by Thomas Fattorini. The city car will also receive quilted Alcantara sun visors to complement the quilted leather door and seat inserts and hand trimmed, quilted colette blue leather occasional cushions for the rear seats. Other notable features include "Cygnet & colette" branding on satellite navigation start up and a unique "Cygnet & colette" key ring machined from solid aluminum with blue enameling. Aston Martin Rapide doing double duty at Nurburgring and Nevada
It looks like the V12 Zagato Racer won’t be the only Aston Martin model participating in the Nürburgring 24-hour race in Europe and the Spring Mountain 24 hours in Nevada. The Rapide will also be making its presence known at the race, first to demonstrate the durability of Aston Martin’s four door sports coupe, then to help raise money for charity. Surely this has something to do with the fact that the company has been experiencing slow demand for the luxury sports sedan and has since chopped production for the Rapide from 2,000 units all the way down to 1,250 per year. Since they took care of cutting costs - Step One - we’ll do our part in helping them out with Step Two: Marketing. Julian Jenkins from Aston Martin the Americas, said: "Since its launch, the Rapide has been popular with customers looking for an exclusive sports car with a combination of exhilarating performance, handcrafted style, and added four-door practicality. As well as raising money for Heart for Japan, this 24-hour initiative will give us an opportunity to showcase the endurance capabilities of the Rapide which in turn demonstrates its everyday usability and durability." "We’re truly excited to participate in this challenge. Since the Rapide made its racing debut at last year’s 24-hour race at the Nurburgring, we wondered how a street version would compare if driven continuously for a day over a closed circuit. Seeing how close we can get to the race distance covered last year will be an excellent measure of the car’s real-world performance." The Rapide is going to need all of the publicity it can get in order to jumpstart the vehicle’s reputation once again. It shouldn’t be too difficult, though. We are talking about an Aston Martin after all. Aston Martin and Maybach will bring a concept car to Frankfurt
Rumors about a partnership between Aston Martin and Maybach first appeared at the end of last year when we reported that the two companies would team up for a luxury sedan. Now, AutoCar reports that the two companies are set to bring a concept car developed together to the Frankfurt show in September 2011. While neither Aston Martin nor Maybach would comment on this rumor, it is believed that the concept to be displayed in Frankfurt will be a luxury car with a high-quality interior finished to the hand-crafted standards of a British luxury saloon. This news shouldn’t really surprise anyone considering Mercedes needs to decide by the end of June which partner they will choose to develop replacements for the 57 and 62 saloons. This type of partnership is mutually beneficial because Aston Martin can bring its interior design skills to the table, particularly the use of traditional materials in conjunction with hi-tech features, and Mercedes can share its new alloy body technology and engines for third-generation Vantage and DB9 models. Video: Aston Martin ’Reverie’ commercial
One of the most impressive commercials ever have been brought to our attention today. It is called Aston Martin ’Reverie’ and was made by Gentleman Scholar, a multimedia production studio based in Los Angeles. As you guessed it the video is about an Aston Martin model, but not any Aston Martin: a V12 Vantage. The idea behind this commercial was to create something that encapsulated the ’power’, ’beauty’, and ’soul’ of the Aston Martin V12 Vantage. And they did. Next to speed and energy, the production company added stunning visual-effects, heavy explosions and morphing buildings, impressive landscapes and artistically lit cityscapes and they have created something that really manages to bring to our attention the essence of the V12 Vantage. "From there we began to build our shots; moving cameras, animating the car, figuring out what and where our environments should be and look like. Our references introduced the car at dusk with a storm building on a desert horizon – taking on a sense of danger and anticipation. The use of CG allowed our imaginations to run free in terms of elegant camera moves and story-telling perspectives without worrying about the expense of helicopter shots and process trailers." | featured reviews:Aston Martin cars reviews2014 2013 2012
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