The gentleman from the British magazine i Motor Mag had the chance to get face to face with the Aston Martin V12 Vantage. What did they think about the new car? Click above to find out.
Aston Martin revealed today its concept that will bring back the Lagonda brand. The concept’s styling seems to blends elements of a traditional sedan, SUV and others cars from Lagonda’s history.
Aston Martin CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez sees the Lagonda brand as a way for Aston Martin to branch out into other markets. “Aston Martins are pure sports cars… they are limited in their usability mainly because of the low ground clearance.” Bez says the rebirth of Lagonda must be suitable for or countries that do not necessarily include traditional urban areas. That also means the Lagonda will be geared less for all-out performance, and more about multiple terrains. “We do not intend to claim a lap record around the Nurburgring because there is no point in doing so.”
We shouldn’t be too shocked by the direction Aston Martin is taking on the Lagonda. Back in September when the car was first announced, Bez said, “The revival of the Lagonda brand would allow us to develop cars which can have a different character than a sportscar.” This may be most evident in the chassis considering that it is based on the Mercedes GL. The Lagonda will also be a place for Aston Martin to use powertrains it has not explored before such as flexfuel, diesel and hybrid systems.
There are currently plenty of emerging and established countries with well-heeled individuals who do not have access to proper roads. By making the Lagonda into an SUV/crossover vehicle, this enables Aston Martin to compete in more markets around the globe (there are 100 countries where Aston doesn’t currently operate) without having to tarnish its pure sports car image.
Aston Martin brought two mockups of the One-77 to Geneva. Between the full size styling model, and chassis and powertrain skeleton, we know have a pretty good idea of how the £1 million (about $1.4 at current rates) supercar will shape up.
The One-77 is powered by a 6.0-liter V12 engine (same from the DBS, DB9 and new V12 Vantage) that delivers 700 hp. With a projected weight of 1,500kg the One-77 should be very quick (Aston predicts a 0-60 time of 3.5 seconds.) Aston also says the engine will be able to pull the car to a top speed beyond 200 mph.
The skeletal model showed off the full carbon fiber monocoque chassis, which is extremely lightweight and rigid. Like all Aston Martins, the One-77 will feature a front mid-mounted engine and the transmission mounted toward the rear of the car. What will be unique to the One-77 will be that the suspension will be mounted inboard to furter increase the weight to the ideal center of the car.
Although the supercar is limited to a production run of only 77 cars, there should still be a few available.
We knew the Aston Martin DBS Volante was going to break cover in Geneva next week, but thanks to a broken embargo (not us, we swear), we’re able to talk about it before we see the roadster at the auto show.
The DBS Volante is powered by the 6.0-liter V12 engine also found in the DBS coupe. In both applications, the powerplant pumps out 510 bhp and 420 lb ft of torque. This helps the Volante make the 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) sprint in 4.3 seconds and hit a top speed of 191 mph. The topless DBS also comes with carbon ceramic brakes and a six-speed manual transmission or automatic six-speed ‘Touchtronic’ option is also available.
Aston is helping save some of the weight gained by removing the roof through composite materials. The hood, front wings and trunk are all made from carbon fiber.
If we were a little more juvenile, this would be the part where we make a reference about James Bond, seduction and toplessness. But we’re better than this (that’s what the comment section is for.)
Full breakdown in the press release after the jump.
Aston Martin is performing a magic trick. It is plucking the 6.0-liter 510 hp engine out of the DBS, and is stuffing it in the smaller, lighter Vantage. Poof: the V12 Vantage is born. But don’t get too excited just yet. Like most magic tricks, everything is not a whole as it seems. The addition of four cylinders to the Vantage has made the crash protection area too small to meet U.S. standards.
So we will be a little sad when we see the car in-person for its premiere at the Geneva Motor Show. For everyone who is lucky to live in outlaw country, the V12 Vantage has a top speed of 190 mph (305 km/h) and 0-62 mph (0-100 kp/h) time of 4.2 seconds. These figures are made possible not only from the bigger engine, but also a serious diet of lightweight material including a carbon fiber driveshaft.
Even for those who live in countries where the V12 Vantage is legal, it may still be hard to get. Only 1,000 examples total are scheduled to be built.
Rumors of its unavailability have been greatly exaggerated.
Not long after Aston Martin announced the very limited production supercar called One-77, we got word that there were 100 orders for the car limited to 77 units. Yeah, well um, that’s not so much true (c’mon we’re not exact CNN here people.) Aston actually got 100 people who expressed interest in the car, but that doesn’t equal sales (just because you can write a letter to Danica Patrick, doesn’t mean she’ll date you.) So there are still a few cars left, and we’re still single.
We expect the One-77 to be powered by a 7.0-liter V12 engine that delivers over 700 hp and over 550 lb-ft. of torque. The 0 to 60 mph sprint will be made in 3.5 seconds, while top speed should go up to 200 mph. The full price of the car is about £1 million. Thanks to current rates in the dollar’s favor, it will make the car a steal at around $1.4 million.
So those select few who still think a few million dollars is considered “mad money”, Aston Martin will gladly take your £200,000 towards a new One-77. Don’t try that with Danica, she may beat you like you blocked her in pit lane.
We knew that Aston Martin was working on a topless version of the DBS (it even asked for suggestions for a name). Now rumors are going around that the cars is almost complete, and we’ll see it for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show in March.
Aside from the fabric roof, the Aston Martin DBS Volante will be identical to its coupe brother. It will be powered by the same 6.0-liter V12 engine that delivers 510bhp at 6500rpm and a peak torque of 420 lb.ft at 5750rpm. The coupe version accelerates from 0 to 62 mph in 4.3 seconds and can hit a top speed of 191 mph, so we expect similar figures from the topless version.
AutoCar seems to have the jump on everyone, and has revealed today the first “official” images of the production version of the Aston Martin Rapide. The look of the car is a little toned down from the concept car, but still carries a lot of the spirit, and is definitely unmistakably Aston.
The super-sedan will use its DB9 sibling for much of its mechanics. The Rapide will use a stretched version of the DB9’s platform and also its utilize the 6.0-liter V12 making between 480 - 500 hp. AutoCar puts the price at £140,000 (about $200,000 at direct current rates), which if true, puts the Rapide between the DB9 and the DBS in Aston’s lineup.
We’re still eagerly awaiting the Aston Martin Rapide, but before we see a production car, many questions still have to be answered. Here are some (but nowhere near all) answers.
Production will begin next summer in Austria. The car will be made by the manufacturer Magna because Aston cannot currently does not have the capacity to build the sedan at its English home in Gayton. The car will keep its glass roof from the concept, but will possibly offer a long wheelbase version for more legroom (just like the BMW offering the Li on the 7-Series or Jaguar offering Vanden Plas for the XJ). We still expect the the car to borrow the 6.0-liter V12 from the DB9, possibly upgraded to 500 hp.
What still remains a big mystery is the price. The range has could have the Rapide go for as little as the high $100,000 figures, or if rumors about Aston Martin going upmarket are true, the price could be as high as $400,000. We’re hoping that the decision to have Magna build the cars means the Rapide will have sufficient production numbers to keep the price (relatively) affordable.
Aston Martin won the GT1 class in the 2007 and 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans races with the DBR9, and now Aston has set its sights higher this year. It’s abandoning the GT1 class to focus its efforts on the faster LMP1 class and the overall win.
The car is based on the 2008 Charouz Racing System Lola, and power will come from the same production-based Aston Martin V12 engine that was used in the DBR9 that won in 2008. Although all car companies would like to win at Le Mans, this would be especially sweet for Aston Martin. Fifty years ago, Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori brought Aston an overall win on the French circuit in a DBR1.
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