2020 Aston Martin Db11 Volante on 2040-cars

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Aston Martin Vantage GT3 gets it done the old fashioned way [w/video]

Aston Martin may be looking towards the future with new product unveiled here at the Geneva Motor Show like the Vulcan track car and DBX electric crossover concept. But it's not about to leave its existing lineup behind. That's where the model you see here comes in. What you're looking at is the new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Special Edition. As you might have guessed, it's based on the Vantage that first arrived a decade ago, but has come a long way by now: where the original packed a 4.3-liter V8 with just 380 horsepower, the GT3 goes with Aston's long-serving 6.0-liter V12 tuned to 592 horsepower. That's more powerful than anything this side of the One-77. Of course Aston didn't just toy with the engine and then head to the pub. It also replaced many of the body panels with carbon fiber and junked anything extraneous to cut the curb weight by 220 pounds (compared to the V12 Vantage S), fitted it with a more aggressive aero package and mounted semi-slick tires on a wider track. Only 100 examples will be offered, so if you're not on the list, the closest you're likely to get is in the slideshow of live images from the floor of the Geneva Palexpo. Featured Gallery Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Special Edition: Geneva 2015 View 10 Photos Related Gallery Aston Martin Vantage GT3 View 22 Photos Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2015 Drew Phillips / AOL Geneva Motor Show Aston Martin Coupe Performance Videos 2015 Geneva Motor Show aston martin v12 vantage aston martin vantage gt3

Aston Martin DB11 Volante loses its roof and four cylinders

Aston Martin hasn't exactly hid the fact that it had a convertible version of the DB11 in the works. In fact it plastered the official release date on the sides of the prototypes. And now, roughly half a year before the Spring 2018 release date, the company has shown the car and provided all the specs. Right off the bat, it's clear the DB11 Volante hasn't lost any of its beauty in the chop job. Overall, it looks just as scintillatingly curvy as the coupe, and it manages to avoid looking too heavy and thick, regardless of whether the top is up or down. The top itself is rather pretty, with a taut shape and thin pillars helping maintain the DB11's lithe look. It can also be had in red, black-silver, or gray-silver, and is made up of eight layers for sound reduction. Losing the top also provides a great look at the optional seat back veneers, available in carbon fiber or, as in the photos above, in wood. In addition to looking attractive, the DB11 Volante has a number of performance advantages over its DB9 predecessor. According to Aston, it weighs 57 pounds less than the DB9, and it's 5 percent stiffer. Its top also takes up less trunk space. Unfortunately, the DB11 Volante's 4,134 pound curb weight is significantly more than the DB11 V8 coupe, which weighs around 3,800 pounds. It also roughly matches the V12 DB11 coupe. The comparison to the V8 model is important because the DB11 Volante will only offer the V8 engine. It's the same AMG-based unit from the coupe, displacing 4.0-liters and breathing through a pair of turbochargers. It's also coupled to 8-speed automatic and features a torque-vectoring limited slip differential. Despite the added heft over the coupe, the 503-horsepower engine still gets the DB11 Volante to 62 mph in 4.1 seconds, which is only a tenth behind the V8 coupe. It also will reach a top speed of 187 mph. The DB11 Volante will start at $216,495. That's $17,500 more than the V8 coupe, and the same price as the V12 coupe. Aston Martin is currently taking orders for the DB11 Volante. The first examples will be delivered in spring of 2018. Related Video:

Kahn Design to reveal Aston Martin Vengeance in Geneva

The major automakers won't be the only ones with new metal to showcase in Geneva next month, so will aftermarket tuners and coachbuilders like Kahn Design. The British outfit is rolling into the Swiss expo this year with the long-awaited Vengeance, its own take on the Aston Martin DB9. We first caught wind of the Vengeance project in May – just after a similar project by Henrik Fisker was quashed. But unlike the proposed Fisker Thunderbolt, Kahn secured Gaydon's blessing in developing the Vengeance: "Aston Martin has entered into a supply agreement with Kahn Design," AML spokesman Kevin Watters confirmed to Autoblog at the time, "and will supply a very limited number of DB9s for an extensive coachbuild conversion." The design, as you can see, bears the familiar hallmarks of a contemporary Aston, but rendered more aggressive in a style that looks similar to the manufacturer's own One-77. It won't be the first such coach-built Aston Martin we've seen, but most of the others to date have resulted from a longstanding collaborative effort between the British automaker and famed Italian carrozzeria Zagato. Another recent project saw Bertone convert a Rapide into the Jet 2+2 shooting brake in a revival of the Vanquish-based Jet 2 from 2004. In a bit of a role reversal, Aston served as something of a coachbuilder itself in rebodying the Toyota/Scion iQ as its own Cygnet, having previously outsourced production of the Rapide to contract manufacturer Magna Steyr. Alongside the Vengeance, Kahn plans to display the Flying Huntsman 6x6 pickup based on the Land Rover Defender at the Geneva Motor Show. It will be joined by a customized red Range Rover and blue Range Rover Sport done up as pace cars, and a widebody Jeep Wrangler from its Chelsea Truck Company division. Related Video: