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Say hello to the Aston Martin 'On Her Majesty’s Secret Service' DBS Superleggera

There's the fact that the Aston Martin DBS Superleggera has become the carmaker's most popular canvas for special editions of late. There's the fact that Aston Martin has a longstanding relationship with the production company behind the James Bond film franchise. And there's the fact that Aston Martin is working with the Bond franchise at the moment, with the Rapide E and who knows how many other Warwickshire products to star and cameo in Bond 25. And that's how we arrive at the fact of the Aston Martin "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" DBS Superleggera, which celebrates the sixth film in the franchise. From now on we'll call this coupe the OHMSS DBS Superleggera, which, when pronounced "Oh Ms. DBS," is a wonderful acronym. We didn't make that up, either — the first five letters are etched onto the strakes on the front fenders. In 1969, George Lazenby as James Bond drove an olive 1969 DBS in the film. This being a turbulent time for the franchise, the car had no gadgets and didn't appear in any action scenes. The best it could do for fighting was a 4.0-liter inline six cylinder with either 282 horsepower or 325 hp depending on whether it had the SU or more potent Weber carburetors. Now that we live in an era of all-action-all-the-time, the DBS Superlegerra celebrates the film's semicentennial with a 712-hp, 5.2-liter twin-turbo V12. Olive paint dresses up the carbon fiber bodywork and the cantrails and roof that are usually black. The hue gets contrasted by a six-bar horizontal grille and a delightfully ornate set of diamond-turned wheels. The interior is wrapped in Pure Black leather set off with Alcantara in the same kind of gray blend found in the 1969 DBS. The seats get outlined in red piping, matching the red-trimmed glovebox in the movie where Bond retrieved his disassembled Armalite AR-7 rifle and telescopic sight. If a buyer wishes, he can order a custom black drinks case for the trunk, designed to fit two bottles of bubbly and four flutes. Aston Martin will make 50 examples of the Oh Ms. DBS priced at GBP300,000 (about $380,000). That's around $72,000 more than the standard GT, and we'd recommend splurging on bulletproof rear glass for the new DBS, too. That will still be an easier bullet to take than the track-only, GBP2.75 million Aston Martin Goldfinger DB5 Continuation Gadget.

Aston Martin's oldest car prepares for its 100th birthday bash

Aston Martin will celebrate in style the 100th birthday of its oldest-known remaining car. It will send the 1921 A3 to the annual Concours of Elegance taking place in September 2021 on the near outskirts of London. Fittingly, the Concours of Elegance is one of the most prestigious car shows in the world. It was first held in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's reign over the United Kingdom. It retains royal ties, so showing to the event in a bondo-colored Renault 18 is completely out of the question. Aston Martin's A3 will fit right in, however. Its name signals that it's the third car built by Aston Martin, and that it's powered by a Type A engine, which denotes a side-valve four-cylinder tuned to develop about 11 horsepower. That's a rounding error in 2021, but it was impressive in the early 1920s, and it allowed the A3 to set several speed records. It notably averaged over 86 mph during a 100-mile event held at the Brooklands track, which 100 years later is commonly associated with Bentley. After extensive testing, Aston Martin sold the A3 in 1923. It was sold and bought several times until it ended up in the hands of a man named R.W. Mallabar. He shipped it back to Aston Martin's headquarters when a connecting rod failed, and he asked the company to refinish it in gray with red wheels while it was tearing apart the engine. The A3 then disappeared until 2002, when it appeared at an auction and its historical significance was uncovered. Aston Martin received the A3 as a generous donation in 2003, and it commissioned Ecurie Bertelli to give it a full — and painstakingly long — restoration. Its frame was rebuilt from scratch with ash wood, and it received a reproduction body made with hand-beaten panels. It's now black with black wheels, which is the livery it wore until Mallabar commissioned a respray. Its engine was rebuilt during the refurbishment, so it moves under its own power. Whether that means the A3 will drive to the event under its own power hasn't been revealed. Regardless, when it gets there, it will bask in the sun (or get drenched by a late-summer storm) next to a star-studded lineup of Gulf- and Martini-liveried race cars and other historically significant machines. It's a little too old to participate in the display put together to celebrate the Queen of England's 95th birthday; there will be one car for each year that she's been alive.

Aston Martin reveals Vantage GTE art car for Le Mans

The Gulf livery is undoubtedly one of the most iconic in all of motorsport, but at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year, Aston Martin will be running an altogether more original color scheme. Looking like something between a television test pattern and a 3D projection viewed without the requisite glasses, the livery is actually designed as an optical illusion, to distort perception and trick the eye into thinking the car is moving even when it's sitting still. Of course it still features the unmistakable Gulf logos, and is made up of alternating bars of orange, yellow, blue, and black. It's the work of German artist Tobias Rehrberger, renowned for his abstract experimental art, and will appear on the #97 Vantage GTE this coming weekend when the famous endurance race gets under way in Western France. ASTON MARTIN UNVEILS REHBERGER VANTAGE GTE - Aston Martin Racing unveils 24 Hours of Le Mans art car - Design revealed to racing fans in Le Mans town centre - Unique effects on Vantage GTE created by artist Tobias Rehberger 8 June, Le Mans: Aston Martin Racing is today unveiling a 24 Hours of Le Mans art car designed by artist Tobias Rehberger. The unique creation gives the Gulf #97 Vantage GTE the illusion of movement and speed, even when static. Rehberger is renowned for his abstract art and optical effects that distort perception and has received numerous international prizes and awards, including the Golden Lion for best artist at the 2009 Venice Biennale. Aston Martin Racing invited him to design a livery that would work with the Gulf Vantage GTE's lines and colours in a way never attempted before. Thirty years since the first art car ran in the 24-hour race, Rehberger set out to create a design that uses geometric shapes and patterns to give the car, when static, the impression of movement and speed. The German artist, who will attend Saturday's race as a guest of Aston Martin Racing, explained: "My design for the Aston Martin art car is rooted in my interest in distorted perception and related phenomena like auto moving patterns, optical effects, camouflage and visual confusion, which I have addressed in many works before. "In this case, the design is based on a geometric optical effect pattern.