2005 Aston Martin Db9 on 2040-cars

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Aston Martin makes the DB11 and its configurator more powerful

Aston Martin sold 4,150 cars last year, but the luxury automaker said its configurator served up more than two million specification sessions. Going with the overwhelming numbers, for 2022 Aston Martin has focused on "the customer journey" for imminent and aspirational buyers by rolling out a new and highly featured configurator. At last, the firm greets potential customers and the merely curious with the kind of luxury one expects of the brand. This is especially important for a company working through its Project Horizon turnaround, and also because, as the official Safety Car and Medical Car sponsor of Formula 1, traffic to Aston Martin's web site spikes every time its Vantage and DBX are called out on track during races.   The configurator's been built using Epic Game's Unreal engine, a digital creation tool building portals for everything from real estate to fashion, supplemented by Nvidia GTX graphics. In the present Phase One, visitors can place their chosen model in studio or outdoor environments, with daytime or nighttime lighting, and get high-res, zoomed-in beauty shots of their their vehicle details. Yet while Aston Martin poured new features into the configurator, it has reorganized and simplified the site's use. For instance, individual elements such as exterior paint are broken into six color groupings like Blacks & Greys and Bronzes & Oranges, providing users a glimpse at the range of hues on offer without overwhelming them into analysis paralysis. The surfeit of choice carries on inside, naturally — there are eleven carpet colors on offer and 12 shades of headliner. The simplifying rationalization carries on in the cabin, too, with three themes available to establish a quick baseline for personalization. The starter theme is called Create, showcasing ornate stitching on the seat bolsters, perforated, patterned seatbacks, door cards, and arm rest. Next up is Accelerate, which "will appeal to customers who wish for a more focused interior." This one puts Alcantara all over, notably on the entire seat faces and bolsters, with leather trimming the seat sides and headrests. Create and Accelerate can be had in ten colors in monotone and duotone arrangements. Inspire, the topmost theme and "the epitome of luxury," can be had in 38 colors and in monotone, duotone, and light duotone.

Aston Martin to display first DB4 GT Zagato Continuation at Le Mans

Aston Martin has announced its new DB4 GT Zagato Continuation series will officially debut at this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans. The race is this weekend, June 15-16, and the first completed vehicle of the 19-car continuation production will be displayed at Aston's premises trackside. The DB4 GT Zagato Continuation #1 wears Rosso Maja paint, a hue which is not that common on classic Astons, but suits its flanks well. The interior is done in black leather, and the car comes with full FIA-specification roll cage. It takes Aston's Heritage Division some 4,500 hours to build one of these cars, so the words "artisan craftsmanship" aren't lightly thrown around. But like Aston Martin announced earlier, it is using modern technologies such as a digital body buck to help build these cars, even if traditional aluminum panel beating methods are also still in use. The body of this first car was readied in April. The car's engine is a 390-horsepower, 4.7-liter straight six that is coupled to a four-speed manual transmission and a limited-slip differential. The manufacturer remarks that the DB4 GT Zagato Continuation is the most expensive new Aston Martin on sale, and that can't be far from the truth: Prices for the "DBZ Century Collection" start from 6 million pounds, or $7.6 million, and the price will include a matching DBS GT Zagato delivered in the fourth quarter of next year. Customers will receive their DB4 GT Zagatos during Q3 of 2019. Featured Gallery Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato Continuation View 19 Photos Image Credit: Aston Martin Aston Martin

Aston Martin teases V12 Vantage twice more ahead of debut

If you can handle another tease of the coming Aston Martin V12 Vantage, here are two. The first is a photo of what will certainly be a riotous super coupe under a partially opaque Union Jack. We can't spot anything on the obscured car that we don't know about from prototypes (or suspect from reports); the headlights, side mirrors, fender vents, and wheels are all there. Phew!. Out back, the drapery hangs high, pulled over a high wing that will be part of the V12 Vantage's numerous aerodynamic accoutrements. The test vehicles we've seen have been wingless, fitting nothing more than a Gurney flap to the Vantage's tidy ducktail, so we'll have to find out if the wing is standard fit or an option.  Behind the extra large grille, everyone is expecting the brand's 5.2-liter V12. In the limited edition Speedster, which married the Vantage's chassis to the Superleggera's front end, that 12-cylinder made 690 horsepower and 555 pound-feet of torque. Predictions for V12 Vantage out range from about 600, roughly in line with the DB11, to about 670, which would be a massive hoot while leaving room enough not to fluster Speedster owners. Arriving 16.03.22#AstonMartin #V12Vantage #NeverLeaveQuietly — Aston Martin (@astonmartin) March 11, 2022 The second teaser is a brief Twitter video mood board with the admonition to "Never leave quietly." We'll hear the supercar's noise and find out about its backside on March 16, when the reveal happens. We should also find out then how many Aston Martin plans to make. A previous rumor put that production number at 299. The vehicle itself is expected to arrive for the 2023 model year as part of the standard Vantage's model update, sources saying there will only be 299 made. The standard 2023 Vantage will be part of an overhaul of the front-engined Aston Martins that result in more power, better dynamics, and better interiors. Related Video