2008 Aston Martin Db9 2dr on 2040-cars

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2015 Aston Martin V12 Vantage S drives angry with XCAR

The Aston Martin V12 Vantage S is a monster of a sports coupe. At the front, those color-matched fangs and open mouth look like Dracula ready to take a bite. And underneath the hood, the 6.0-liter V12 sounds like the Wolf Man growling whenever the driver gets on the throttle. In a recent video, XCAR got its hands on this wonderful behemoth and showed its brilliant brutality. The smartest move that the producers made was letting the car speak for itself. Several times during the video, the host shuts up, and the only sound is the bellow from the exhaust of the Aston Martin. The cinematography is pretty darn nice, too. If you don't have time to watch the whole video, skip about 10 minutes into it when XCAR just lets the diabolical V12 thunder. It's definitely one of the highlights. Scroll down to watch – and listen – for yourself.

Aston Martin DB10 based on V8 Vantage

If you looked at the new DB10 that Aston Martin revealed just a few days ago and thought as we did that it looked an awful lot like a reskinned Vantage, there's good reason for that. According to Automotive News, a reskinned V8 Vantage is exactly what the DB10 is. Instead of basing the limited-production spymobile on the new architecture it's developing and fitting it with the new engine it's sourcing from Mercedes-AMG, the DB10 is built around the same VH platform and V8 engine as the aging Vantage. Though it's evolved over the years, the VH platform dates back to the V12 Vanquish that launched way back in 2001. The second generation of that platform underpins the Vantage on which the DB10 is reportedly based, powered by a version of Jaguar's AJV8 engine that dates back to 1996. What is new about it is the design language that the new DB10 previews. More than any recent concept – like the DP-100 Vision Gran Turismo, CC100 Speedster or the most recent Zagato one-offs – the DB10 is said to embody the new direction in which Marek Reichman and his team plan to take the company's styling, moving away from the current theme it has employed for the past couple of decades. So while the DB10 you see here may not be packing much in the way of new technology, the subsequent models that will follow its lead hopefully will.

$1.3B worth of classic cars were auctioned in 2014

The collector auto market in the US just continues to expand with the values of vehicles seemingly only growing in the past years, especially if they have a prancing horse on the hood. This year was no different. According to data compiled by classic car insurance agency Hagerty, there were about $1.3 billion worth of vintage rides auctioned in North America in 2014, up just slightly from $1.2 billion crossing the block in 2013. If you want an idea of just how big a role the Monterey Car Week plays in the North American collector hobby, Hagerty's stats illustrate it perfectly. The company recorded $430 million in auction sales during the week – about a third of the entire market for the year. The event also hosted the biggest seller of 2014 when the hammer fell on a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO (pictured above) for $38.115 million at Bonhams. In fact, vintage Ferraris in general were among the top buys in the classic auto world in 2014. Eight of the ten most expensive vehicles sold at auction were Prancing Horses (the other two were Ford GT40s). Also, the insurance company's price index for these Italian stallions showed a 43-percent gain in value for the year. The market for another Italian supercar is exploding, as well. The Lamborghini Countach showed a staggering 175-percent growth in auction value in 2014. According to Hagerty, the average price when they crossed the block was $736,599. Judging by Hagerty's numbers, there were still some places to look for those hoping to spend a bit less money. The Aston Martin Lagonda showed a strong gain in value with a 32-percent increase in auction price, but they still averaged $47,078. In addition, the company's index for '50s American cars showed only one-percent growth for these classics. These huge leaps in collector car value might be winding down, according to Hagerty. It predicts growth in the market to slow to an estimated five percent gain in 2015. Maybe a few of these classics might actually become a bit more affordable to fans without such deep pockets sometime in the future. Featured Gallery Bonhams Maranello Rosso Collection: Monterey 2014 View 21 Photos News Source: HagertyImage Credit: Copyright 2014 Drew Phillips / AOL Aston Martin Ferrari Lamborghini Auctions Car Buying Performance Classics aston martin lagonda ferrari 250 gto Lamborghini Countach collector cars 1962 ferrari 250 gto auto auction