Aston Martin Special, page #10

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Aston Martin brings impressive lineup of metal to Monterey

Aston Martin wins the manufacturer's round of Show and Tell on Thursday at Pebble Beach, bringing six cars to the collectors' bacchanalia with four North American debuts among them. The 540-horsepower Aston Martin DB9 GT said hello to US crowds for the first time, likely the beginning of a goodbye tour while it prepares to give way to the coming DB11. Having finished its work in Rome and other points distant filming Spectre, slotting in between DBs 9 and 11 comes the DB10 making its global public debut. The latest Bond car might look better sitting still in the Aston Martin pavilion than it does in the movie trailers. The Middle-East-and-Europe only Aston Martin Lagonda has never been to the US either, nor has the DBX electric crossover concept, and the utility vehicle got a coat of Mako Blue paint to make its introduction. The Vulcan racer got re-hued as well, in a coat of Saffron Orange. Finally, there's an Aston Martin Q Vanquish Volante built specifically for Pebble. Combining an "adventurous sport theme" and "deep teal colors of Arctic sea ice," Silver Fox paint is accented with Q Tomales Red and Ocellus Teal, Baltic Blue leather inside, and teal-tinted carbon fiber throughout. It's the most vibrant and fastest chunk of iceberg on the peninsula, certainly. Check out the entire range in the galleries above and below. Related Video:

No surprise, Brits still love the Aston Martin Vanquish

We like the Aston Martin Vanquish very much. Sure, there are faster, wilder, crazier vehicles available for the money. Cough, Ferrari, cough. But there's something just so damned charming about the Aston and its big, monstrous V12 engine and stunning looks. And we're not alone in that opinion. You'll hear much the same if you watch the video above, the latest from the team at Xcar. In it, you'll watch host Alex Goy sample the stunning Vanquish Carbon White Edition, rocketing along Britain's stunning B-roads accompanied by a howling engine note. Goy heaps particular praise on the Vanquish's new transmission, the extremely well-received eight-speed automatic from ZF. Aston Martin has a spotty record when it comes to automatic transmissions, but this is the same sublime box being employed by luxury brands across the globe. Considering that, its capabilities in the Vanquish aren't too surprising. You can and should check out the full video from Xcar up at the very top of the page, if only for the V12 soundtrack alone.

UK offers Aston Martin military base to produce DBX in Wales

The British government is doing its best to encourage Aston Martin to build the DBX in the United Kingdom. To that end, Prime Minister David Cameron made a public offer to the automaker Thursday to make use of a military facility in Wales to produce the crossover. The location is St Athan, a Royal Air Force base and Ministry of Defence facility with space left vacant since a planned military academy earmarked for the site was canceled less than five years ago. One of its empty hangars is what Cameron offered to Aston Martin, according to the BBC. The facility is located near the airport in the Welsh capital of Cardiff, a little over two hours from the company's headquarters and principal manufacturing site in Gaydon. If Aston takes the bait, the site would be used to manufacture the DBX that would become the company's first crossover. Rivals Jaguar, Bentley, Maserati, and Lamborghini are all planning to launch their first crossovers, as well. Aston showcased a concept version of the DBX at the Geneva Motor Show this March, but the production version is expected to go a bit more mainstream, ditching the electric powertrain and two-door layout in favor of more conventional propulsion and four-door setup. The company is also said to be considering opening a new facility in the United States, specifically in Alabama near the Mercedes plant there, to handle production of the DBX. Other locations within the UK are also said to be under consideration, but Aston has yet to make a decision – or at least an announcement – on where the crossover might be assembled. When Aston previously branched out with the launch of the Rapide, it contracted Magna Steyr to handle assembly on its behalf in Austria, before moving production back home. The contract manufacturing facility is the same to which the Jaguar Land Rover is expected to entrust assembly of the F-Pace crossover. It's also where the G-Class is built for Mercedes, which in turn similarly hired AM General recently to assume production of the R-Class crossover. Related Video:

Xcar weighs in on the five best-sounding modern cars

Getting behind the wheel of a well-balanced vehicle can be a wonderfully visceral experience, thanks to the combined feeling of things like the weight of the steering, the bite of the brakes, and, of course, the roar of the engine. Unfortunately, many of the sensations of driving require actually being in the driver's seat to understand them, but thankfully the intoxicating noise of a beautifully tuned internal combustion engine can be shared with everyone. In a new video, Xcar shares their opinion on the five best-sounding modern performance cars. The list is a symphony of horsepower. As opposed to keeping all of the vehicles brand new, Xcar actually picks a few that are recently off the market. They're all definitely champs, though. While the list itself is well stocked, you might be able to argue with the specific order, and it would be nice to hear a few participants from outside of Europe for a collection like this one, too. No matter. Every listener is sure to find something they like in the bunch, though. Turn up the volume and enjoy.

Aston Martin to demo Vulcan at Spa 24 Hours

The Aston Martin Vulcan is an absolutely evil-looking hypercar with a low-slung, heavily angular shape that looks ready to challenge any track in the world. With a 7.0-liter V12 with over 800 horsepower on tap, it can complete a lap in the blink of an eye, as well. Unfortunately, the Vulcan isn't street legal, meaning that this beast is exclusively for the circuit. To show this carbon-fiber rocket ship off to some very wealthy potential clients, Aston Martin is bringing the limited model to the 24 Hours of Spa on July 25 for a few high-speed laps prior to the green flag. Works driver Darren Turner will be doing two flying laps around the picturesque Belgian track. As a member of the development team from the very beginning, there's likely no other person better suited to driving the hypercar than him. It should be quite a sight to see the black and blue machine shooting up Eau Rouge, too. Aston Martin Racing is also on hand for the actual race, and the squad has two customer teams in V12 Vantage GT3s in the Pro-Am class. If you can't make it to Belgium for the weekend, the event is also livestreamed on YouTube at the Blancpain Endurance Series' GT World channel. The event kicks off at 10:30 AM Eastern on July 25. ASTON MARTIN VULCAN TO RUN AT SPA 24 HOURS 23 July, Gaydon - The highly-anticipated Aston Martin Vulcan will attend the showpiece of the Blancpain Endurance Series, the TOTAL 24 Hours of Spa, this weekend (25 July) and will demonstrate its abilities as the ultimate track-only machine as it completes two flying laps of the world-famous circuit. With its 800-plus bhp powertrain developed in conjunction with Aston Martin Racing, the 7.0-litre V12 Aston Martin Vulcan will be driven by works driver Darren Turner (GB), who has been involved in the design and development of the car from its inception. Turner has more than 20 years experience in developing racing cars and relished the opportunity to put this track-knowledge into Aston Martin's most extreme sportscar. "It's been amazing to have been involved in this project from the beginning," said Turner. "From the conceptual sketches through to working with the designers on driver ergonomics, it is a fascinating process to be part of. "It was very early days for the car when we first ran it at Goodwood Festival of Speed, but we certainly made a good impression and now we get to show the car in its most natural environment.

Newest Spectre trailer shows DB10, car chases, awesomeness

It's not due in theaters until November and it's not like we've detected any weaknesses yet, but here we are with another trailer for the upcoming James Bond film, Spectre. That is not a complaint, because it looks like it's going to be, as one YouTuber said, "Spectretacular!" We digress. This time we get a little more of the Aston Martin DB10, including the top line for the spec sheet: Q says it will do 0-60 miles per hour in 3.2 seconds. Putting on the hat that lets us sincerely debate totally fictitious facts in a totally fictitious universe, we don't think that's fast enough to stay away from the villain's Jaguar C-X75, but it's not like Bond needs to when he's got flamethrowers. So there. You 'll find the latest bout of awesome in the clip above, and look for all the throwback cues. Christoph Waltz dresses like one Ernst Stavro Blofeld and uses the same interior decorator. Bad guy Dave Bautista in a three-piece suit is remarkably reminiscent of Oddjob, and there are various nods to On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Enjoy. News Source: James Bond 007 via YouTube TV/Movies Aston Martin Jaguar Coupe Concept Cars Luxury Special and Limited Editions Performance Videos spectre jaguar c-x75 aston martin db10 movie trailer

Red Bull and Aston Martin are working together on a supercar

Ever since Adrian Newey stepped back from the day-to-day at Red Bull Racing last year, we've been wondering what he would do next. And here we very well may have the answer. According to Autocar, the legendary F1 engineer is working on a hardcore, track-focused supercar for Aston Martin. Details are few and far between, but it is believed that the project could make use of a Mercedes engine and take aim at the likes of the Ferrari FXX K and McLaren P1 GTR. That's more or less the same territory Aston is already going after with the Vulcan (pictured), but just how closely aligned the two vehicles would be remains unclear. Newey is said to be keen on making the vehicle road-legal, however – something which the FXX K, P1 GTR, and Vulcan are not. The news comes hot on the heels of an earlier report that indicated Aston Martin and Red Bull were in discussions over a potential partnership in F1 (together with Mercedes). Both developments appear to be stemming from the same rapprochement between the two outfits, but are said to be independent of one another in that one could go ahead without the other. It is just one of several projects, however, that Newey is said to be evaluating in his capacity as head of Red Bull Technologies. It would not be the first time we would see a high-end automaker team up with an F1 team to create a supercar, after all. McLaren built the SLR for Mercedes before going it alone, and Jaguar more recently collaborated closely with Williams Advanced Engineering on the C-X75 concept, an experimental supercar project that was unfortunately aborted prior to reaching production. We'll be watching and hoping to see how the Aston Martin/Red Bull partnership pans out.

Aston Martin tipped for F1 return with Red Bull, Mercedes

Aston Martin could be plotting a return to Formula One for the first time in over half a century. And not as a backmarker, either. That is, at least, if the latest rumors materialize. While most automakers that participate in F1 do so as either a team owner (like Ferrari and Mercedes) or as an engine supplier (think Renault or Honda), the rumored Aston Martin deal would take a different approach. According to Autosport, the proposal would have the Red Bull Racing team run Aston Martin branding – but not its engines. Those would be provided by Mercedes, just like the engines in the British marque's upcoming slate of road cars. In that regard, the deal would not be unlike the one which Red Bull currently has with the Renault-Nissan Alliance, which sees the team running Renault engines and Infiniti branding. Andy Palmer was a pivotal figure in brokering that unusual arrangement when he was working for Carlos Ghosn, and is now tipped to be brokering a similar deal in his new capacity as Aston Martin's CEO. Though Aston has found glory in sports car racing (including Le Mans and its various associated series), it was never much of a contender in grand prix racing. It competed in a handful of races in 1959 and 1960, but never achieved results worth bragging about. Aston was rumored to be plotting a return when David Richards sat as chairman of the company, having run Aston's racing program as well as Honda's F1 team previously. Those rumors, however, never materialized. Whether this time 'round gains any traction remains to be seen - Aston Martin declined to either confirm or deny the reports when reached for comment by Autoblog. Red Bull has been growing increasingly dissatisfied (and increasingly vocal about its dissatisfaction) with Renault engines over the past couple of seasons. Though the two parties won four back-to-back world titles together, things took a noticeable step backward after the new turbo engine regulations took hold for the 2014 season. Nissan/Infiniti and Red Bull are contracted to continue collaborating until the end of next season. After that is when the new Aston deal could take hold, and Mercedes is reportedly keen on the idea so that it could add another customer to its F1 engine supply business and offset the costs of development. That could effectively prove the end of Renault in F1 (at least for the time being). Aside from Red Bull, the French automaker currently supplies only that outfit's sister team Toro Rosso.

Aston Martin's deal with Mercedes-AMG more than skin-deep

Aston Martin is working on a raft of new models. But it's not going it alone: it has a technical partnership with Mercedes-AMG, the details of which have only been revealed in bits and pieces. If these latest spy shots are anything to go by, however, the arrangement could run deeper than anyone initially let on. Spied undergoing testing at the Nurburgring, this prototype for the upcoming successor to the Aston Martin DB9 is widely expected to be called the DB11 (10 is being used by James Bond's new ride). From the outside it doesn't look different than the previous versions we've seen running around, but this time we can also peer into the cabin, and that's where things start to get interesting. Despite the best arm-waving efforts by the development engineers, our spy photographers managed to snap a couple of shots of the interior. And though it looks far from being ready for production, the components we see appear to have been lifted from the Mercedes S-Class Coupe – particularly the steering wheel, digital instrument cluster, and almost the entire center console. This speaks to a deeper collaboration between the British and German automakers. The 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 from the Mercedes-AMG GT, C63, and G500 4x42 is already being adapted for use in the next generation of Astons. Related Video:

The 11 best scenes from the 2015 Goodwood Festival of Speed

Over the last three days, the Goodwood Estate has played home to the eponymous Festival of Speed. Thrown by the biggest gearhead in the British aristocracy – Charles Gordon-Lennox, the Earl of March and Kinrara – the Festival of Speed is essentially a tremendous, gasoline-fuelled party, complete with a very large lawn sculpture, that features the world's hottest, weirdest, fastest, and loudest race, production, and historic models. While there are quite literally dozens and dozens of videos from the event – not to mention the full-day replays (of which only day one is available, at present) – we've sifted through them to pluck away the very best. There's stuff from the official Goodwood YouTube channel, as well as several videos from automakers and other third-party channels, and it's all available below. 2015 Ford Mustang GT350R Looks Barely Controllable If you thought the highest-performance Ford Mustang would somehow get more tractable or civilized once it moved to an independent rear suspension, this video shows you have nothing to worry about. Watch as an unnamed driver wrestles the new Shelby GT350R and its flat-plane, 5.2-liter V8 up the hillclimb circuit. Even with the new suspension and sticky tires, this Mustang wants to go any direction but straight, especially following its launch. 2016 Ford Focus RS, Is Very Loud, Blue Ken Block makes his first appearance on our list. Before he steps into his Hoonicorn Mustang, though, the Gymkhana expert tackled the hill in the all-new Focus RS. The vicious bellow of the 2.3-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder is the star of this commentary-free video, although the gorgeous Nitrous Blue paint job is a nice accompaniment, as well. 1965 Ford Mustang Hoonicorn Runs Hill, Nearly Kills Lord March Mr. Block's two runs behind the wheel of the Hoonicorn were, unsurprisingly, very eventful. While one attempt goes off without a hitch, seeing the American rally driver slip and slide his way to the top of the hill while taking a short break for a donut, the other is slightly more dramatic. Block, along with Lord March in the passenger seat, carries a bit too aggressive an angle into a turn and nearly puts the NASCAR-powered Mustang into the hay bales. Check out the first video above, and the second one below. Kimi Raikkonen Makes Us Miss F1's V8 Era The latest Formula One cars have been maligned for the lackluster noise produced by the new 1.6-liter, turbocharged V6.