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The last gunfighter | 2017 Aston Martin V12 Vantage S First Drive

Here's a deliciously subversive thought for you: Stats are ruining enthusiast cars. We use them to rank the latest models, critique them, and deify them. Sometimes the numbers happen to align with a bunch of intangibles, and the car becomes transcendent – like the Ferrari 458 Speciale, a very special thing indeed. There are cars with great numbers and very little charisma; I've driven many of them. And then, there are the number-based narratives that mislead us. For example, the hoopla around the Mazda MX-5's horsepower, or the continuing lack of a Toyobaru with a turbo – frustrating crosstalk about purist platforms better understood on track than on paper. The 2017 Aston Martin V12 Vantage S is flawed, old, and weak – so say the insidious numbers. A mechanical watch doesn't keep time as well as a quartz one, the numbers say. A tube amplifier produces an inferior sound, the numbers say. The way to fight back is to stop this slavish devotion to the stats and go wind the thing out on good roads in imperfect conditions, which is to my mind the ultimate test of a grand tourer's competence. Southern California was rocked this winter by wild weather – much of the Angeles Crest Highway that dances along the spine of the San Gabriel Mountains was closed due to heavy snow. So much for Plan A. Some roadside rerouting led to some promising roads, so I pointed the Aston into the curves. The V12 roar is a profound part of this car's appeal. Uphill and building steam, the Vantage is a symphony's brass section playing the sounds of wolves on the hunt. Downshifts yowl and snarl like a pack crashing through the underbrush in search of prey. Under deceleration, it sounds like lupine static, unearthly and resonant; wound out it's a frenzied whir. Every stab of throttle brings an immediate response: sound and acceleration in equal measure. If you have even the barest appreciation of joy, you can't stay out of the throttle. This is soulful, warm, analog – but merely honest rather than consciously retro. There's nothing here trying to simulate an authentic experience – it is an authentic experience. It's all right there, under the long and delicate hood – twelve cylinders displacing 5.9 liters. And inside the cabin, a seven-speed manual gearshift lever that moves through a dogleg pattern. This watch requires winding; it's a tactile experience that the quickest, most sophisticated dual-clutch automated manual can't touch.

Bathurst 12-hour gallery is GT3 heaven [w/video]

The 2015 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12-Hour race was run this weekend at the Mt. Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, Australia. Race photographer Joel Strickland sent us a huge batch of photos, all of which make us salivate for the switch to GT3 rules in the United SportsCar Championship; the top seven finishers at Bathurst were of seven different makes: Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3, Audi R8-LMS Ultra, Aston Martin Vantage GT3, Bentley Continental GT3, Mercedes SLS AMG GT3, Ferrari F458 Italia and Lamborghini Gallardo. It was a sweet victory for the No. 35 car driven by the NISMO Athlete Global Team after it crashed in Saturday qualifying, and then was only in third place on the penultimate lap. The three-man driving team included two GT Academy winners, one of whom, Florian Strauss, has only been a professional race car driver for 18 months. It's the first time the GT-R has won at Panorama since the original R32 "Godzilla" took back-to-back wins in 1991 and 1992. Second place went to the No. 15 Phoenix Racing Audi R8-LMS Ultra, 2.4 seconds behind the winners, third to the Craft Bamboo Racing Aston Martin Vantage not even half a second behind the Audi. The Bentley Motorsport team, in its first Bathurst 12-Hour with two cars, had its No. 10 Continental GT3 in the lead until the penultimate lap and in second place until the final corner, but crossed the line in fourth after some rubbin'-is-racin' action from chasers. And if pictures aren't enough, as of writing you can still watch the live stream of the entire race at the Bathurst 12-Hour site. Or, if you don't have the time, at least be sure to check out the last five minutes, below. Enjoy. Featured Gallery 2015 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12-Hour View 118 Photos Image Credit: Copyright 2015 Joel Strickland / AOL Motorsports Aston Martin Audi Bentley Nissan Coupe Racing Vehicles Videos aston martin vantage gt3

2020 Aston Martin DBX pricing, interior revealed

We’ve gotten the rundown on the 2020 Aston Martin DBX's performance specs and heard the sound of its V8, seen the grille and learned about its dog-friendly Pet Pack and other accessories. There's also all those spy shots of mule versions running about. Now we have our first image of the interior and details on pricing of AstonÂ’s first SUV ahead of its Nov. 20 unveiling in Beijing. First up, the price. And it ainÂ’t cheap, but you knew that, because itÂ’s an Aston Martin. The off-road-capable luxury crossover will start at $189,900 here in the United States. That puts it in the rarified air of competitors like the Lamborghini Urus, the Rolls-Royce Cullinan and the Bentley Bentayga. For that kind of cheddar, youÂ’d better be riding in style. The interior photo, taken from the rear seat looking forward, shows a butterscotch-colored cabin, with stitched leather seats, what appears to be an Alcantara headliner, backseat climate controls with vents in the center console and on the B-pillars and, up front, a large touchscreen framed in an oval-shaped cluster. Aston says the bridged center console offers storage space below for handbags or other large items. ThereÂ’s also a huge, full-length glass roof and broad side windows, and weÂ’re told — but offered no concrete measurements — of class-leading front and rear legroom, and an abundance of space throughout. Aston says it did extensive customer research and carefully consider the ergonomics needs of a broad range of male and female occupants, with more than six months alone dedicated to determining the exact and best position of the driver within the vehicle and a "Female Advisory Board" to help dictate the layout of dashboard controls. Aston also wants us to know that it gave special consideration to backseat passengers and children. The decision to use an all-new platform and its longer wheelbase allowed designers to optimize cabin space while keeping the low roofline. The DBX will produce 542 horspower and 516 pound-feet of torque from the twin-turbo 4.0-liter borrowed from Mercedes-AMG, making it the most powerful version of the engine used in an Aston. Order books open after the reveal later this month.