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We're set to record Autoblog Podcast #379 this evening.Check out the topics below, or drop us your questions and comments via our Q&A module. And don't forget to subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven't already done so. To take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.
Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #379
Lamborghini Huracán

There's an 820-hp Aston Martin Vulcan heading to auction

Aston Martin only made 24 examples of its track-only Vulcan, all of which sold out in the blink of an eye. Owners were personally invited by the automaker to purchase the supercar and had to shell out $2.3 million for the pleasure of owning one. Since the vehicle's debut last year, only one Vulcan has gone on sale in the US. And that one carried a hefty price tag of $3.4 million. But now, there's another Vulcan for sale and it's very, very purple. This gorgeous example is number 11 out of 24. There's no mention of how many miles it has covered or why the owner is selling it, but this is a rare opportunity to own one of the most visceral supercars ever. The supercar is heading to Mecum's Monterey auction in August and while it should go for more than its original price tag, there's no price estimate available. Potential buyers should know that the Vulcan is a track-only machine – a British motorsports engineering company can convert the car for road use – built in partnership with Aston Martin's racing team. The Vulcan gets its power from a 7.0-liter V12 that generates 820 horsepower, and the rest of the vehicle is just as hardcore. Related Video:

Aston Martin reveals new V12 Vantage S Roadster as its fastest droptop to date

You have to hand it to Aston Martin. Its entry-level V8 Vantage may be nearly a decade old, but the British automaker never tires of rolling out ever more powerful versions. Where the original packed a 4.3-liter V8 derived from a Jaguar design and producing 380 horsepower, this latest version packs 565 hp to become the company's quickest and fastest roadster to date, not to mention its most powerful. Following the debut of the V12 Vantage S coupe, the new V12 Vantage S Roadster packs the most powerful iteration of Aston's ubiquitous 6.0-liter V12 engine to date. Equipped with CNC-machined combustion chambers and hollow camshafts, unburdened of 44 pounds of excess weight and mated to Gaydon's latest Graziano-developed Sportshift III seven-speed sequential gearbox, that engine is capable of propelling the open-top rocket to 60 in 3.9 seconds en route to a top speed of 201 miles per hour. That's considerably quicker than the flagship Vanquish Volante, which runs to 60 in 4.1 seconds and tops out at 183 mph, painting the V12 Vantage S Roadster as Aston's most performance-focused droptop to date. It's also got a flatter and fatter torque curve than the previous V12 Vantage Roadster, three-stage adaptive damping, three-stage stability control and two-stage ABS, carbon-ceramic disc brakes and a lightweight exhaust derived from the pipes on the One-77. Like what you see? There are more details to digest in the press release below, including a full range of customization options from the Q by Aston Martin catalog. ASTON MARTIN V12 VANTAGE S ROADSTER – AN OPEN INVITATION TO EXCITEMENT - Debut of the luxury brand's most potent and exhilarating roadster yet - 6.0-litre V12 engine: 565 bhp and 620 Nm delivers 201 mph top speed - Supreme agility and intense excitement characterise new model Aston Martin is opening up a new world of exhilarating driving excitement with the announcement of the hotly anticipated V12 Vantage S Roadster. When it arrives in markets around the world later this year the new sports car will become the luxury British marque's most potent, fastest and fastest-accelerating series production roadster to date and follows in the broad tyre tracks of the V12 Vantage S Coupe that was launched to worldwide acclaim in 2013.