2007 Aston Martin V8 Vantage - Mint on 2040-cars

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Top Gear caught filming Best of British near Buckingham Palace

YouTuber and car-fan extraordinaire Shmee probably had very little trouble tracking down the Top Gear film crew recently, as the group was putting together an episode that could accurately be described as "excessive." With its flag-waving (literally) Best of British theme, the TG guys gathered a jaw-dropping array of British cars, and parked them all right in front of Buckingham Palace to make extra sure that the point was driven home.
Top Gear hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May were outfitted with a trio of Jaguar F-Types festooned with gigantic Union Jacks, with which to survey the landscape of British motoring glory. In the video below, you'll see that this includes any number of Mini, Aston Martin, Lotus, McLaren, Land Rover, Bentley and Rolls-Royce models (just to name a few), as well as a healthy dose of weird stuff that most people would never guess at being built in the UK. The lawnmowers and military vehicles are especially cool.

Aston Martin brings ice driving program to America [w/video]

With between four and six hundred horsepower channeled to the rear wheels from a V8 or V12 engine mounted up front, an Aston Martin – any Aston Martin, really – might not seem like the smartest choice for driving on ice and snow. But that can also make it the most fun, and the most enlightening to experience. That's the point behind the Aston Martin On Ice program: allowing customers to drive the latest Gaydon has to offer on slippery, wintery surfaces. But whereas the On Ice program has been established for years in St. Moritz, Switzerland and in the Swedish Lapland, this year it arrived in America for the first time. A series of custom tracks – including a braking/cornering loop, slalom, skid pad and a full circuit – were carved into the snow in Crested Butte, CO, where expert driving instructors taught customers a thing or two about how to handle a powerful twelve-cylinder GT car like a DB9, Vanquish or V12 Vantage. The program has concluded for the season, returning next February, but in the meantime Aston will use the Colorado base camp as the center of its driving experience through the Rockies. Check out the video footage and the details in the press release below. ASTON MARTIN... ON ICE - New US ice driving program launches in Crested Butte, Colorado - Affords customers the opportunity to drive full Aston Martin range in extreme winter conditions - Utilises custom-built Aston Martin facility Irvine, CA, 17 March, 2014 – Aston Martin has launched the company's first ice driving program in North America, hosted at Crested Butte, Colorado providing customers with the ultimate driving experience against a stunning mountainous backdrop. Offering customers the opportunity to experience the full potential of the Aston Martin range and hone their driving skills, the new On Ice program took place in the heart of the Colorado Rocky Mountains in a unique setting, with an ice track custom built for the occasion as illustrated in a new film from the event, released today. Comprising a braking/cornering exercise loop, slalom, skid pad and full circuit, the bespoke Aston Martin track was especially constructed for the occasion over the last four months. Under expert tuition, participants were guided through the facility, embarking upon a series of braking, cornering and handling exercises before putting their skills to the test on a mile-long frozen road course.

Aston Martin to raise funds for new models including CUV, hybrid

Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer named three leads for new vehicle programs when he took the reins, now the company is looking for the money to give those leads something to do. Reuters reports that the Gaydon firm is considering debt or equity financing to raise 100 to 150 million pounds ($156M to $234M US) in funding for "an expansion from the current model range," according to an unnamed source. On top of that investment round, Aston Martin is overhauling its working capital streams to unlock more funds. As one of the industry's few remaining independent carmakers, the company has an intense five years ahead of it, working to revamp its current vehicles with a 500-million-pound investment, entering new segments to grow sales to roughly 10,000 units annually from 4,200 cars in 2013, and pay down hundreds of millions of pounds in current debt. The big high notes observers will be looking for over the next few years are the successor to the DB9, pegged for 2016, profitability predicted in 2017, a huge debt note due in 2018, and the formal end of the recovery period in 2020. Our own eyes will be locked on the DB10 in Spectre, naturally, and the Lagonda-honoring Taraf in other markets, hopefully. At least one of the new vehicles is expected to be a crossover, a segment Aston seemingly cannot ignore now that Bentley and Rolls-Royce are committed to making plays there. However, Reuters says an official announcement of what we can expect won't come until the 2015 Geneva Motor Show. Among the other models said to be up for funding? Sedans (perhaps including a Rapide replacement?) and an unspecified hybrid.