2008 Aston Martin Vantage on 2040-cars

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Aston Martin signs Letter of Intent for technical partnership with AMG

A little over two months ago came reports that Daimler and Aston Martin were in talks, again, about "supply and technical-cooperation agreements." The next step has been taken with Aston Martin announcing that it has signed a Letter of Intent that looks "towards a technical partnership" with Mercedes-AMG GmbH, and the two companies aiming to have definitive agreements done by year's end.
While it will get to use certain electric and electronic components from AMG, the true golden egg for the maker of the Vanquish will be the ability to develop a new line of "bespoke V8 powertrains" that will be fitted to "a new generation of models." In return for opening up the larder, Daimler will get a non-voting stake of up to five percent of Aston Martin.
Nothing else is being said about the tie-up for the moment, but there's a press release below with a few more details.

Aston Martin updates Vanquish, Rapide S for 2015 [w/videos]

For such a small company, Aston Martin certainly keeps busy. Having already previewed its new V12 Vantage S Roadster ahead of its Pebble Beach unveiling, the British marque recently confirmed the arrival of a new Lagonda super sedan. But now it's turning its attention to its two flagship production models with a series of upgrades. The enhancements to the 2015 Vanquish (both coupe and Volante convertible) and Rapide S sedan center around the inclusion of the new Touchtronic III eight-speed automatic gearbox that brings with it enhanced performance, efficiency and comfort. Along with reprogrammed Bosch electronics, the new transmission and updates net a 3-horsepower boost in Vanquish (bringing output up to 568 hp) and 2-hp boost in Rapide S to 552. Torque rises to 465 pound-feet in both, along with revised stability control and steering systems. Upgraded dampers on the Vanquish are 15-percent stiffer up front and 35-percent firmer in the rear, while the Rapide S gets larger front brakes. The result of this suite of minor updates results in a rather substantial performance boost. According to Aston, the upfittings cut a good half-second off the 0-60 sprint for both models: the Vanquish drops from 4.1 seconds to 3.6, and the Rapide S from 4.7 seconds to 4.2. Additional visual enhancements to differentiate the new models are limited to new wheels, paint options and interior trim, the details of which you can scope out in the press release and pair of videos below. DYNAMIC ENHANCEMENTS FOR ASTON MARTIN VANQUISH AND RAPIDE S - Acceleration, top speed, emissions and economy improve significantly - Debut of state-of-the-art eight-speed Touchtronic III automatic gearbox - New engine management system, enhanced trim and specification options 6 August 2014 - Aston Martin is today revealing details of a raft of important enhancements to two of the brand's most popular and successful sports cars: the Vanquish ultimate GT and Rapide S four-door, four-seat, sports car. With the arrival of 15 Model Year (15MY) cars in markets around the world over the next few months, the luxury British brand is offering not only considerably enhanced performance and much-improved fuel economy and emissions, but also an even more honed, precise and responsive driving experience.

All 25 James Bond movies ranked only by their cars

There is no shortage of lists ranking the best James Bond movies. Ditto lists about the best or worst James Bond cars. I know, I've written some of them. As such, why not combine the two ideas into one new list that ranks all 25 official James Bond movies based exclusively on their cars, or more accurately their car content. I would then pull from my 25 years of James Bond nerddom plus the excellent "Bond Cars: The Definitive History" and our interview with long-time Bond special effects supervisor Chris Corbould to provide tidbits and factoids about the cars and their roles in the movies. And yes(!), this list now includes "No Time to Die," which impresses by adding plenty of car content to the series. It's now available on Blu-ray and download. To determine the list, I considered the inherent coolness of the cars as well as their importance to Bond, film and car history. I considered their importance to the story as well as the quality/excitement of the chases and scenes they participated in. Finally, I tried my best to divorce the car content from my opinions about the movies in general. That my personal list of best James movies looks nothing like this shows I was at least partially successful.     25. 'Moonraker' There are virtually no cars in "Moonraker." None. Oh, there's a gondola on wheels that makes a pigeon do a double-take, but that's not the same thing as a car. Neither is a golf cart. Or an ambulance. Or a space shuttle.   24. 'From Russia With Love' The literary James Bond mostly drove an ancient Bentley, and "From Russia with Love" is the only film in which it appears. It stays parked and the coolest thing that happens (by 1962 standards) is 007 answers its car phone. Thereafter, we get some old cars (even by 1962 standards) driving around Istanbul and a yellow truck. So yeah. Classic Bond film, a must-watch, just not for its car content.   23. 'Dr. No' History records that the first "Bond car" is the Sunbeam Alpine in "Dr. No." The car itself was literally borrowed from a Miss Jennifer Jackson of 53 Lady Musgrave Road in Jamaica for 10 pounds per day for two days during filming. Also, the stunt where it drove under an excavator blocking the road was entirely conceived because the filmmakers showed up to the road they intended to film on and discovered an excavator blocking the thing. Sadly, those are really the only two things interesting about the Alpine, which is a pretty small and dainty thing by Bond car standards.