2008 Aston Martin Vantage V8 Convertible, Mint Condition, Only 15k Miles on 2040-cars

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Weekly Recap: Electric Rapide concept showcases Aston's future

Aston Martin showed off an all-electric Rapide S prototype this week and announced an agreement with investment firm ChinaEquity to explore development of a production version of the sports sedan. The car could arrive in about two years if the project advances, and it would be built in Gaydon, England. The concept car, called the "RapidE" was developed with Williams Advanced Engineering. The electric Rapide is meant to highlight British innovation, and it was revealed during a state visit by Chinese president Xi Jinping to the United Kingdom. Spec were not available for the concept on display. "The car we showed in London is a fully running concept but not yet defining [of] our choice of battery, motor, inverter, etc," spokesman Simon Sproule said. "Now that we have a clearer path for producing the car, we will be defining all the parameters." Aston Martin has been vocal about its electric ambitions this year, and Sproule told us at the New York Auto Show that an all-electric Rapide could cost $200,000 to $250,000 or more. "It's a study, but we're serious about it," he said. Some reports have indicated the electric Rapide could pack as much as 1,000 horsepower. Aston considers electric technology the strongest play for modernizing its powertrains and meeting emissions standards around the world. Hybrids and all-electric models can offer high outputs and strong torque delivery, which is in keeping with the Aston's image as a sportscar maker. Company brass prefer this option over dropping down to four-cylinder engines. And yes, V8s and V12s remain part of the plan. The electric push is part of Aston's future strategy to remake its lineup, which includes refreshing its sportscars, building a production version of the electric all-wheel-drive DBX concept shown at the Geneva Motor Show, and adding a four-door Lagonda. OTHER NEWS & NOTES Domino's serves up purpose-built delivery car Domino's revealed a purpose-built pizza delivery car based on the Chevy Spark. It's called the DXP, for Delivery Expert, and it can handle up to 80 pizzas. The pies stay warm thanks to an oven located behind the driver's seat, and the DXP is sauced up with a puddle-lighting feature that projects the Domino's logo outside of the car. Power comes from the Spark's stock 1.2-liter four-cylinder engine rated at 84 hp that gets up to 39 mpg on the highway. Chevy dealers will be trained to service the DXP.

2015 Aston Martin V12 Vantage S by Q not for the faint of heart or thin of wallet

In 2012 at the Geneva Motor Show, Aston Martin brought along a Virage Volante that had been fully decked-out by its then-new Q extravagant customization team. Q, in addition to offering a limitless world of options to dandy car-shoppers, seemed then to tacitly offer a slightly stronger connection with everyone's favorite super-spy, James Bond. Remember when just driving an Aston was cool enough? Apparently, cool or no, the base version of the already sumptuous Aston Martin V12 Vantage S simply won't slake the thirst for opulence that some buyers suffer maddeningly from. Here then, the 2015 V12 Vantage S by Q, a car described by the manufacturer as being "a unique and ultimately luxurious Vanquish for the most demanding, and discerning, of customers." "Picky" might be another way to say it... We kid. In all honestly, the latest Q car is hard to find fault with, no matter how foppish we might believe its eventual owners to be. The triple-tone colorway of Orange, Stratus While and a Jet Black roof is certain to grab attention, while the interior fitted in True Teal and Californian Poppy leather is almost guaranteed to please even the most rabid Miami Dolphins fan. The dream of the Q service doesn't stop with custom colors and expensive trims, we must add. Aston reminds us in the press release below that the dream-makers were also responsible for the creation of the fabulous CC100 Speedster Concept. If your motive longings have even a hint of Britishness to them – or if you just want to feel a bit more like 007 – you now know whom to call. Q BY ASTON MARTIN: MAKING THE IMPOSSIBLE, POSSIBLE - Service offers the ultimate in bespoke commissions and personalization - The tailored approach to luxury car making from Aston Martin - Made-to-measure service that promises a unique sports car Aston Martin arrives at the 84th Geneva International Motor Show with its most compelling bespoke sports car creations to date, courtesy of its increasingly popular tailor-made personalisation service: Q by Aston Martin. The great British sports car brand is showcasing the capabilities of its bespoke service in Switzerland, as more and more of its customers around the world are turning to the facility to make their Aston Martin a truly unique creation.

Everybody's doing flying cars, so why aren't we soaring over traffic already?

"Where's my flying car?" has been the meme for impending technology that never materializes since before there were memes. And the trough of disillusionment for vehicles that can take to sky continues to nosedive, despite a nonstop fascination with flying cars and a recent rash of announcements about the technology, particularly from traditional automakers. Earlier this month, Toyota applied for an eye-popping patent for a flying car that has wheels with spring-loaded pop-out helicopter rotors. The patent filing says the wheels/rotors would be electrically powered, while in on-land mode the vehicle would have differential steering like tracked vehicles such as tanks and bulldozers. At an airshow in July, Aston Martin unveiled its Volante Vision Concept, an autonomous hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicle it developed with Rolls-Royce. Aston says the Volante can fly at top speeds of around 200 mph and bills it as a luxury car for the skies. Audi used the Geneva Motor Show in March to unveil a flying car concept called the Pop.Up Next it developed with Airbus and Italdesign. If the Pop.Up Next, an electric and autonomous quadcopter/city car combo, gets stuck in traffic, an app can be used to summon an Airbus-developed drone to pick up the passenger compartment pod, leaving the chassis behind. Audi said that the Pop.Up Next is a "flexible on-demand concept that could open up mobility in the third dimension to people in cities." But Audi also acknowledged that at this point it has no plans to develop it. The cash-stoked, skies-the-limit Silicon Valley tech crowd is also bullish on flying cars. The startup Kitty Hawk that's backed by Google co-founder Larry Page announced in June that it's taking pre-orders for its single-seat electric Flyer that's powered by 10 propellers and is capable of vertical takeoffs and landings. The current version can only fly up to 20 mph and 10 feet in the air and has a flight time of just 12 to 20 minutes on a full charge. The Flyer is considered a recreational vehicle, so doesn't require a pilot's license. Uber says it plans to launch its more ambitious Elevate program and UberAIR service in 2023. "Uber customers will be able to push a button and get a flight on-demand with uberAIR in Dallas, Los Angeles and a third international market," Uber Elevate promises on its website.