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15-year-old Russian footballer crashes Aston Martin he's owned for 3 days

You wouldn't expect a 15-year-old boy to have the driving experience required to tame an Aston Martin, and things went just as you would suspect for one young, Russian soccer player who fits that description. It only took three days before the teen reportedly collided with a Volkswagen Tiguan at an intersection in Saint Petersburg, Russia. To make matters worse, the boy allegedly fled the scene afterward because he didn't have a driver's license. The purported driver was Konstantin P., a goalkeeper for the Zenit-84 soccer team, according to Life News from Russia. The teen told the website that the Tiguan came out of nowhere at around 50 miles per hour (80 km/h). He was driving into the intersection and claimed to be going about 25-30 mph (40-50 km/h) when they collided. No one was reportedly hurt in the incident. Konstantin allegedly bought the Aston Martin with his own money, but he might not have been responsible enough to actually drive it. According to CarScoops, he's now facing potential charges from the incident. News Source: Life News, CarScoopsTip: CarScoops Weird Car News Aston Martin Coupe Performance vw tiguan

The legendary Aston Martin DB4 GT is reborn

The trend of resurrecting ghostly automobile legends continues with Aston Martin, which announced Friday it's building a limited run of 25 more DB4 GTs. Originally built from 1959 to 1963, the DB4 GT was among the most powerful British cars of its era and a precursor to the modern supercar. Just 75 DB4 GTs were built during the first run. The GT model was lighter and more powerful than the stock DB4, giving it excellent racing chops. Stirling Moss drove the GT to victory at Silverstone in its competition debut in '59. It's a rare breed with a deep lineage. Within that first batch, just eight even lighter-weight models were built, and Aston is using those as the basis for its continuation series. The company says it will build them in Newport Pagnell in England, its headquarters for decades and now home to the Aston Martin Works heritage division. The DB4 GT continuation brings assembly work back to Newport Pagnell for the first time since production of the Vanquish S left in 2007. The original DB4 GT was produced on this site. The new cars will wear VIN numbers that pick up from the end of the first run in '63. They will use a version of the Tardek Marek-designed straight six-cylinder engine making an SAE-rated 331 horsepower with three twin-choke Weber carburetors. Though it's a straight six like the original, Aston started "from scratch" with the new one, a spokesman said, drawing on the DB11's supplier for the castings. Modern elements, like an FIA-spec roll cage, fire extinguisher, and seat belts will also be added. It will weigh 2,706 pounds. The DB4 GT employs a four-speed David Brown manual gearbox. The car rides on a tubular frame with an independent front suspension; the rear is a Watts linkage setup and both use coil springs. The fuel tank holds 36 gallons, which should prove useful for racing. In that vein, these 25 will be track-only models, and buyers will be able to participate in an international driving program that spans two years and visits circuits like Yas Marina. Owners can receive training from Aston experts like Darren Turner, who counts several class victories at Le Mans. The cost? About $1.9 million at the prevailing exchange rates as of this writing. Aston will begin delivering the DB4 GTs in summer 2017. It joins the growing field of nostalgic continuations, like the Jaguar XKSS, that pick up where the original lineage left off.

Mercedes increases stake in Aston Martin

As part of an increasingly close partnership, Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler is reportedly preparing to increase its stake in Aston Martin by another one percent, bringing the German automaker's shares in the British company up to five percent.
The rapprochement between the two has been in the works for years now, and is finally beginning to take form. Mercedes-AMG is in the midst of developing a new engine with and for Aston Martin in an apparently similar arrangement to that which it has with Pagani. But that's not the extent of it.
Daimler will also furnish Aston Martin with electrical systems and other components, said to lead up to the eventual sharing of platforms: one to underpin future GTs and another to serve as the basis for a long-mooted Aston Martin crossover, now said to be back on the table and slated to launch in 2017. The prospect of using the partnership to reinvigorate both the Lagonda and Maybach luxury brands, however, has since been taken off the table, with both parties continuing those projects independently.