2011 Aston Martin V8 Vantage S Roadster White Over Blue 1 Owner 6121 Miles! on 2040-cars

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2015 Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT First Drive

Only one thing is going through my mind as I blast down the Autobahn at 170 miles per hour: If someone were to give me $100,000 today, I'd go buy a new Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT tomorrow. I know there are a dozen other choices out there – cars that are more powerful, quicker around a road circuit and much less expensive, but you can keep your Corvette, your 911, your F-Type, your GT-R and your top-spec pony cars. My money would go towards this entry-level Brit with the metallic green paint and bright-yellow race-inspired accents. Aston Martin has always crafted alluring – and expensive – automobiles. Yet this is the first time one of its offerings has come close to making sense to both the enthusiast's heart and to his or her accountant. It may sound absurd, but considering the GT's engineering, design, pedigree and hand-crafted execution, its $99,900 sticker price (plus $2,825 destination) makes it an absolute bargain. To experience the new V8 Vantage GT, a model sold as the N430 in other markets, the British automaker invited me to attend this year's grueling Nurburgring 24-hour race. Before I watched its race-prepared siblings lap the famed circuit for a full day (all four Vantage models that entered finished), I was handed the keys to my very own example – in Alloro green exterior paint with yellow club sport graphics – configured with a welcomed six-speed manual gearbox. Vantage is the smallest, lightest and most agile of the Aston Martin lineup, and it's been around for a good while already. As you'll likely recall, the Vantage is the smallest, lightest and most agile of the Aston Martin lineup, and it's been around for a good while already. First launched at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show, today the model is offered in Coupe and Roadster bodystyles with the buyer's choice of either a V8 or V12 powerplant. The coupe, like all of the automaker's production models, rides on its modular VH platform, a lightweight bonded aluminum and magnesium monocoque structure fitted with aluminum body panels for Vantage duty. Aston Martin is proud of its aerospace-like chassis, and it's historically been eager to promote its ability to offer its affluent clientele customized vehicles, with personalized upholsteries, colors and options – think of it like ordering a custom-tailored suit. But that exclusivity has previously come at a considerable price, starting at $121,225 (including destination) for its least-expensive V8 Vantage.

Aston Martin fleet week: Next vessel to sail is a luxury submarine

Aston Martin's latest project aims to go beneath the surface, literally. It announced Thursday a partnership with a Florida-based developer of submersibles to develop a strictly limited-edition, deep-diving submarine code-named Project Neptune. The luxury brand is apparently making quite a splash at the Monaco Boat Show this week, having just revealed the AM37, a 37-foot, six-passenger, two-crew-member speedboat replete with natural teak sliding decks and custom-outfitted interior that will cost $1.6 million. For Project Neptune, the British marque is joining forces with Triton Submarines, which makes luxury submarines for superyacht-owning hobbyists as well as more robust models for scientists and filmmakers that are capable of exploring the deepest parts of the ocean. Plans call for marrying Triton's Low Profile three-person platform with the automotive brand's design and engineering language, under the direction of its Chief Creative Officer, Marek Reichman. Aston Martin Consulting will oversee the project. No details yet, but Triton's existing 1650 Low Profile three-person sub, its lightest model, weighs 8,800 pounds and can dive to 1,650 feet. A 30 kWh battery powers four 5-horse thrusters, and it can stay submerged for up to 12 hours. The most dramatic part of Triton's design is its incredible bubble shape — a spherical, transparent pressure hull. Some of Triton's more rigorous designs can reach depths of 7,500 feet. A Triton sub reportedly starts at a cool $3.3 million, and it's certainly nice, with stitched leather seats. But that, of course is a crude version compared with Aston Martin's panache and uber-exclusive materials. Pass the caviar, won't you, old boy? Related Video: Weird Car News Aston Martin Luxury submersible

Aston Martin says its fleet will go all-hybrid

British luxury carmaker Aston Martin says it plans to convert its entire six-car lineup to hybrid powertrains, with CEO Dr. Andy Palmer telling the Financial Times (subscription required), "We will be 100 per cent hybrid by the middle of the 2020s" and that 25 percent of all Aston Martins will be fully electric "by the end of the next decade." In June, the company announced it will produce the RapidE, its first all-electric car, in 2019, with a limited production run of 155 cars. The Rapide S, the model it's ostensibly based on, starts around $204,000. "RapidE represents a sustainable future in which Aston Martin's values of seductive style and supreme performance don't merely co-exist alongside a new zero-emission powertrain, but are enhanced by it," Palmer said in the statement. "The internal combustion engine has been at the heart of Aston Martin for more than a century, and will continue to be for years to come. RapidE will showcase Aston Martin's vision, desire and capability to successfully embrace radical change, delivering a new breed of car that stays true to our ethos and delights our customers." Palmer also told FT that while the company plans to source battery cells from overseas, it will develop its electric systems in-house. It is working with Williams Advanced Engineering in England on EV systems integrations for the RapidE. Aston is just the latest of a long line of automakers to announce electrification plans. Notably, Volvo recently announced that it would add some form of electrification to its entire fleet by 2019. Related Video: