2020 Aston Martin Vantage Gt4 Competition Race Car on 2040-cars

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Aston Martin is building eight Valkyrie prototypes, here's the first trio

Aston Martin and Red Bull Racing are still developing the high-performance Valkyrie supercar, and recently, Formula One drivers Max Verstappen and Alex Albon were given the opportunity to test out the prototypes. Verstappen and Albon were given the reins to verification prototype 1 (VP-1), while never-before-seen VP-2 and VP-3 lapped Silverstone at the hands of Aston Martin test driver Chris Goodwin and Aston Martin Racing World Endurance Championship drivers Darren Turner and Alex Lynn.  After publicly unveiling VP-1 at the 2019 British Grand Prix, Aston Martin recently brought two new verification prototypes into the fold. Aston Martin has been using the Silverstone circuit near Northampton, England, for its testing process, and it seems that will continue for the rest of the verification prototypes. In total, Aston Martin will build eight.   Aston Martin collects data and observations not only from its own test drivers and engineers but from its professional drivers too. For Albon, it was his first time seeing the car in person. In a press release, Albon offered some details about how the car will position itself to its customers.  "Obviously there’s still some development to do, but already it feels very good, especially the balance between the corners," he said. "ItÂ’s light; it feels sharp. Sure, compared to an F1 car, youÂ’re missing the outright downforce, but you still feel the Gs in the corners and it definitely reacts closer to an F1 car than a normal road car."  Aston Martin plans to have the Valkyrie tuned and ready for customers in the coming months, but don't expect deliveries to begin until the second half of the year. In related news, Road & Track cites a Racer report that says Aston Martin will pull back from its intentions to race the Valkyrie in the 2020–2021 World Endurance Championship and Le Mans. The report, which says a formal announcement is coming February 19, comes shortly after news that Aston Martin received an investment from Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll. 

2021 Aston Martin DBX looks the part, likely drives it, too

After 106 years in business and after five years working on development, Aston Martin presents its first-ever SUV, the DBX. Having seen spy shots and teasers of the vehicle's progress over the past year, it's everything we'd expect, and on first glance it holds up as an Aston Martin. The company's already told us there's an AMG-sourced, 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 making 542 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque, making this the most powerful version of that motor in the English automaker's lineup. Shifting through a nine-speed torque converter automatic, zero to 60 miles per hour takes 4.3 seconds, top speed is 181 mph. We've heard the exhaust note. And we've seen the leather-filled interior and the $189,000 USD price, which comes to $192,086 after destination. What we now know are 24 pages worth of press release detail that make this a true Aston Martin. We'll share just a few of those details here. The exterior has all the rake and swoop one would expect. Astride the trademark grille shape are LED headlights, below those, DRLs ring two aerodynamic ducts that reduce lift and drag and cool the brakes. Frameless doors hide their window seals for a super clean look, and the B-pillars are fronted with glass to help the illusion of an unbroken expanse. The rakish rear glass slides down to a pronounced, fixed spoiler lip reminiscent of the Vantage. Two wheel sizes are offered, both 22 inches — the V-spoke design shown, and an optional Ribbon design that gives the "appearance of interwoven strands of contrasting color metal" that's inspired by "the interlocking antlers of stags in battle." The DBX comes on a new bonded aluminum platform specifically developed to support an SUV. Years of experience with the construction method helped engineers keep weight of the five-seater down to 4,940 pounds for the vehicle overall. The weight is dynamically managed by an adaptive air suspension bolstered by a 48-volt anti-roll system. The standard 7.8-inch ground clearance can be raised by 1.8 inches to clear a 19.7-inch wading depth, or lowered by a hair under two inches when easy access is needed to the 22.3 cubic-feet of trunk space behind the second row. The new AWD system uses an electronically controlled center diff and a rear differential to apportion torque, going from a 47/53 torque split to sending almost 100 percent of twist to the rear.

James Bond Aston Martin Lego kit coming soon from Denmark with love

It's a good time to be a Lego fan and a car enthusiast. We've got little Speed Champions models of Le Mans race cars and classic sports cars, and intricate big models ranging from the VW Beetle to the Bugatti Chiron. The streak continues soon with a new kit announced by Aston Martin's Twitter page. Apparently Lego will be making a kit based on a car from one of the James Bond films. It's been 'driving' us wild with excitement and now we're nearly ready to reveal this powerful creation! #LicenceToBuild pic.twitter.com/KYHiHxlcR0 — Aston Martin (@astonmartin) July 3, 2018 The thing is, the cover art doesn't actually show what car will be used. There are quite a few Astons to pick from, too. You've got the most recent one, the DB10 from "Spectre." Then of course the DBS from " Casino Royale" and " Quantum of Solace." Oh, and how could anyone forget the missile-launching, active-camouflaging Vanquish from "Die Another Day"? View 61 Photos If we're being honest, though, there's only one Aston Martin that is truly exemplary of Bond, and that's the DB5 from "Goldfinger." It's timelessly cool, has all the gadgets, and keeps reappearing in more recent Bond films. As such, there would be no better place to start for a Lego James Bond car kit. And, since the kit will be a Creator Expert series model, we can imagine it having functioning gadgets such as the revolving license plates and the ejector seat. Man, this kit could be so cool. Hopefully we don't have to wait long to see all the details. Related Video: Image Credit: Aston Martin, RM Sotheby's Toys/Games TV/Movies Aston Martin Coupe Performance Classics Lego