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2015 Aston Martin V12 Vantage S drives angry with XCAR

The Aston Martin V12 Vantage S is a monster of a sports coupe. At the front, those color-matched fangs and open mouth look like Dracula ready to take a bite. And underneath the hood, the 6.0-liter V12 sounds like the Wolf Man growling whenever the driver gets on the throttle. In a recent video, XCAR got its hands on this wonderful behemoth and showed its brilliant brutality. The smartest move that the producers made was letting the car speak for itself. Several times during the video, the host shuts up, and the only sound is the bellow from the exhaust of the Aston Martin. The cinematography is pretty darn nice, too. If you don't have time to watch the whole video, skip about 10 minutes into it when XCAR just lets the diabolical V12 thunder. It's definitely one of the highlights. Scroll down to watch – and listen – for yourself.

U.S. issues new tariff threat, this time against British-built cars

WASHINGTON — Britain is the United States' closest ally but their long friendship may be sorely tested as the two countries try to forge a new trade agreement after Britain's exit from the European Union. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Saturday in London that he was optimistic that a bilateral deal with Britain could be reached as soon as this year. But Mnuchin gave up no ground after a second meeting with his UK counterpart, Sajid Javid. Javid has insisted that Britain will proceed with a unilateral digital services tax, despite a U.S. threat to levy retaliatory tariffs on British-made autos. Mnuchin told reporters after Saturday's meeting that such taxes would discriminate against big U.S. tech companies like Alphabet Inc's Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon. The UK Treasury declined to comment on the private meeting. The divide highlights the challenges ahead as the Trump administration seeks a new bilateral agreement with Britain, part of a broader push to rebalance relations with nearly all its major trading partners. The stakes are high — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pegged the trade deal with United States as a way to ease the pain of breaking with Europe, Britain's largest trade partner. U.S. President Donald Trump, has promised a "massive" trade deal to support Brexit, the product of a populist movement similar to his "America First" agenda. The goodwill and special relationship the two countries have enjoyed for decades may not count for much, experts say. "Trump is not going to be doing Johnson any favors," said Amanda Sloat, a senior fellow with the Brookings Institution in Washington. "He's not going to give him a trade deal without major concessions." Even before the digital tax issue arose, the Trump administration threatened to tax foreign car imports, which could hit British-made Jaguar, Land Rover, Mini, and Honda Civic hatchback cars. Stiff U.S. trade demands include increased access for U.S. farm goods, concessions that will be difficult for Britain's entrenched natural food culture to swallow. The United States also wants Britain to change the way its National Health Service prices drugs and allow in more U.S. pharmaceuticals, which could prove politically unpopular for Johnson's government. Washington's demand that London block Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co Ltd for national security reasons could also cloud talks.

Even Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce have designed flying taxis

Think British-built taxi cabs and you're likely to think of the classic, black London taxis. However, there are British companies eager to take taxis to the skies — bearing vaunted nameplates. Aston Martin has created the Volante Vision Concept, which isn't a sports car, but a luxury VTOL aircraft. It is the product of a joint venture with Cranfield University, Cranfield Aerospace Solutions and Rolls-Royce, and Aston says it's a "near-future study" that previews a flying autonomous hybrid-electric vehicle. It's meant for both urban and inter-city travel. The hybrid powertrain would come courtesy of Rolls-Royce Electrical, which has already provided such systems for marine and train use. The Volante Vision Concept's design language has been overseen by Marek Reichman, who stated the following: "We are at the beginning of a new generation of urban transportation; vertical mobility is no longer a fantasy. We have a unique chance to create a luxury concept aircraft that will represent the ultimate fusion of art and technology. We have used forms and proportions that express the same devotion to design, engineering and beauty that shape our cars." The leather interior bears familiar, winged Aston Martin badging — though this time the wings are especially appropriate. Beyond working with Aston Martin, Rolls-Royce plc has also designed a flying taxi of its own. Similarly VTOL, Rolls-Royce's hybrid-electric taxi has rotating wings and uses a gas turbine engine paired to hybrid tech; it is designed to carry four or five passengers and offers a 500-mile range with a top speed of 250 mph. And Rolls, of course, as a major supplier of aircraft engines, knows a thing or two about flying. Rolls says that if there is a business case for the flying taxi, it could see production in the early-to-mid-2020s. The Rolls-Royce concept was presented Monday at the Farnborough Air Show. Related Video: Featured Gallery Aston Martin / Rolls-Royce Flying Taxis Image Credit: Aston Martin, Rolls-Royce plc Design/Style Aston Martin Rolls-Royce Technology Emerging Technologies Autonomous Vehicles Commercial Vehicles Future Vehicles Luxury Special and Limited Editions air taxi