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Aston Martin DB5s from 'No Time to Die' sampled by Carfection

The excellent Henry Catchpole might have just made the most persuasive argument for restomods using one of the world's and pop culture's most celebrated classics. The Carfection host spent a day at Silverstone with no less than four takes on the Aston Martin DB5 — one of them the showstopping original in gleaming Silver Birch with the license plate BMT 216A, three of them stunt cars used in the next James Bond installment "No Time to Die." Catchpole starts off in the stock vintage two-door, its 4.0-liter straight-six sending about 282 horsepower and 287 pound-feet of torque to the live rear axle to move about 3,300 pounds. It's a thrill to run through apexes, but perhaps more for its pedigree than its prowess; at one point, Catchpole wonders, "How on earth he did some of those car chases with seats like this, I've got no idea." Of course, Bond only had to outrun a couple of even older Mercedes sedans in "Goldfinger." The host then slides into the shotgun seat of one of the ringers, with one-time Subaru-driving rally ace Mark Higgins behind the wheel. Higgins has been a stunt driver in four Bond films now, starting his tenure in a Land Rover Defender in "Quantum of Solace," working his way up to drifting the one-off Aston Martin DB10 at around 90 miles per hour through St. Peter's Square in The Vatican. Higgins explains a bit of what went into the DB5-looking stunt cars built for "No Time to Die," one of them built on a ladder frame chassis dressed in carbon fiber body panels, powered by a modern straight-six engine, suspended with Ohlins dampers. The directive was to get repeatability in tricky environments, and hey, more power and less weight is never a bad thing, either.  When Catchpole takes the track again behind the wheel of the stunt car, you'll want to turn on the closed captions. Even if you don't, Catchpole's barely audible exclamations and facial expressions make it clear which car he'd rather take home, and which he'd leave for the "misogynist alcoholic womanizer of a secret spy with really pretty unresolved violence issues." If all goes well, we'll see both in action — plus two more — when "No Time to Die" hits theaters in November. Related Video:

Aston teases a topless DB11 before official Spring launch

Aston Martin has a lot riding on the new DB11. Aston Martin's CEO Andy Palmer called the vehicle the most important car the automaker launched in recent history, and on our first drive we said the new coupe is a great first step into the automaker's second century. So it shouldn't come as a surprise to hear that the automaker is working on a Volante variant of the DB11. The automaker teased the upcoming 2018 Aston Martin DB11 Volante with three images on its Facebook page. The lightly-disguised DB11 Volante reveals the upcoming roadster will feature a folding soft-top roof, with the writing on the door indicating that the vehicle will come out in the Spring of 2018. The three images only show the upcoming Volante's rear end, which is just as good looking as the coupe's. The front end should also mimic the regular DB11's, but the fact that Aston Martin didn't release any images of the Volante's front fascia has us thinking that it could be slightly different than the coupe's. Power for the DB11 Volante is expected to come from the automaker's all-new 5.2-liter twin-turbo V12 that generates 600 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. While the coupe is able to hit a top speed of 200 mph and can get to 62 mph in 3.9 seconds, the Volante will be a little slower to 62 mph and will have a lower top speed, as well. Having a roofless DB11 will also cost more than the coupe's base price of roughly $212,000. With the DB11 Volante set to be revealed in the early months of 2018, we expect to see a lot more of the roadster in the upcoming months. Related Video:

'Q by Aston Martin' bringing unique creations to Monterey

Want an Aston Martin unlike any other on the road? You'll need to look to Q, and no, we're not talking about the inimitable Desmond Llewelyn. No, we're referring to Aston's in-house customization shop, a one-stop destination that can set your Vantage or Vanquish even further apart from every other vehicle on the road. Aston Martin is bringing four new Q-customized cars to next week's festivities in scenic Monterey, CA, covering the gamut of the brand's portfolio. At the lead is the Aston Martin flagship, the hardtop Vanquish. Finished in an eye-catching – and decidedly un-Aston-like – Abor Orange, the Vanquish boasts unique carbon fiber work, with a twill that's twice the size of your average CF. Inside, a new print has been emblazoned on the Obsidian Black leather, which Aston says is styled after the helix of a carbon molecule. For those who want to stand out and experience the wind in their hair, Q is also bringing out a pair of Aston Martin's Volante variants. The Vanquish Volante wears Frosted Silver paint, 10-spoke alloys and a Chestnut Tan interior. The DB9 Volante, meanwhile, sports perhaps the oddest style of this quartet, with Ashen Blonde exterior paint and, um, a pink interior. It's actually called Blush Pearl, and it's complemented by Piano Ice Mocha on the center stack. Finally, Q has turned its eye on the V12 Vantage S, decking it out in amethyst paint with a Monterey Pearl grille. The cabin sports the same Obsidian Black leather found on the Q-fettled Vanquish, but rather than the helix design, the Vantage S sports bold, Vivid Purple leather accents. The contrasting bits include the seat stripe, headliner, portions of the steering wheel finish and glove box liners. Take a look both up top and below for galleries of all four customized Astons, and then scroll down for the full press release from Aston Martin.