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Lotus and Aston Martin to hook up?

This has been a tumultuous year for Lotus - to say the least - from the company being sold off back in January to its CEO Dany Bahar being fired in June to its questionable financial status and rumors of the British automaker being sold off to another automaker. First, we heard that Volkswagen was interested in acquiring Lotus and parent company Proton, a rumor that was later dismissed. Now Automobile is reporting that fellow Brit Aston Martin could be in the market to work with or possibly even merge with Lotus.
While this is pure speculation at this point, such a venture could prove to be beneficial for both independent companies. That's because with Lotus focused on lightweight, relatively affordable sports cars and Aston Martin producing high-end performance cars, there is virtually no product overlap between the companies. The article suggests that a person or company wanting to merge these two automakers would have to raise between $1.1 billion and $1.6 billion in order to make a go of it, however.
We're not sure what to think of this latest rumor, but anything that can help get the struggling brand back to health at least has our interest.

Aston Martin creates custom Vanquish series in smooth carbon

In a demonstration of just how extensively it can cater its vehicles to the customer's specific tastes, Aston Martin has done up a special series of Vanquishes at the request of an individual customer. Carried out through the Q by Aston Martin customization service, the Vanquish "One of Seven" edition is distinguished by its unique carbon-fiber bodywork. The order required Aston to develop a new manufacturing process to weave the fibers in multiple layers for a perfectly smooth finish. The resulting exposed carbon bodywork is complimented by satin black trim, custom diamond-quilted seats, and machined carbon logos, for a complete Darth Vader, murdered-out look. As the name suggests, only seven examples will be made, with the first delivered to one Markus Storck, head of high-end bicycle manufacturer Storck Bikes. The remaining examples will be delivered to "six fellow sports car aficionados." Related Video: Q BY ASTON MARTIN CREATES A UNIQUE VANQUISH COLLECTION - Seven bespoke sports cars commissioned by collector - Carbon fibre-themed personalisation pushes manufacturing boundaries - Painstaking process to design, engineer and build the luxury models 1 June, 2015, Gaydon: The Q by Aston Martin bespoke personalisation service is celebrating the fulfilment of a longstanding ambition for sports car enthusiast and businessman Markus Storck. Dr Matthew Bennett, General Manager of VIP sales and Q by Aston Martin personalisation service, delivered the first of seven uniquely built Vanquish Coupes to the German collector at an event held at the luxury marque's headquarters in Gaydon. Mr Storck, founder and head of German hi-tech bicycle manufacturer Storck Bikes, commissioned the Q by Aston Martin team to develop the special 'One of Seven' Vanquish sports cars for himself, and six fellow sports car aficionados. Boasting a broad array of bespoke features including an exclusive exterior finish that sees multiple layers of carbon fibre cleverly interwoven to a perfectly smooth finish – a result that required Aston Martin to develop an entirely new addition to its manufacturing process – the seven Vanquish are sure to become collectors' items in years to come. Matthew Bennett said: "The process of creating these sports cars has been typical of what Q by Aston Martin can deliver.

Porsche wins the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans

The question going into this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans was whether or not the Porsche 919 Hybrid would be able to combine its qualifying pace with race reliability. After battling neck-and-neck with Audi's R18 for most of the race, the answer is a resounding yes. Not only did Porsche drivers climb the first two spots on the podium, they did so without any major mishaps on track. This win is the first overall trophy for Porsche since 1998. Audi previously won the last five races, and 13 of the last 15. Corvette also returned to the winner's circle, with the No. 64 C7.R taking winning the GTE Pro division. The victory is the first class win for Corvette since 2011. KCMG won the LMP2 class in ninth overall. With 45 minutes to go the No. 98 Aston Martin crashed out of first place in GTE Amateur, giving the class win to SMP Racing's Ferrari and second place to the Patrick Dempsey Racing Porsche 911 RSR. For the full list of official results, click here. The GTE Pro class proved to be just as exciting as the P1 class, with a four-way battle for first after four hours into the race. For most of the race, the battle at the top went back and forth between the two German manufacturers. An tire puncture in the No. 7 Audi gave up the lead to Porsche, and moments later a crash forced the No. 8 into the garage. But a three-minute replacement of the front and rear bodywork kept the Audi in contention. As the race wore into the night, Porsche maintained a slightly faster pace than Audi. Nick Tandy took the lead on Lap 253 early Sunday morning, and car No. 19 never gave up the top position. The win is the first for all three drivers of the No. 19 – Nico Hulkenberg, Earl Bamber, and Nick Tandy. A lap behind in second was the No. 17 Porsche. The Audis fought reliability problems late in the race but still finished third with the No. 7 R18. The GTE Pro class proved to be just as exciting as the P1 class, with a four-way battle for first after four hours into the race. As the Aston Martin cars dropped away, the lone Corvette Racing entry took over, followed by a charging AF Corse team Ferrari 458 Italia. The Corvette and Ferrari continued to trade places in the final hours until gearbox trouble forced the No. 51 Ferrari out of contention. It was eventually passed by the other AF Corse car, No. 71. Nissan experienced all the pain of a first-year effort with its front-wheel-drive GT-R LM Nismo.