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Last original Aston Martin DBS found in barn headed to auction

There's still big money in auctioning off barn finds. For example, the relatively tattered 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider from the Baillon Collection is now the highest priced 250 GT ever after its recent sale for $18.5 million. UK auction house Coys is hoping to hit a similar goldmine with its upcoming offer of the final, original Aston Martin DBS ever made. This dinged and rusty 1972 DBS in a shade called Dubonnet Rosso rolled off the assembly line as the last of its type in September 1972. These models were meant for the Aston driver looking for a slightly larger GT car, and they sported a 4.0-liter inline-six. This one also has an automatic transmission and 40,000 miles indicated on the odometer. Unfortunately, it has been sitting in a barn in Surrey, England, since 1980. As is plainly obvious, this Aston Martin is far from perfect with busted windows and missing trim pieces. Stuffing straw in the open portions of it is probably taking the ratty look a bit too far, though. Still, the auction house estimates the final DBS to sell for between 25,000 and 40,000 pounds ($38,000-$61,500) when it crosses the block at the Royal Horticultural Society on March 10. A practically perfect 1970 example once driven by Roger Moore fetched the equivalent of $900,000 in 2014. THE ULTIMATE BARN FIND 02/03/15 from COYS The last original Aston Martin DBS to come off the production line has been found in a barn in Surrey and will be auctioned by international auctioneers COYS in London on March 10th. The car was discovered by Chris Routledge, the Managing Partner of the auction house, and is one of the features of COYS 'Spring Classics' auction at the Royal Horticultural Society. Aston Martin Mayfair is hosting the barn find car for a week before the event takes place. Chris Routledge said: "This is the ultimate barn find and an important part of Aston Martin's history. It has been sitting in a barn since 1980 and now needs to be brought back to its former glory." He added: "The windows are broken, the interior trim is missing and its rusty, but it's all there and there has been huge interest from collectors around the world.

A high-performance Aston Martin DB11 is on the way

It was only a matter of time before Aston Martin prepped a hotter version of its DB11. The British Automaker did the same for the DB9 with the DBS, as well as the Vanquish, Rapide, and Vantage so a performance model Aston is as predictable as an AMG anything from Mercedes-Benz. And from the looks of it, this extra-potent DB11, which we'll call DB11 S, will follow the same formula of more power, and aggressive exterior upgrades. Most noticeable is the mega-sized maw at the front. There's a bit of white-painted mesh to break up the front grille, but it's still clear that the opening has expanded all the way down to the front spoiler. That spoiler has been changed as well, featuring points on each side instead of one big arch. Moving around to the side, the slender vent that extends from the wheel arch on the standard DB11 has been exchanged for something larger. It's shaped very differently as well, looking a bit like a shark's tooth or a Star Fleet badge from Star Trek. At the back is another significant change. The rear bumper now features a clearly functional diffuser for improved aerodynamics. Vents appear around the exhaust tips, too. However, the ducktail spoiler appears unchanged, as does the rest of the rear. There are a couple of interesting details inside as well. This prototype is fitted with Recaro race seats, which are pretty neat, but will likely be replaced with cushier, leather-wrapped seats developed by Aston. Just behind the seats is something even more fascinating. This DB11S has a roll cage. It's hard to say if this is just a one-off for the prototype, or if it will make it to production. Certainly other companies, such as Porsche, have offered roll cages in production cars. But in the case of Porsche, they've only been included on the most hardcore sports cars. However, we're not sure this Aston is the same type of track-focused car that Porsche's caged examples are. View 11 Photos As a bonus, we also have more photos of the upcoming DB11 Volante, due spring of next year. It's still sporting the '80s-grade shoulder pads to hide its haunches, but the rest of the car is pretty well exposed. Naturally, the little air scoop behind the rear quarter windows was lost with the switch to a soft top, but we expect everything under the fake steel panels will be very similar to the coupe, just like the rest of the car. Related Video:

Aston Martin may soon follow Ferrari with a London IPO

Aston Martin may soon be following Ferrari's lead, as Automotive News reports that people within the British automaker say it may soon consider an initial public offering. If it happens Aston Martin will likely list in London, not New York like Ferrari. While some in the industry were initially wary of Ferrari's move, the company is doing better than ever, with shares rising 62 percent since its IPO in 2015. An IPO could be a huge plus for Aston Martin. The company is looking to boost both sales and profit. Ferrari and Aston Martin sell similar vehicles at similar price points, but Ferrari has a much wider audience, even if most of those fans will never even sit inside one of its cars. That would likely be a big sticking point in estimating Aston Martin's value. It also moves half as many units as Ferrari per year. Aston Martin does have a new crossover on the horizon. Like Porsche, a crossover has the potential to more than double the automaker's sales. Even without it, fourth quarter profits in 2016 notably increased, fueled by solid sales of the new DB11. The IPO won't happen until sometime next year. The company wants to wait on a full 2017 earnings report. Related Video: News Source: Aston Martin Earnings/Financials Rumormill Aston Martin Ferrari stock