Vanquish on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Movie Review: Spectre

I had only been sitting for two minutes in the screening of the twenty-fourth installment of the James Bond franchise, Spectre, before I met a fanatic. Sporting a James Bond 40th Anniversary Omega Seamaster ("number 007 of only 1007 made", he told me, beaming with pride), he boasted of his travels to the Furka Pass in Switzerland, to visit the location of the Goldfinger car chase, and of his Silver Birch Aston Martin DB5, the same car Sean Connery piloted around those treacherous roads just over fifty years ago. He bought it a while back for $125,000, and foolishly sold it a few years later for $160,000 (a mint 1965 DB5 will easily fetch over $1 million at auction today). The discussion of his Aston Martins continued, including his current Vantage and DB9, until the theatre started to fill up and the lights went down. This kind of automobile and movie culture is unique to Bond. 007 may have his signature drink, "shaken, not stirred," but just as famous are his cars, which, for a great number of films, are Aston Martins. This started fifty years ago, in the aforementioned Connery flick, Goldfinger, and the tradition has continued in Spectre, with a bespoke two-door coupe fittingly tagged the DB10. This latest Bond car is more concept than production. Built around the current V8 Vantage VH platform, the DB10's handsome styling is a look into the future for the British manufacturer. Perhaps outshining Bond's chariot are the cars of the villainous organization after which the movie is named, a highlight being the beautiful the Jaguar C-X75, driven by the eye-gouging villain, Hinx (Dave Bautista). The Jag is introduced when Bond infiltrates a Spectre meeting. His attendance doesn't go unnoticed, leading to a C-X75 vs DB10 race around Rome's midnight streets. Those who are going to see Spectre for the great car cinematography, prepare to be disappointed. The scene ends early on when – spoiler alert – 007 dumps the DB10 in the bottom of a river. Spectre is the longest of the 24-film canon, and due to an overstuffed second act, it feels like it. The first hour is fantastic, revealing enough of Bond's backstory to get the audience hooked, but somewhere in the second act we lose our way, torn between two predictable story lines.

Aston Martin has another mid-engine supercar in mind

It seems Aston Martin is really gaining some valuable knowhow from Chief Technical Officer Max Szwaj, who has moved in from Ferrari. Having worked on mid-engine Ferraris for years, Szwaj is now focusing on mid-engine Aston Martins, such as the upcoming Valkyrie. The limited-edition car, its name revealed at Geneva, is co-developed with Red Bull. But it likely won't be the only mid-engine future Aston. Talking to Autocar in Geneva, Aston's CEO Andy Palmer said the Valkyrie is "important in establishing Aston as a credible maker of mid-engined models." The Valkyrie is the first since the one-off Bulldog prototype built in 1979. It could spawn a mid-engine companion in 2021, a rival to the Ferrari 488 GTB and McLaren 720S, and would possibly receive valuable engineering input from Red Bull's Adrian Newey, a famed F1 engineering legend. The Valkyrie would remain a limited-production halo car, as only 175 will be built and each will cost $3 million – but it seems lessons learned from it would be used to craft a significant mid-engine supercar. What is especially remarkable about the Valkyrie is that its development has been completely virtual up until now, and the first prototype cars will commence road testing later in the year.Related video:

Tesla layoffs, new safety mandates, and a bumper crop of V12s! | Autoblog Podcast #830

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Byron Hurd for a gasoline-powered installment. They lead off by diving into the Tesla layoff news from this week before leaving electrification behind for a bit to talk about not one, but two production V12 unveilings. This isn't a drill, folks; Aston Martin and Ferrari are both committed. After that, they touch on the U.S. government announcement that it would mandate automatic emergency braking systems starting in 2029. They finish up the news segment with a chat about Fisker. Poor, poor Fisker. From there, it's on to the road tests. The Autoblog team has been testing out some EVs and both Byron and Greg had some thoughts to share, plus we get a final update from Byron on the long-term Subaru WRX and some notes from both drivers about the updated Range Rover Evoque.  Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #830 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown News Axing Tesla's Supercharger department raises worries as other automakers join network Fisker tells its staff that four companies are interested in buying it Ferrari confirms the 812 Superfast's successor will keep the V12 alive Aston Martin isn't done with V12s, it redesigns the engine U.S. to require automatic emergency braking on new vehicles What we've been driving 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 6 2021 Tesla Model Y 2024 Range Rover Evoque Long-term Subaru WRX Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: Government/Legal Green Podcasts Aston Martin Ferrari Hyundai Land Rover Subaru Tesla Convertible Coupe Crossover SUV Electric Performance Sedan