1982 Aston Martin Vantage on 2040-cars

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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.

UK car output falls 14% in March, may get worse with no-deal Brexit

LONDON — British car output fell for the 10th month in a row in March, hit by a slowdown in key foreign markets, and the sector stands to suffer a lot more if the country leaves the European Union without a deal, an industry body said on Tuesday. Output tumbled by an annual 14.4 percent to 126,195 cars in March, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said. Exports, which account for nearly four out of every five cars made in Britain, were down by 13.4 percent. The SMMT said analysis it had commissioned predicted output would fall this year to 1.36 million units from 1.52 million in 2018, assuming London can secure a transition deal with the EU. If Britain has to rely instead on World Trade Organization rules for its trade with the bloc, which include import tariffs, output is forecast to fall by around 30 percent to 1.07 million units in 2021, returning to mid-1980s levels, the SMMT said. The forecasts were produced for SMMT by AutoAnalysis, a consultancy. Prime Minister Theresa May has secured a delay to the Brexit deadline until Oct. 31, giving her more time to try to break an impasse in parliament over the terms of Britain's departure from the EU. Foreign minister Jeremy Hunt traveled to Japan earlier this month to try to persuade the Japanese government and Toyota, which has a big presence in Britain, that London was determined to avoid a no-deal Brexit. "Just a few years ago, industry was on track to produce 2 million cars by 2020 — a target now impossible with Britain's reputation as stable and attractive business environment undermined," SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said. "All parties must find a compromise urgently so we can set about repairing the damage and diverting energy and investment to the technological challenges that will define the future of the global industry." (Reporting by William Schomberg, editing by David Milliken)

Aston Martin plots more specific models for China, Middle East

Aston Martin is a thoroughly British automaker. Given its independence from any foreign automaker and its production that takes place entirely in the UK – particularly since Rapide assembly was moved back to Gaydon and the Toyota-based iQ was discontinued – you might argue that it's the most British automaker of them all. But like any other, it thrives on exports, and that only stands to increase with its latest announcement. With support from the British government, Aston Martin has revealed that it plans to develop new models specifically for export outside of the UK and continental Europe – especially for developing but wealthy markets in China and the Middle East. It wouldn't be the first time Aston would launch a new model targeted at a specific market, after all. When the company relaunched the Lagonda marque with the new Taraf luxury sedan late last year, it initially planned to make it available only in the Middle East. And by Middle East, we don't mean war-torn Yemen or Syria – we mean the oil-rich emirates of the Persian Gulf, like Bahrain, Qatar, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Popular demand later prompted Aston to switch tracks, however, expanding availability to Europe and other markets. At this point, Aston isn't saying just what it has in mind for these lucrative markets, but the possibilities seem limited only by what local buyers would be interested in ponying up for. We could easily see the company offering a long-wheelbase Taraf limousine for China, a partial convertible sedan (like the Maybach Landaulet) for the Emirates or that long-rumored crossover that would be sure to attract buyers from both markets. ASTON MARTIN SET TO EXPAND MODEL RANGE FOR EXPORT MARKETS UK Government confirms support for new projects 29 March 2015, Gaydon: Aston Martin today confirmed it will widen its product offering for markets outside of Europe. Based on a conditional offer of an exceptional regional growth fund from the UK Government, Aston Martin will commence work this year on new models intended to broaden its customer reach in export markets such as China and the Middle East. The UK Government has committed support of up to the value of GBP6.9 million, conditional on investments in new products from Aston Martin. Commenting on this news, Aston Martin CEO, Dr Andy Palmer said: "Expanding our product range to enable a greater reach into export markets is an essential part of our Second Century business plan.