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Watch $80M worth of Aston Martins tear around new factory

Earlier this month, Aston Martin took possession of the former Royal Air Force base in St. Athan in South Wales. The company will convert the space to new factory that will start producing new cars, including the future DBX crossover, in 2019. That date is quite a ways away, and in the meantime, Aston has a huge empty facility sitting around. So what better to do than take a bunch of Astons there and play with them? In the video above, two of Aston Martin's racing drivers and the company's chief engineer rollick around the massive hangars and open runways. And of course, only Aston's best are on hand for the trio to drive. You'll see vintage and modern racecars, and hypercar royalty such as the Vulcan and One-77, and Bond classics including the DB5 and DB10. The total value of the cars shown is over $80 million at current exchange rates. Although Aston's best is on display in this video, the company does also present arguably its worst product. The Toyota iQ-based Aston Martin Cygnet has a cameo. Clearly Aston has a sense of humor about the microcar to show it in this video. The scene involves the One-77 and Vulcan literally driving rings around it. Towards the end, we also get the briefest of teasers for the DBX crossover. The engineer and racecar drivers peak under the covers of three cars. The first two are the Valkyrie and DBX concepts. They just start to lift the cover on the third vehicle, only revealing some headlight details, when Aston's CEO arrives to inspect the facility. We don't see anything more of this car for the rest of the video. But seeing as the film ends with a teaser drawing of the DBX, and since it will be produced at St. Athan, it's safe to guess that third covered vehicle is the production, or near-production, DBX. Check it all out above. Related Video:

Aston Martin DB11 stuns in leaked official images

The Geneva Motor Show officially kicks off when the world's press descends on the Palexpo this Tuesday and Wednesday, but we'd entertain an argument for a Monday kickoff. That's when Volkswagen will host its enormous Group Night event (so check back tomorrow afternoon for all the latest). But lazy Sunday evenings? No, that's for watching The Walking Dead. And, you know, looking at leaked images of cars meant to debut on Tuesday or Wednesday. So if, like us, you're taking a break from walkers, check out the new Aston Martin DB11. In news that isn't really news, it's gorgeous. The images, published by Carscoops, show a car heavily inspired by the DB10 concept car from the latest James Bond movie, Spectre, but it's designed for the real world. Things like crash zones, headlight regulations, cargo space, and even an opening hood all take their toll on the style of 007's latest ride, but the resulting coupe is still a beauty. We can see elements of the One-77 hypercar, especially in the rear window, quarter window, and haunches. But the roof and its silver arches, are all DBX Concept. Up front, there's much more in common with the DB10. The grille and headlights are unsurprisingly larger, with the former likely dictated by the need to cool the 5.2-liter, twin-turbocharged V12 and the later due to your basic headlight size requirements. And the wheels? Those are more or less plucked right from the Bond car. Look for the entire array of official images and details, including live shots from Geneva, later this week. Until then, have a look at the leaked shots from Carscoops. Related Video:

Autoblog Podcast #402

Episode #402 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, and Brandon Turkus talk about the Audi A3 TDI Challenge and luxury car features we not-so-secretly love. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #402: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics: Audi A3 TDI road trip Luxury features we're sort of ashamed we love In The Autoblog Garage: 2014 Land Rover LR4 2015 Aston Martin Vanquish 2015 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack Hosts: Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, Brandon Turkus Runtime: 01:17:40 Rundown: Intro & Garage - 00:00 Audi A3 TDI Challenge - 42:51 Luxury Features We Love - 01:00:05 Q&A - 01:09:17 Get the podcast: [UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream [iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes [RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Feedback: Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Podcasts Aston Martin Audi Dodge Land Rover Diesel Vehicles Luxury Performance aston martin vanquish