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Mercedes will still provide V8 engines to Aston Martin

News of Mercedes suspending sales of the vast majority of its V8-powered cars for the 2022 model year hit the presses about a week ago. However, what wasn’t explained then was the fate of Aston Martins with Mercedes-AMG V8 engines. Many Aston Martin products are powered by AMGÂ’s 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine (the M 177 version affecting AMG products), and itÂ’s one of the motors that we reportedly wonÂ’t see in Mercedes-AMG products next year. Since AMG is struggling to fit its cars with its own engine, that brings into question Aston MartinÂ’s supply of V8s. Car and Driver got some answers from Aston, though, and the situation in the UK doesnÂ’t appear anywhere near as dire as in Germany. “Aston Martin confirms that its supply of V8 engines from Aston Martin AG is not affected," an Aston Martin spokesperson told Car and Driver. So there you have it. AstonÂ’s AMG V8-powered vehicles — Vantage, DB11 and DBX — will supposedly carry on sales without interruption. ThatÂ’s great news for Aston Martin and any uber-wealthy folks who intend to buy one.  At the same time, Mercedes isn't completely out of the V8 game for 2022. In fact, it's still selling cars that directly compete with Aston Martin: AMG GT Coupe and Roadster. Those Mercedes products use the M 178 version of the AMG V8 and are reportedly unaffected by supply issues. ThereÂ’s probably even more to this story as time passes, too. Mercedes has yet to officially acknowledge the stoppage of V8s — we reached out for comment when we published our initial story, but havenÂ’t heard confirmation back yet. When we do, weÂ’ll make sure to update you on whatÂ’s going on. Related video:

The Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Volante is a beautiful mouthful

Aston Martin makes some of the most beautiful sportscars in the world. There are few bad looking Astons and most attempts to modify or change the cars' characters usually ends terribly. Zagato, the Milan-based coachbuilder, is one of the few companies that seems to get it right. Last year, the company debuted its Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato coupe and Vanquish Zagato Volante convertible. These new spy shots show the production car in action. As the name suggests, the Vanquish Zagato Volante is simply a Aston Martin Vanquish Volante restyled by Zagato. That means a 5.9-liter V12 sending 592 horsepower to the rear wheels. Expect a 0-60 mph time of 3.7 seconds. That's nearly as quick as the new Aston Martin DB11. The Vanquish Zagato Volante keeps the standard car's long-hood short-deck proportions, but most of the bodywork has been redone. The grille keeps the standard Aston Martin outline, but it grows in size and bubbles out just slightly. Round LED lights sit at the corners of the Z-emblazoned grille. Around the side, we can see the gold-accented wheels and fender. There is a deep cut for airflow just behind the rear wheel. The shape mimics that of the standard car, but changes it just enough to make it special. A carbon-fiber lip runs around the bottom of the entire car. Out back, the wing-shaped taillights have been replaced with round units that use bladelike LEDs. The quad exhaust tips remain in place, but they appear to sit slightly higher than on the standard car. The small rear wing raises and lowers at speed for increased downforce. Just 99 of these Vanquish Zagato Volantes will be built. Most are likely spoken for, going to owners of the coupe version of the car. After all, if you have one, you might as well have the set. Related Video: Featured Gallery Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Volante View 12 Photos Image Credit: CarPix Design/Style Spy Photos Aston Martin Convertible Luxury Performance aston martin vanquish aston martin vanquish volante aston martin vanquish zagato

You can buy James Bond's Spectre Aston Martin DB10

If you watched Daniel Craig sliding around Rome in Spectre and wished you could drive the Aston Martin DB10 too, an upcoming Christie's auction will be your best chance to own one. The company will sell the first of these rare cars to the public on February 18 in London, but you'll probably need a martini – shaken, not stirred – after signing the check because the coupe will likely go for over 1 million pounds ($1.4 million at current rates). The proceeds will benefit Medecins Sans Frontieres. Aston Martin designed the DB10 specifically for Bond and built 10 of them for Spectre. Underneath the carbon-fiber body, the British automaker based them on the V8 Vantage, including its 4.7-liter V8 and six-speed manual gearbox. The movie's production modified most of the DB10s for filming, but it left two untouched, including this one. Daniel Craig also signed the car. The chance to share a vehicle with James Bond sounds incredibly tempting, but you might have a hard time taking the DB10 out for a drive because Aston Martin doesn't have homologation for the car or certification for it to be on public roads. However, you could still enjoy pretending to be a secret agent around a track or another piece of private tarmac. UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO OWN AN ASTON MARTIN DB10 PREDICTED TO RAISE OVER GBP1 MILLION FOR CHARITY The only DB10 to date to be made available for private ownership Opportunity to own a piece of automotive history To be auctioned on February 18th to raise money for Medecins Sans Frontieres 21 January, 2016, Gaydon: The Aston Martin DB10 – the first car created exclusively for James Bond by British luxury brand Aston Martin – is to go under the auctioneer's gavel at the London auction house of Christie's on 18th February with proceeds donated to Medecins Sans Frontieres. 'Spectre – The Auction' celebrates the release of the 24th Bond film on Digital HD, Blu-ray™ and DVD with 24 special auction lots going under the hammer for charity, led by the Aston Martin DB10. Celebrating the great British brand's half century with Bond, which started with the iconic DB5, the DB10 gives a glimpse of the future design direction for the next generation of Aston Martins. Production of the DB10 was strictly limited to ten examples of the bespoke sports car which was developed and hand-built by the designers, engineers and artisan craftspeople at Aston Martin's Gaydon headquarters in the UK for the latest Bond film, Spectre.