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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 to cut 15 percent of workforce

Aston Martin has announced it will slash nearly 300 jobs, or about 15 percent of its total workforce, as part of a cost-cutting bid. The changes aren't going to come on the factory floor, though. Instead, according to the Unite trade union, the majority of firings will involve white collar employees – administrators, managers, and the like – at the company's headquarters in Gaydon, England, Bloomberg reports. In an emailed statement to the business outlet, Aston Martin said eligible employees will be offered early retirement options. While Aston said there'd only be 295 employees released, Unite put the number at no more than 314. "Collective consultation with employee representatives, including Unite, has begun and the company is working with them to minimize the risk of compulsory redundancies," the union told Bloomberg. Aston Martin added that this move will have no impact on the company's production figures, although it's unclear what it could mean for future vehicles, like the production DBX and upcoming DB11. Related Video:

Aston Martin hits the open water with Quintessence Yachts

We know, we know: life is tough. You drive your Aston Martin Vanquish Volante from your mansion to the yacht club, and then what? Just get on board any old yacht? Of course not. You're going to need an Aston Martin speedboat, and fortunately that's just what we have here. Born of a partnership among the British automaker, Dutch boatbuilder Quintessence Yachts, and the naval architects at Mulder Design, is the upcoming AM37. The speedboat, as you might have guessed, measures 37 feet long – which is a little more than two Rapides parked end to end (or nearly four Cygnets). Though there's only three images, we can already see the vessel's design takes cues from Aston's luxury GTs, particularly in the driving console. It looks a lot sleeker, at any rate, than the Voyage design we saw a few years ago, and at least as cool as the 20-foot speedboat Ian Callum designed to go with the Jaguar XF Sportbrake. Full technical details have yet to be released as well, but Quintessence says the vessel will feature a "hi-tech composite structure allied to luxury sports car-like handling, performance and comfort." It'll also incorporate voice control and touchscreen display for the navigation and multimedia system. The yacht will be offered in two versions: the AM37 with a top speed of around 50 knots (the maritime equivalent of 57 miles per hour) and the AM37 S that'll top out at 60 knots (nearly 70 mph). That's mighty fast on the open water, with no stop signs or traffic gridlock to slow you down. Just the waves on the open water. We don't know what will motivate the vessel to such speeds, but we're hoping for a marine version of Aston's signature 6.0-liter V12. Maybe even two of 'em. It wouldn't be unheard of, after all: Lamborghini has made boat engines, and a Ferrari-powered hydroplane set a longstanding record in the 1950s. Far more than the usual branded wristwatch or luggage, we're looking forward to seeing this one (quite literally) launch. Driven to succeed: Quintessence Yachts and Aston Martin • Exciting sports car firm association creates a series of unique powerboats • Stunning style, advanced technologies and exquisite craftsmanship • Highest standards of yacht design and construction 29 April 2015, Gaydon: Quintessence Yachts is today unveiling the first details of an exciting association with famous luxury British sports car maker Aston Martin which will result in the creation of a unique series of stunning new powerboats.