Auto blog

Aston Martin Vanquish Carbon Edition is back in black [w/video]

Earlier this year, I spent the weekend with an Aston Martin Vanquish Volante in a particularly interesting shade of green – the same car you see photographed here, for our First Drive. When it was dropped off, I remember just staring at it, taking in all of its lines, the curves, its pronounced hips – all the details. To say the Vanquish is a gorgeous car is a vast understatement. And here at the Paris Motor Show, the already classy range-topping Aston coupe dons an even more gorgeous appearance in the form of the Carbon Edition. Aston Martin has already given similar treatments to its Vantage, DB9 and DBS (the Vanquish's predecessor), and the svelte look can be had on either the coupe or convertible models, available in black or white. The car gets black window surrounds, darker headlight trim, gloss black alloy wheels and a stylish herringbone carbon fiber trim in the cabin to go with the quilted leather upholstery. One thing that's left unchanged with the Carbon Edition is the massive, old-school powerplant underhood: Aston's 6.0-liter naturally aspirated V12 with 568 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque. Hitting 60 miles per hour takes just 3.6 seconds, on its way to a top speed of just over 200 mph. Have a look at the Carbon Aston in our live gallery above, and click below for a short video showing the sleek new Vanquish.

Aston teases a topless DB11 before official Spring launch

Aston Martin has a lot riding on the new DB11. Aston Martin's CEO Andy Palmer called the vehicle the most important car the automaker launched in recent history, and on our first drive we said the new coupe is a great first step into the automaker's second century. So it shouldn't come as a surprise to hear that the automaker is working on a Volante variant of the DB11. The automaker teased the upcoming 2018 Aston Martin DB11 Volante with three images on its Facebook page. The lightly-disguised DB11 Volante reveals the upcoming roadster will feature a folding soft-top roof, with the writing on the door indicating that the vehicle will come out in the Spring of 2018. The three images only show the upcoming Volante's rear end, which is just as good looking as the coupe's. The front end should also mimic the regular DB11's, but the fact that Aston Martin didn't release any images of the Volante's front fascia has us thinking that it could be slightly different than the coupe's. Power for the DB11 Volante is expected to come from the automaker's all-new 5.2-liter twin-turbo V12 that generates 600 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. While the coupe is able to hit a top speed of 200 mph and can get to 62 mph in 3.9 seconds, the Volante will be a little slower to 62 mph and will have a lower top speed, as well. Having a roofless DB11 will also cost more than the coupe's base price of roughly $212,000. With the DB11 Volante set to be revealed in the early months of 2018, we expect to see a lot more of the roadster in the upcoming months. Related Video:

Aston Martin previews new 5.2-liter twin-turbo V12

Depicted in the teaser video above is Aston Martin's new 5.2-liter twin-turbocharged V12. Beyond those basic specifications, Aston isn't saying much about this new engine or what it will power, but it does promise that the new engine will debut sometime this year. The bulk of Aston Martin's current lineup – basically everything but the V8 Vantage – is powered by a 6.0-liter V12 that dates back to the DB7 Vantage that debuted in 1999. Only where that model produced 420 horsepower, the latest version in the Vantage GT12 produces nearly 600 hp. Which just goes to show how much Aston has been able to do with the aging engine, but everything has its limits, and all good things must come to an end. While the switch to forced induction may mean a less revvy engine, it ought to deliver more torque (as well as lower emissions and fuel consumption). Aston has a new partnership with Mercedes-AMG that is slated to supply the British automaker with a twin-turbo V8. But the German outfit has considerable expertise with twin-turbo V12s as well. The production facility that recently relocated from Affalterbach to Mannheim produces the 6.0-liter twin-turbo V12 that motivates Mercedes' own SL65 roadster, G65 sport-ute, and S65 sedan, coupe, and cabrio, as well as the version for the Pagani Huayra.