Aston Martin

2012 Aston Martin Virage Volante

Aston Martin has unveiled new sport sedan combines outright sports car performance with luxury, comfort, refinement and open-top experience, named the 2012 Aston Martin Virage Volante and also look Beautiful, dynamic and prestigious. The new 2012 Virage volante will be built in the same production facility as the DBS and DB9 and will be Aston Martin’s tenth major new model to go into production at the UK site since Gaydon was opened.

“The new Virage moves Aston Martin’s design language evolution into a new contemporary phase. We have sculpted a new face which sharpens and refines the Virage whilst still being instantly recognizable as a pure Aston Martin sports car. The whole car looks as if it was precision machined from a single billet of aluminum emphasizing the attention to detail and exquisite surface language. At Aston Martin we pride ourselves on beautifully honed surfaces created by skilled craftsmen.” said Marek Reichman, Design Director at Aston Martin Read more…

2011 Aston Martin Cars

Aston Martin DB9 Volante

This car was first introduced in 2003. Comes with the 470 bhp V12 coupled to a 6-speed manual or Touchtronic auto transmission. Styling changes are subtle but include a new front bumper with reshaped lower intake, and recontoured side sills. The Adaptive Damping System (ADS) is similar to that already found on the DBS and Rapide. A button on the center console allows the driver to switch damping modes for the desired ride/handling balance.

Aston Martin DBS Volante

Although the DBS has the same V-12 DB9, it manages to pump out 40 more horse-power that, coupled with its slightly lower weight, delivers more scintillating performance. Designed from the start as a convertible, the DBS has a stiff chassis structure even when the Volante’s top is down. The Coupe has only two seats but the Volante is a 2+2, so kids or small adults can also enjoy the ride.

Aston Martin One-77

This is a real supercar that pushes that iconic British marque up into that rarified segment where cars cost over one million greenbacks. A lucky 77 people will be able to buy this extremely limited-edition car that costs a mere 1.2 million poundsterling. It’s powered by a front mid-mounted 7.3-liter naturally aspirated V-12 that pumps out over 700 bhp, giving the car a top speed of over 200 mph. The car’s lightweight body structure i made from handmade from aluminum with skilled craftsmen using traditional tools, such as an English Wheel.

Aston Martin Rapide

Aston Martin produced a stylish 4-door sports car called Rapide it was based off the DB4 and sold under the Lagonda name. This time it sticks with the Aston Martin badge and is essentially a DB9 with one foot added to its length, giving enough leg room for two adults in the rear. The Rapide is powered by 5.9-liter V-12, the interior is even more luxurious than the DB9’s with a choice of eight different types of wood veneer.

Aston Martin Vantage

The V12 Vantage is available in U.S with the same 510-bhp V-12 engine found in the DBS. The V-12 Vantage is only available as a coupe and there is no automatic transmission option. The soft-top V8 Vantage goes by the Roadster name instead of Volante. Also new this year is the V8 Vantage N420, which is a limited-edition motorsport-inspired model inspired by the successes Aston Martin has enjoyed with road-going cars at the famous 24 hours of Nurburgring.

2012 Aston Martin Virage

Few automakers sell sexy as well as Aston Martin.

Others may try, but competition demands they back up their stellar good looks with performance – oh, the burden. Take Ferrari and Lamborghini, the two Italians, as an example. Their sensual bodywork drops jaws at one hundred yards, but they also have to shoehorn in uber-powerful engines or else consumers will cry foul.Audi is another example. The German’s luscious R8 was just that, but needed a V10 to truly stand proud. It seems that consumers simply won’t tolerate sleek bodywork unless there’s performance to substantiate it.

Yet, for some inexplicable reason, Aston Martin seems to have escaped the wrath. None of its models offer the most powerful engine in their class, or the best performance. We don’t need to tell you that Astons aren’t the best at anything. Well, except looking, smelling and feeling damn sexy.

Times are changing. Customers are demanding more substance behind the style, more bang for their buck and innovative, modern technology. Seeming to acknowledge that life is much more than a beauty contest, Aston Martin has introduced the all-new Virage Coupe and Virage Volante. Read more…

2011 Aston Martin V8 Vantage S

Nestled in a secluded valley in the south of Spain is the Ascari Race Resort. Celebrated as one of the world’s most beautiful tracks, the private 3.2-mile ribbon of perfectly smooth blacktop challenges drivers with 26 corners, 10-degree climbs and 18-degree banks as it weaves through the mature oak trees that dot the landscape. Named after Alberto Ascari, the first double world Formula 1 champion, the well-manicured decade-old venue is the type of circuit enthusiasts fantasize about.

Our private shuttle takes us through the manned guard gate towards the main clubhouse. As we round the corner, and head down the shallow hill, the sun reflects off something in the distance. Parked in the paddock are a dozen glistening sports cars – some coupes, some roadsters – each still dripping wet from the overnight shower that leaves the air fresh and crisp. The vehicles, the latest offering from Aston Martin, are the enthusiast-targeted Vantage S Coupe and Roadster. Read more…

Aston Martin V8 Vantage S at 2011 Geneva Auto Show

Aston Martin has a special edition, the V8 Vantage S be officially unveiled in early March at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show trotted. Available as a coupe or convertible, the V8 Vantage S are priced from just over $ 160,000, starting with the first European deliveries in March.

The new model every attribute of the V8 Vantage embodies and pushes the driver from experience what we have offered before, “says Aston Martin CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez.

Aston has massaged deliver the 4.7-liter V8 with 430 horsepower and 361 pounds-feet of torque. The company also has a new Sport Shift II seven-speed automated manual transmission with shift paddles. The transmission offers 20 percent faster than the shift six-speed Sport Shift. Top speed is projected at 190 mph.

The V8 Vantage S was tweaked inside and out. The car is quicker steering ratio 15:01, with a larger diameter brake discs with six piston calipers, new rear springs and dampers and larger wheels with bespoke Bridgestone rubber.
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Aston Martin releases details on 2012 Virage Coupe and Volante

Aston Martin has taken the wraps of its new Virage Coupe and Virage Volante. Both models are based on the automaker’s VH architecture – so they’re “all-new”… kinda – and are meant to slot in between the DB9 and the DBS in the lineup. The bonded aluminum chassis, with aluminum, magnesium and composite body panels, receives the familiar 6.0-liter V12 rated at 490 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque. The standard transmission (a rear transaxle) is a six-speed automatic “Touchtronic 2″ gearbox, helping to deliver a 0-60 time of about 4.5 seconds and maxing out at a top speed of 186 miles per hour.

The suspension is double-wishbone on all four corners, with Aston Martin’s Adaptive Damping System (ADS) with Sport mode as standard equipment. Wheels are 20-inch alloys, mounted over carbon ceramic disc brakes at all four corners (six-piston calipers up front, four-piston units in the rear), with Pirelli P Zero tires standard. Read more…

Heart of Darkness: Aston Martin introduces limited-edition Carbon Black DBS and Vantage

Aston Martin will begin delivery in March of two new special edition models. The Aston Martin DBS Carbon Black and the Aston Martin V12 Vantage Carbon Black will come with special coloring, lighter weight, and more.

Each vehicle will be hand painted in Carbon Black metallic, with Obsidian Black leather and silver stitching used on the interior. Carbon fiber and Kevlar seats shave 17 kilograms off the overall weight. Piano black trim is also featured on each car.

V12 Vantage purchasers will also get a carbon fiber side strake, black mesh, and 10-spoke alloys in gloss black. They also get a 700-watt audio system, which they can test out during the Performance Driving Course track day.

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Aston Martin updates the V8 Vantage for 2010

Aston Martin is preparing to launch an updated Aston Martin V8 Vantage range for 2010. The beady-eyed spies at CAR UK caught a suspicious-looking blue model badged as a V8 but dressed in part like the V12 running around near the company’s Gaydon, Warwickshire headquarters.

It turns out it was a 2010 MY test unit. Changes made include a magnum silver bonnet, new optional 10-spoke forged 19-inch alloy wheels with diamond turned and silver finish, and clear rear lights. The interior can be specified with new optional lightweight seats with kevlar and carbon fibre construction. Weight savings from these amount to 17kg (37 lbs). There is also an optional 1,000W B&O hi-fi system to suit every musical taste.

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Review: 2010 Aston Martin Rapide is a modern day Femme Fatale

Do you like noir? No, not the perfume, the literary and film genre. You know, hard-boiled crooks, wise-cracking private eyes, Los Angeles under cover of night and blondes so blonde they’ll kill you dead. Those blondes are, of course, are better known as femme fatales, and in truth, the color of their hair doesn’t really matter. Think Theda Bera, Rita Hayworth, Mary Astor, Barbara Stanwyck and Marlene Dietrich. And let’s not forget the lovely Lana Turner – she’s the one, in a case of life imitating art, with the daughter that killed Mickey Cohen’s strongman/goon Johnny Stompanato. In other words, women so pretty you’d throw your life away just so they know you’re throwing your life away.

Here’s the free, online-encyclopedia definition of femme fatale in case you’re still wondering: “An alluring and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous and deadly situations.”

Let’s state up front that the 2010 Aston Martin Rapide is not, to our knowledge, unsafe in any way, shape or form. But man, oh man, is it seductive enough to make us overlook every single bad thing about it. That, or walk into an uncovered manhole cover while staring at it. Anyhow, “irresistible desire” and “compromising situations” are this British superstar’s raison d’etre. Philip Marlowe would eat his fedora just for a ride. Thankfully, we had to perform no such theatrics: Aston Martin simply let us borrow their car.

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First Drive: 2011 Aston Martin V12 Vantage

There’s an irony in the fact that when the Aston Martin V12 Vantage was launched last year, it was barred from sale in the USA. The irony being that with this car, Aston was following a time-honored American concept. Take your most compact bodyshell, and ram under the hood your most beef-fed, honkin’ engine. It’s called the musclecar. Of course, Aston’s interpretation of the musclecar theme is rather more suave, sophisticated and aristocratic than, say, a ’70 Chevy Chevelle SS454, but the thinking behind it ain’t so very far removed.

So why didn’t it come here? Because as originally engineered for the rest of the world, the front end of the car was so densely packed with engine that there wasn’t the space for the structures needed to meet US crash regulations. At the required barrier impact speed, the dummy’s chest recorded a borderline deceleration figure.

But customers worldwide were meanwhile chomping to get at the car, so the engineers got to thinking. Analysis of the computer models and turned up a location where some extra aluminum longitudinal members could be installed to change the load path and soften the deceleration. It tested well, and this car is the result. The extra weight is insignificant. And the performance, handling and styling are unaffected by the crash mods.

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