Aston Martin
As we’ve written before, you don’t drive cars, you wear them. To the male of the species, a set of wheels is largely a reflection of who they are. Customizing one’s wheels is accordingly a highly personal pursuit – some go for show, some go for go, and some go to extraordinary lengths to show how uncompromisingly “top shelf” they are. Appropriately-named London-based Alchemist now numbers amongst its customization techniques a process which coats the roof of your car in 24-carat gold. “Gold-leafing vehicles isn’t a new luxury, said company spokesperson Jacques Blanc. “The Egyptians mastered the technique more than 3000 years ago and Tutankhamun’s chariot was decorated with gold leaves. We are simply continuing this ancient and opulent tradition.” Read More
August 10, 2008 The first image of a delectable new supercar has emerged from Aston Martin. Though details of the new One-77 are scarce, it is already undoubtedly the ultimate vehicle yet to emerge from the esteemed and thoroughly British marque. All that’s known for certain is that it has a carbon fibre chassis, a hand-built (err, sorry … hand-crafted) aluminium body, and is powered by a seven litre V12 motor. Read More
March 31, 2008 Aston Martin Racing has revealed the first official pictures of the Vantage GT2. Based on the V8 engined Aston Martin Vantage and designed to run on both standard and E85 bio-ethanol fuel, the new race car will make its debut at the Le Mans Series at Barcelona on 5 April 2008. The addition of the Vantage GT2 gives Aston Martin Racing a full complement of cars covering each of the four categories in the FIA GT Championship: GT1 – DBR9; GT2 – Vantage GT2; GT3 – DBRS9; GT4 – Vantage N24. See the gallery for more pics. Read More
If you’ve ever lusted after a Mercedes 300 SLR, Jaguar XK 120 C or Aston Martin DB3S, no doubt your enthusiasm waned when you checked out the cost. The XK 120 C (C-Type) sold new for US$6000, twice the price of an XK120. A genuine, healthy C-Type will now set you back more than a million, and the 1953 Le Mans winner would be valued in excess of US$4 million if it was for sale (it’s not). Replicas are available from a variety of sources but few come with the heritage of Proteus which has been producing all aluminum bodied sports cars for two decades. Under new management, the company is now in expansion mode and is seeking international distribution for its thoroughly authentic US$133,000 replica. Even better news is the plan to extend the range to include SS100, XKSS, and D-Type Jaguars, Aston Martin DB3S and Mercedes Benz 300SLR. Read More
Aston Martin Racing has released a sketch showing its first impressions of the new GT2 racing car. Based on the V8 engined Aston Martin Vantage road car and to be known as the Vantage GT2, the vehicle is designed to run on either standard race fuel or E85 bio-ethanol (where regulations allow), a conversion that was successfully completed for the DBRS9 in 2007. The new car also gives Aston Martin the mantle as the only manufacturer to offer cars in every GT racing category: GT1 – DBR9; GT2 – Vantage GT2; GT3 – DBRS9; GT4 – Vantage N24. Aston Martin chairman, David Richards, will be announcing Aston Martin Racing’s 2008 plans at the Autosport International show in Birmingham, UK, on Thursday 10 January at 10.45 am. Read More
December 13, 2007 The wraps have been lifted on Aston Martin’s 600bhp, V12 Vantage RS concept. Based the V8 Vantage coupe, the new Concept combines a low kerb weight of less than 1600kg with the formidable horses provided by the race-developed 6.0 litre V12 to give it a power-to-weight ratio of over 375bhp per ton. On the speedo this translates to 0-62mph (100km/h) in 4.0 seconds and 0-100mph (160km/h) in just 8.5 seconds, making it Aston Martin’s fastest accelerating road car to date. Read More
November 15, 2006 Aston Martin will unveil one of the most eagerly anticipated convertibles of the year when the V8 Vantage Roadster goes on show at the 2006 Los Angeles Auto Show on Wednesday 29th November. Aston Martin Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ulrich Bez said of the new car, “the V8 Vantage Roadster is a pure sports car, a car that heightens the senses and provides a dynamically thrilling driving experience. The Vantage Roadster adds to the unbeatable thrill of open air motoring and by combining engineering excellence, technological innovation and physical perfection, will ensure every journey is one to remember.” Read More
May 7, 2006 When the James Bond adventure Casino Royale is released in November, it will be the 21st big screen adaptation of Ian Fleming’s spy franchise and ironically a reprise of the first Bond screen adaptation – a made-for-television one hour CBS one hour screenplay made in 1954, almost a decade before Sean Connery took the role to the world in what became the longest-running film series in history. Connery has been succeeded in the 007 role by numerous actors with all but Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan struggling to match Connery’s presence. This year a new 007 will take on the world, when Daniel Craig stars as James Bond. One of the constants in the Bond movie equation has been cars and gadgets. In 2002 we wrote about 40 years of James Bond Gadgets and we’ve written before about the famous Aston Martin DB5 (top right with Connery) (with ejector seat, machine guns and revolving number plates) which starred in the films Thunderball and Goldfinger and became the most famous automobile in the world during the swinging sixties. Aston Martin is hoping to capture the magic of one the most successful product placement deals in history once more by taking the unprecedented step of debuting a new automobile in a film – in true Bond tradition, full details of the Aston Martin DBS are top secret but the images of what it looks like have been released. The success of the DB5 helped popularise the practice of product placement and contributed to a series of high profile automotive film associations with Bond driving such machines as a Lotus Esprit, BMW Z3, 750iL and Z8 and Aston Martin DB7 and V8 Vantage. The last Bond film, ‘Die Another Day’, featured Aston Martin’s flagship model, the V12 Vanquish (bottom right with Brosnan). Read More
April 11, 2006 Marketing partnerships make sense, particularly if the brands complement each other. Which is why two of the world's most aspirational brands in Aston Martin and Nokia have collaborated to create the Nokia 8800. This exclusive iteration of the Nokia's flagship 8800 will be manufactured in strictly limited numbers, and features a discrete laser-etched 'Aston Martin' logo on the stainless steel casing. This is complemented by the words so synonymous with Aston Martin, 'Power, Beauty & Soul’, etched into the Nokia 8800's unique stand-alone charging station, plus elegantly-designed packaging bearing the Aston Martin wings. Read More
March 3, 2005 Aston Martin has finally taken the wraps off the production V8 Vantage at the 2005 Geneva International Motor Show. First shown as a concept at the 2003 NAIAS in Detroit, the V8 Vantage will be built at Aston Martin’s Headquarters at Gaydon, Warwickshire, UK, and completes the current Aston Martin line-up. This now comprises the flagship Vanquish S, the elegant DB9 and the agile V8 Vantage. Read More
