Aston Martin One-77: 750bhp

The Aston Martin One-77 will deliver 750bhpAston Martin has revealed that the naturally aspirated, 7.3 liter V12 engine in the Aston Martin One-77 will develop 750bhp & 553lb/ft of torque.You expect a lot when a car costs £1,150,000 plus tax. So the Aston Martin One-77 needs to be special. After all, at that price, you can have your pick of any current car. The best that Pagani has to offer is there on your shopping list and, although your £1.15 million may not quite stretch to a Bugatti Veyron Supersport, it’s damn close.

But when it comes to winning hearts, Aston Martin has a head start on this in the looks department. It is the most glorious of the crop of Hypercars the world’s car makers produce.

Yes, there is an elemental lust for the technical marvel that is the Veyron. You can feel the heart and soul of Horacio Pagani in every Zonda that hits the road, and the stealth fighter visage of the Lamborghini Reventon certainly stirred a few souls. But none look as good as the Aston Martin One-77.

Thankfully, the naturally aspirated 7.3 litre V12 engine in the One-77 also looks as if it will be not just be a beautiful creation, but a powerful one too. Aston Martin has revealed that the One-77 will develop 750bhp and 750Nm of torque (that’s 553lb/ft in old money), making it the most powerful naturally aspirated engine in production.

Aston are saying that deliveries of the One-77 aren’t going to start until the New Year, but our contacts tell us there will be cars reaching lucky customers before then.

Liberal Petrolhead. Oxymoron? Not any more

Vince Cable gets behind the wheel of an Aston Martin DBSDr Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, visited Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin yesterday. And it looks like he had a fine old time.With the Liberal / Conservative coalition now in charge we seem to have got a Government where a big chunk of the ministers are Liberals (is there a Liberal MP without a portfolio of some description?). Which I suppose is the price we pay for allowing the Conservatives to become Labour Lite instead of having real conviction politicians. Still, it throws up some interesting conflicts.

One of those conflicts is seeing staunch Liberals extolling virtues – and policies – they clearly don’t believe (it also works the other way round). So with a Liberal Business Minister in Vince Cable (who is at least a Government Minister with real-world business experience. A rare breed these days. In fact he may be the only one other than Philip Hammond) we were sure to see lots of ‘Environment’ issues to the fore, even if he did have to ‘promote’ policies to the right of his own views.

Which is exactly what we got in the press releases we’ve had in after Vince went out glad-handing our car industry yesterday. Or at least the posh bits in Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin. We heard all about the great work Jaguar is doing with the XJ Limo Green and the wonderful support they get from Government grants to push forward the boundaries of ‘Green Technology’. The usual claptrap.

Vince Cable - Eager to get behind the wheel of a Jaguar XKR

What caught our eye though was not the worthy prose in the press release but the photos Jaguar and Aston Martin sent us of the Minister and their motors. We got a photo of Vince grinning as he was let loose in a DBS Convertible and looking extremely eager to get behind the wheel of a more than warm XKR.

How nice to see a politician – especially a Liberal politician – showing his real feelings about wonderful cars instead of the normal ‘toe-the-line’, po-faced rhetoric about planet-wrecking extravagances.

Blimey, that’s two politicians in the current cabinet who aren’t ‘Stepford’ politicians. What’s going on?

Aston Martin Cygnet. It’s a real Aston Martin. Honest.

The Aston Martin Cygnet - the 'Vision' video belowAston Martin has released a video extolling their vision for a small, energy-efficient Aston Martin. The Aston Martin Cygnet.Let’s get this out of the way, just in case you don’t read here very often and don’t know. We’re big Aston Martin fans. We think that Aston Martin produce works of art that just happen to be hugely enjoyable to drive (with a few caveats – but that’s for another time).

Right, so now we’re clear that just about everything Aston Martin touches is brilliant, gorgeous and hugely desirable, we feel justified in asking the question – What on earth is going on with the Aston Martin Cygnet?

Yes, we all know that Aston Martin is a small company, struggling to meet ludicrous CO2 emissions levels set by ignorant and misguided governments looking for revenue. We know that without reducing their average emissions and upping their economy across the range Aston Martin are going to get hit with big penalties.

So why not just admit that the reason for taking the perfectly good city car that is the Toyota iQ, Aston Martin-ising it to within an inch of its life – and tripling the price of the donor car in the process – is all about satisfying ridiculous legislation?

Please, Aston, don’t pretend you’ve had this brilliant idea about helping urban-living Aston owners to get out and about in the city without breaking out the DBS. It’s a cute idea and might even have washed until we realised that – despite initial statements to the contrary - you were going to sell an Aston Martin Cygnet to anyone gullible enough to pay three times the price of an iQ for a posh badge, and not just as a ‘Tender’ for existing AM owners.

We thought Aston Martin realised that the world knew that the Cygnet was a reaction to penalties and legislation, not a Brave New World for AM. So why have they got the great and the good at Aston Martin to go on film extolling their ‘Vision’ for an ‘Urban Aston Martin’?

Aston Martin V8 Vantage N420 Roadster arrives

Aston Martin Vantage N420 RoadsterAston Martin has released photos of the Aston Martin Vantage N420 Roadster which will show at the Paris Motor Show.It was back in June that Aston Martin announced the Aston Martin V8 Vantage N420, which is the 4.7 Vantage version of the N400, but this time – as the 4.7 Vantage is quite brisk without fiddling – the Vantage N420 has to make do with the regular model’s 420bhp.

When we got the original detail on the Vantage N420 we only got photos of the N420 Coupe, even though Aston Martin made it clear that there would be a roadster too. And here it is in all its glorious Aston Martin Convertible carporn-ness. No, we’re not at all biased towards the aesthetics of Aston Martin. Perish the thought.

The Aston Martin V8 Vantage N420 Roadster gets put on a diet and weighs in at 27kg less than the regular Vantage Roadster thanks to liberal use of carbon fibre. It also gets a set of side strakes, a new rear diffuser, front splitter, wide sills and a set of 10-spoke alloys.

The suspension also gets a tweak, getting the Sports Pack as standard which includes revised dampers and anti-roll bars and a new exhaust. So fitted the N420 Roadster hustles to 60mph in 4.5 seconds, a couple of tenths quicker than the regular Roadster.

Inside the N420 Roadster gets contrast stitch upholstery, a choice of steering wheels and graphite instruments. And the Iridium package.

Looks like the N420 Roadster is ready to hit the roads any day soon at £96,995. But for now I think the pick is the N420 Coupe.

James Bond Aston Martin DB5 fetches £2.9 million

James Bond Aston martin DB5 - Sold for £2.9 millionThe James Bond Aston Martin DB5 – one of two DB5s supplied to EON – has fetched £2.9 million at R.M. Auctions London sale.Back in June we reported that R.M. Auctions were to sell the James Bond Aston Martin DB5 in London this month, the first time the Goldfinger and Thunderball car had been for sale since it was bought from Aston Martin in the 1960s by Jerry Lee, an American DJ/Presenter, who paid the princely sum of just $12,000 for the iconic car.

And so iconic is the car that RM expected the DB5 to fetch in the region of $5 million when it went under the hammer last night, but it ended up fetching just short of estimates at £2,912,000 ($4,608,500), which included a 12% buyers premium.

The new owner is American businessman Harry Yeaggy who said “This is a car that I’ve always wanted, after all it is the most famous car in the world. My plan is to display it in my private car museum in Ohio just as it is.” Just what we’d all do.

Former owner Jerry Lee plans to use the not inconsiderable proceeds from the sale of the Jerry Lee DB5 to fund the Jerry Lee Foundation and in particular the Jerry Lee Center of Criminology at the University of Pennsylvania and the Jerry Lee Centre of Experimental Criminology at the University of Cambridge. All very noble. All very eponymous.

RM has had a summer of fun with the DB5 and managed to eke out every ounce of publicity possible. As a result of the commercial tie-ups they conjured up to give the DB5 sale some column inches, the new owner gets to have a suit made by Gieves & Hawkes (bespoke tailors to Bond, don’t you know) with material woven with solid gold thread, and a seven night stay for ten guests at The Golden Eye Resort in Jamaica, Ian Fleming’s former home and where he wrote the Bond books.

As far as we know – and we may well be wrong – this car was in fact the car that EON used for publicity, rather than the car in the film. That hasn’t been heard of for more than forty years.

Wonder if it will now come out of the woodwork?

Aston Martin One-77 Nurburgring Spy

The Aston Martin One-77 gets a run at the Nurburgring - Video belowThe Aston Martin One-77 has been having a final shakedown at the Nurburgring before it reaches customers in the New Year. We have video.For real car lovers the ‘Eco’ push in recent years has left us a little perplexed. Perplexed and confused as we try to come to terms with the joys of a turbo diesel (and there are joys, much to my surprise) and the loss of big V10 and V12 engines in production cars.

Thankfully, there are still enough wealthy people in the world who don’t give a fig about the opinions of the eco-mentalists and who are inclined to buy the best that car makers can produce, regardless of eco-sensibilities. Which is why we can still glory in motoring delights like the Aston Martin One-77 even if its £1.2 million price tags is beyond the reach of most.

Sadly, the price tag of the One-77 means we have to fulfil our lusts for the glorious body and heavenly V12 of the One-77 vicariously through others, but that’s much better than losing such glories to the alter of eco-mentalism. So stand by to be green with envy as Aston Martin’s test drivers play with a pair of One-77s in and around the Nurburgring in the spy video below.

Regular readers will know we have a big soft spot for Aston Martin’s offerings, so you’ll hopefully forgive us when we say that the Aston Martin One-77 sounds better than any other V12 we can remember. Even a Ferrari V12.

Lagonda SUV gets green light

Aston Martin IS going to produce the Lagonda SUVIt seems that Aston Martin will, after all, be producing a big, Mercedes GL based Lagonda SUV.I know, the world’s gone mad. Well, perhaps not mad, but Aston Martin has certainly lost its way with the Lagonda name.

At the Geneva Motor Show last year (2009), Aston Martin brought along an enormous Lagonda SUV Concept which they said was the way forward for Lagonda. That was until the car world collectively threw up its arms in horror that such as distinguished badge could be attached to a monster SUV. And a monster SUV that was a Mercedes GL under the skin.

Once Aston Martin realised which way the wind was blowing they rapidly vacated the SUV Concept from their stand. Subsequently David Richards – he of Aston Martin and Prodrive – said that the Lagonda SUV Concept was just a way to gauge public opinion and that there would be a new concept later in 2009 that would be “…completely opposite to the one you saw in Geneva”. But that Concept never materialised.

Move on just a few weeks to April 2009 and we have Marcel Beci, Aston Martin’s Euro boss, stating publicly that Lagonda will NOT have an SUV/Crossover, however luxurious, in its lineup. Which is clear enough. Even if we now know he’s wrong.

Ulrich Bez – Aston’s CEO – said in a speech this week that the first Lagonda will be an SUV and that it will be ready to show off by the end of the year. Which makes a bit of a mockery of all that went before. But that’s car makers for you.

And we do see the logic. Particularly as the Lagonda will be aimed at emerging markets with their often less than brilliant infrastructure and roads. But why use the Lagonda name? We’re not sure how much the Lagonda name resonates in places like India and China, so why use it?

Why not use one of Aston’s other marques, such as Tickford? They could have a whole range of Aston Martin Tickford SUVs and leave the Lagonda badge for a halo super-saloon to take on the Bugatti Galibier.

Or is that too obvious?

Aston Martin Cygnet at Harrods

Aston Martin Cygnet in Harrods Brompton Road windowAston Martin is giving Knightsbridge shoppers the chance to see the Aston Martin Cygnet. The AM Cygnet is in Harrods Brompton Road window until 11th December.The last time we reported that Harrods were displaying a car in their window was in the run-up to the release of the Hyundai ix35 in the Summer. That was when Mo was still in charge. But now the Qataris are calling the shots at Knightsbridge’s favourite corner shop things have gone a bit more upmarket – the al Thanis have shoved an Aston Martin Cygnet in Harrods’ window.

In what could be seen as a perfect illustration of the disposable nature of the Cygnet – and how cynical Aston Martin are about the process – Aston Martin is showing the Toyota iQ in posh clothes that is the AM Cygnet at Harrods Brompton Road window until 11th December, in the hope of persuading passing oligarchs to invest the change from down the back of their London sofa in a midget Aston.

All of which is quite unfair. We don’t agree with the whole process of taking a Toyota and badging it up as an Aston, but we do understand that baseless Government targets on CO2 are behind the urgency to reduce Aston Martin’s corporate CO2 averages.

And in the form first proposed – as a City runaround for Aston owners – it made much sense. After all, if AM sold one – or even gave one – to every AM buyer they would almost halve their average CO2. But we think they’ve decided that tripling the price of the iQ by a bit of Aston titivation is too much to resist, so now they’re happy to sell to anyone who wants a Toyota with an Aston Martin badge.

New Aston Martin N420 –

The Aston Martin V8 Vantage N420 - video belowAston Martin release video of the Limited Edition Aston Martin V8 Vantage N420.We have a predisposition to lusting after anything from Aston Martin (apart, perhaps, from monstrous Lagonda SUVs), even when their performance is just average. They just look so good – even standing still – that they make your heart miss a beat every time you catch site of one on the drive. Or most anywhere else, for that matter.

It gets even better when the Aston Martin in question offers something extra. Such is the case with the Aston Martin N420 – the 4.7 V8 Vantage version of the N400 – even if Aston decided that the output from the 4.7 litre V8 in the regular Vantage was enough to be going on with (musn’t trample on the V12 Vantage, after all).

And although the N420 loses about a sack-full of spuds in weight thanks to extra use of carbon fibre, you wouldn’t really call the N420 a stripped-down Superleggerra. More a cosmetic tweaking with a bit of extra resistance played in to the suspension thanks to the normally optional sports pack coming in as standard kit.

But we’ve covered the reveal of the Aston Martin N420 Coupe in July and we gave the N420 another outing when Aston Martin sent us pictures of the N420 Roadster in September. Despite those two reveals (well, one dragged out to two) we’ve had nothing much in the way of video. Until now.

Aston Martin Rapide Luxe revealed

The Aston Martin Rapide LuxeAston Martin has launched a new trim level for the Rapide – the Aston Martin Rapide Luxe – offering bespoke paint and luxury appointmentsFor some reason Aston Martin has decided that they need to offer a new trim level on the Rapide – the Aston Martin Rapide Luxe. Which, if this were a rather more prosaic car, we’d understand. You need to define for the punter the pecking order within a range, and you need an excuse to extract a few bob more in the showroom.

But on an Aston Martin? The same Aston Martin who will do whatever you ask to any car you buy as long as you give them access to your bank account? The Aston Martin who will paint your car sky blue pink with yellow dots and trim it in zebra skin, if sir desires? It would seem so.

So if you want prêt-à-porter trim on your new Aston Martin Rapide instead of bespoke you now can. The Rapide Luxe offers ‘Exclusive’ paint jobs such as Concours Blue and Quantum Silver and a set of ‘Bespoke’ alloys. That’s about it for the exterior – unless you count the custom luggage to match the interior.

The interior itself gets extra goodies such as rear entertainment, 1,000 watt Bang & Olufsen, heated and cooled seats and glass switchgear. All very pleasant, and you can expect to pay an extra £17.5k on top of a regular Rapide to grab the Ghia Luxe version. Which you can from now.

There is apparently no truth in the rumour that the DB9 will soon be available as the DB9 GL, DB9 XL and DB9 Ghia.

Aston Martin DB9: Three DB9 Special Editions

Aston Martin DB9 Special Editions - choice of threeAston Martin has revealed a trio of Limited Edition Aston Martin DB9 models to end 2010 – the DB9 Morning Frost, DB9 Carbon Black and DB9 Quantum Silver – as either Coupe or Volante.2010 has been a busy year for Aston Martin, what with the final arrival of the much anticipated Aston Martin Rapide, the confirmation of the much less anticipated Aston Martin Cygnet and the Aston Martin One-77 rolling out to customers (just about).

There have also been plenty of ‘Special Editions’ to keep the tills jingling, from the Dr Bez Special Aston Martin DBS UB to the V8 Vantage N420. Oh, and let’s not forget that one Limited Edition became a regular Aston Martin model – the Aston Martin V12 Vantage.

So it seems fitting that Aston Martin ends 2010 with another set of Special Editions, this time a trio of Aston Martin DB9 Special Editions, just in time for the New Year.

All three Special Editions – DB9 Morning Frost, DB9 Carbon Black and DB9 Quantum Silver – are purely cosmetic – no power tweaks here. But they are a good illustration of how Aston Martin are managing to churn out cars that feel more bespoke than the standard offerings just with some decent cosmetic tweaks and clever accessorising. Is this the handiwork of a woman?

The DB9 Morning Frost is a ‘luxury’ makeover, with Pearlescent White exterior and Metallic Bronze interior. That Metallic Bronze extends to the headlining and you’ll also get perforated seat inners and chunk of Piano Black trim. The exterior also gets 19″ 10-spoke silver alloys and silver grilles.

The DB9 Carbon Black and DB9 Quantum Silver are ‘Sporty’ makeovers with the paint job being the only real differentiator. Both models get a louder exhaust, 19″ 10-spoke gloss black alloys, black grilles, graphite tailpipes, perforated seat inners, semi-analine roof lining and coarse silver stitching. You also get real polished glass switchgear.

All three DB9 Limited Editions are available to order now with delivery in the New Year. You can opt for either a coupe or Volante and prices start at £132,525.

I’ll settle for the DB9 Carbon Black Coupe in my Christmas stocking. A nice way to end a busy year.

Aston Martin Vantage GT4 2011 updates

Aston Martin Vantage GT4 2011 updatesAston Martin has had a tweak with it’s hugely successful GT4 car for 2011 – the Aston Martin Vantage GT4 – to improve power an aerodynamicsAston Martin’s Vantage for the track – the Aston Martin Vantage GT4 – has only been racing for a couple of years. But in that short time Aston Martin has managed to shift more than 80 GT4s to customers and the GT4 has become the most successful car in its class, with wins at the Spa 24 hours, Nurburgring 24 hours and others.

But resting on your laurels is no way to continue being on top so, despite – or perhaps because of – the GT4′s success, Aston Martin has wheeled out updates for 2011 to keep the GT4 on top of its game.

Aston Martin say that revisions to the 2011 Aston Martin Gt4 have been inspired by the Aston Martin V12 Vantage road car, giving it enhanced aerodynamics and increased downforce. There’s also a remapped 4.7 litre lump with more power and torque.

Despite the remapping and the aerodynamic inspiration of the Vantage V12, the Vantage GT4 is still closely based on the road-going V8 Vantage, with the aluminium chassis, base engine and suspension design all being taken from the V8 Vantage.

In addition to the engine and aero upgrades, customers can now also choose a race-developed Bosch ABS and traction control system which has been specifically optimised by Bosch Motorsport for the Vantage GT4.

And it’s still the best-looking car in GT4.

Aston Martin Cygnet Launch Editions Press Release

The Aston Martin Cygnet Launch Editions - in black or white with bespoke luggageAston Martin confirms launch details for new Cygnet city carTwo special launch editions to commence production of city car at company’s Gaydon headquarters in the UK

An Aston Martin Tailor-Fit solution for the city offering luxury and individuality

Gaydon, 20 January 2011: Aston Martin announces the arrival of the ultimate city car, a Tailor-Fit solution for urban driving in the contemporary metropolis, with two strictly limited Cygnet launch editions.

To celebrate the commencement of production, the new Aston Martin Cygnet will be available in two special launch edition models, each exemplifying the highly bespoke nature of this unique car. The two Cygnet Launch Edition models; White and Black, are available with either standard manual or optional CVT automated transmission and each will be produced for a strictly limited time.

Cygnet is a bespoke luxury commuter car, designed to take you into the heart of the city, with ultra-compact packaging and low-emission engine technology. These efficiencies are paired with the manufacturing and craft skill that is closely associated with Aston Martin. Craftsmanship and meticulous attention to detail characterise each Cygnet, and the extremely high levels of interior finish are exemplified by the choice of materials and colours on these two unique models.

Cygnet Launch Edition White brings together a serene exterior; finished in Snow White paint with a mix of silver mesh, chrome brightwork and White Diamond turned alloy wheels. The interior of the White edition features seats hand trimmed in Pearl white leather with perforated Alcantara inserts, complemented by satin chrome. On the exterior, Aston Martin’s attention to detail is exemplified with the iconic wings badge appearing in matching white.

In contrast, Cygnet Launch Edition Black features Magic Black metallic paint with a specially developed deep sea green effect, offset by matt black louvers and chrome brightwork. Inside, the seats and dash are finished in pure black full grain leather, perforated in a specially-developed diamond pattern. Dark chrome accents adorn the cabin, while the wings badges are rendered in black throughout.

Both Cygnet Launch Editions also come with a bespoke Bill Amberg five-piece luggage set, especially designed for and tailored to Cygnet. Available in a contemporary combination of black leather with technical fabric, the set comprises glove box bag, removable door pocket bag, holdall, garment bag and a collapsible tote bag.

Cygnet Background

Cygnet has generated a huge level of interest amongst both existing Aston Martin owners and customers new to the brand. High tech, compact and built to the same exacting standards and levels as Aston Martin’s acclaimed range of sports cars, Cygnet has already become the perfect addition to a V8 Vantage, DB9, Rapide, DBS or the forthcoming One-77 as the ultimate means of metropolitan transport.

Cygnet benefits from highly sophisticated active and passive safety technology to protect driver, passengers and pedestrians, with a range of breakthrough features rarely seen in small cars. Cygnet delivers everything the city driver needs, from essential equipment like ABS, nine airbags, stability control, electronic brake assist and retractable door mirrors to a luxurious interior specification, including keyless entry and start, heated seats, and satellite navigation, all packed into a car that is just three metres long.

Despite its compact but neatly-proportioned form, Cygnet is clearly recognisable as an Aston Martin. The marque’s characteristic design language, including signature details such as the metal grille, elongated side strake and inverted rear lights, establish a distinguished, solid form with strong road presence.

Cygnet is the eighth major production car Aston Martin has introduced at its state-of-the art Gaydon facility since 2004, and is assembled in a new dedicated facility by the same skilled local workforce of technicians and craftspeople that create Aston Martin’s award-winning range of sports cars. Cygnet demonstrates Aston Martin’s ongoing commitment to British manufacturing, supported by a strong local supplier network providing the finest materials and components. As a result, Cygnet’s build quality matches its discrete styling, the richly detailed interior and exterior forming a visual and tactile delight.

The Aston Martin Cygnet is a car without compromise, as dedicated to urban functionalism as its sporting siblings are to driver involvement, dynamics and long-distance comfort. With space for up to four adults, Cygnet is light, compact, safe, efficient and highly manoeuvrable.

Launch Edition White and Launch Edition Black epitomise Cygnet’s qualities; craft and skill in a luxurious but compact package, with heart, soul and personality Tailor-Fit for the modern city.

Cygnet production commences in April 2011 and is initially on sale now through Aston Martin’s European dealership network, with the company actively working on expanding market availability by 2012

Aston Martin Cygnet Launch Editions revealed

The Aston Martin Cygnet Launch Editions - in black or white with bespoke luggageAston Martin reveals the first Cygnets – the Aston Martin Cygnet Launch Edition. Available in Black or White with bespoke luggage.We’ve know that Aston Martin were intent on transforming the Toyota iQ in to the Aston Martin City Car. Initially that meant a small Aston for existing Aston owners, but it soon became clear that Aston Martin intended the Aston Martin Cygnet to be an Aston for the People. Sort of.

The ‘Sort of’ relates to the price. Buy a Toyota iQ from Toyota and it’ll cost you around £12k. Opt to get an Aston-ised version from Gaydon – certainly in the Aston Martin Cygnet Launch Edition – and you’ll be paying £40k. The same sort of money you could pay for an early DB9 or V8 Vantage.

If you do decide that £40k is a very fair deal for a limited edition Cygnet, what’s on offer? Well, there’s a choice of two Cygnet launch editions- Black or White. You won’t be shocked to learn one is Swan White and the other Magic Black, with bright chrome or matt black. And the inside of the Swan White car is…white. We’ll leave you to guess the interior colour of the black car.

The main shouting point for the Cygnet launch editions seems to be the Bill Amberg five-piece luggage set. The black leather set comprises a glove box bag, removable door pocket bag, holdall, garment bag and a collapsible tote bag. Beyond that we’re struggling to see anything else bespoke for the Cygnet.

Despite a paint job and a luggage set seemingly the only things to set the Launch Editions out, Aston Martin has still managed to sent us a 1250 word press release on the Cygnet Launch Editions. Read it if you must.

And if you don’t think £40k is enough to spend on an Aston Martin, we are assured you can spend far more if you but ask.

Aston Martin V8 Vantage S launches

The Aston Martin V8 Vantage S - available as Coupe or RoadsterAston Martin reveals the V8 Vantage S, with a bit more power, a new gearbox and cosmetic and handling tweaks. On sale now as Coupe or Roadster from £102,500.The Aston Martin V8 Vantage S has launched with an extra 10bhp over the regular V8. Just 10bhp more than the regular V8 doesn’t sound a lot, but there is more than just a smidge of extra power to the V8 Vantage S.

The extra 10bhp the V8 Vantage S gets is tweaked from the regular Aston Martin V8 Vantage, but there’s also an extra 15lb/ft of torque. None of which sounds like it will set the world on fire, but coupling it to a new, seven-speed Sportshift ‘box could.

The new ‘box weighs a chunk less than the old six-speed, and offers a long-legged seventh gear for cruising. That leaves the first six ratios closer together to improve performance. That lift in performance sees an improvement of 0.3 seconds to 60mph, which is more about the gearbox than the extra power.

Aston Martin has also added a chunk of stuff derived from the GT4 track car. The V8 S gets a modified steering rack with a ratio of 15:1 compared to 17:1 on the standard Vantage, resulting in greater precision and improved agility. There’s also an upgraded braking system, with a new larger diameter front brake disc – 380mm compared to 355mm on the V8 Vantage.

The DSC on the V8 S gets retuned to be more ‘Sporting’, and there’s three-stages to let the driver decide how hard they want to play. Aston has also fitted Hill Start to the V8 S – a first on an Aston – and the suspension gets a revised rear spring coil rate (coupe only) and retuned passive damper valves and revised bump stop rates and lengths for better traction.

Cosmetically, the Vantage V8 S gets a carbon fibre splitter, wider sills and a bigger spoiler out back together with a revised diffuser. There are also a set of 19″ V-Spoke alloys.

You can get the Aston Martin V8 Vantage S as either Coupe or Roadster from £102,500, which is about £10k more than the regular V8 Vantage.

Aston Martin One-77: First One-77 deliveries

One of the first Aston Martin One-77 customer cars snapped in MonacoThe Aston Martin One-77 is finally hitting the roads, and we have one of the first snapped outside the Hotel de Paris in the centre of Monte CarloRegular readers may remember our story last year about the guy who bought not one Aston Martin One-77, but ten. With the caveat that they were all delivered by September. Well, September came and went and he still hadn’t got his cars, but no one else had either. But deliveries are now starting to roll out.

GT Spirit has managed to grab what we think is the first Aston Martin One-77 papped on the roads (apart from the AM-owned cars). You won’t be massively shocked to learn that this One-77 was snapped outside the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo. Somehow the hefty price tag becomes more bearable if your income isn’t taxed.

We don’t think this is actually the first AM One-77 to get in to the hands of a customer, but it does seem to be the first to be snapped. The lucky owner of this particular One-77 will have paid the original list price. But those who wanted to drive the One-77 before they bought will have to stump up an extra £150k. Aston Martin has now shoved the price up by 10% on the last remaining cars – before anyone outside AM has driven it.

Interestingly, the snapper of this photo noted the One-77′s VIN number, which seems to indicate that this is the thirteenth One-77 built. In fact, build numbers aren’t actually related to the numbers AM allocate to each car (e.g. the first car built won’t necessarily get the ‘Car 1′ designation), but it would seem odd to many to choose – if in fact the owner did choose – to have what could only be described as ‘Car 13′.

So what’s happened to ‘Mr 10 One-77s’? Seems he had a change of heart and decided the car was worth the wait. What we don’t know is whether he decided to buy ten Aston Martin Cygnets for around town. Which is something 60% of One-77 buyers have done.

Aston Martin Rapide: The Movie

Aston Martin Rapide: The MovieAston Martin has made the Aston Martin Rapide the star of an espionage mystery movie, filmed in Lisbon and released in three parts.Last February Aston Martin decamped en-masse to the Iberian Peninsula to play PR jollies with the new Aston Martin Rapide.

First stop on the tour was Valencia, where the world’s media gathered at Aston Martin’s expense to eat, drink, grab a few rays and fit in a drive or three in the first Aston Martin four door in a generation.

No doubt a good time was had by all, and we got a few stories out of it. We managed to put up an Aston Martin Rapide review of sorts – despite not getting to Valencia – and brought you some extensive B-Roll footage of the Rapide in the hills somewhere between Valencia and Alicante.

And it looks like Aston Martin were loathe to leave behind the delights of Iberia, even once the press had come and gone; eaten their food, drunk their drink and abused their nice, shiny Rapides. Because they took off across country to the West Coast and Lisbon to play at Movie Moguls. Although it took them nine months to get there, such are the delights of Spain ans Portugal.

The resulting film – which is a glorified promo for the Rapide – has been revealed in three parts by AM over the last couple of weeks. But we thought you’d probably end up missing one or two so – as it’s not exactly a tease to keep on top of – we decided to wait until all the bits were in, stitch them together and then publish.

What you get is a very decent attempt at a high-quality viral video by Aston Martin, with a Ronin-like sub-text of espionage and intrigue and a mysterious package. But the story plays tenth fiddle to the real star – The Aston Martin Rapide.

Ariel Atom V8- it’ll tear your face off!

Ariel are to build the Ariel Atom V8 - with 500bhp!We all know by now that the stunning Ariel Atom is a monster car in the performance stakes. Whether you’re driving the standard or the supercharged version, its mammoth performance and four-wheeled motor bike-like build, mean you end up looking like something from the Black Lagoon (remember the TG vid of Clarkson’s face – actually, a slight improvement, we thought!).

But now Ariel has gone barking mad and decided that what the mighty Ariel Atom needs is more power. More Power?! That’s the last thing it needs, but the best thing it could get!

Ariel are building their own V8 unit, which is reported to weigh in at less than 90kg, despite being a 3.0 litre, 500 bhp powerhouse. It will thrust the Atom to the horizon so quickly that nothing will be able to keep up (2.5 seconds 0-60mph) and on to 100mph in just 6 seconds. It will have twice the power to weight ratio of a Koenigsegg Edition or a Veyron – a massive 1000bhp per ton.

Only 25 Ariel Atom V8s are going to be built, and the price is a pretty stunning £100,000. Which is an awful lot of money for a four-wheeled Superbike.

But you won’t just need deep pockets to buy the Atom. You’ll need even deeper pockets to pay for the facial surgery to remove the dead flies embedded six inches in to your face after a run in it!

New Ariel Atom V8- Price update

The new Ariel Atom V8 will cost £120,000Ariel has announced that the new V8 Atom will cost £120,000 when it goes on sale in 2010. Just 25 are being built.Back in May we reported that the Ariel Atom V8

was in the pipeline, a range-topping 500bhp version of Atom’s road-track monster. Which is twice as much power as the standard Atom – which churns out around 245bhp – and a massive 200bhp more than even the Supercharged Atom.

Even in standard spec the Atom manage 0-60mph in a blistering sub 3 second sprint, thanks to its almost non-existent bodywork and ultra low weight. So what does sticking a V8 in to the Atom do? A 3.0 litre V8 made from a pair of Suzuki Hayabusa motors joined to a common crank, at that. Not as much as you’d expect. The 0-60mph time drops to 2.5 seconds. Which makes it as fast as anything on the road – or on the track.

So how much will it cost you to gain that extra 0.5 second? £120,000. Which makes the Ariel Atom V8 around four times the price of the regular Atom. So that’s an extra £90k to gain half a second. It doesn’t really add up.

Despite the monstrous price tag Ariel say that they have already pre-sold 19 of the 25 Atom V8s they are planning on building. Which has got to be good news for them.

Personally, I’d grab the standard supercharged version for some mad weekend blatting, pick up a new XJ (the range-topping supercharged version) for a daily drive and still have enough change for a half-decent holiday.

New BMW Alpina D3 BiTurbo – a great diesel

The BMW Alpina D3 BiTurbo - a brilliant, quick and economical everyday driveAlpina and tuned BMWs are synonymous. Alpina has turned out some stunning versions of the BMW range over the years (and some not so stunning – their 8 Series springs to mind) and they fill a gap that is either not profitable in small volume for BMW or, in some cases, a hole that BMW hasn’t plugged.

And this one is a good hole to fill with the BMW Alpina D3 Bi-Turbo, a 3 Series diesel with the heart of a hot hatch. Alpina has taken the engine out of the 1 Series 123d and given it a boost to 240bhp, in the process dropping the 0-60 time to a very creditable 6.9 seconds

But it’s not the sprint that count, but the way this peppy diesel unit delivers it. With a big (relatively) lump of torque at it’s disposal it feels much quicker than the headline times. In fact, it’ up there with the 330D, but drinks like a miser. Fuel economy is stunning 52mpg, and just 143g/km Co2.

This is an updated version of last years car and a clever car it is. I can’t think of many cars off he top of my head that would be such a perfect daily drive. Great performance and good economy, in a well-built and classy looking car, with the added kudos of the Alpina badge.

No daft options list – just choose auto (£31,585) or manual (£29,950).