Archive for category Aston Martin
Aston Martin’s Avalanche of Models
Posted by in Aston Martin on June 21, 2011
Niche car manufacturers like Aston Martin never enjoyed a peaceful life – the fragile sports car market is pretentious and forever changing. Adapting to such an unstable environment is difficult for any sports car manufacturer, whether we’re talking about Ferrari, Porsche or Aston Martin. However, the British company has bright plans concerning their future, plans well supported by the current range of Aston Martin models. The three main pillars that ensure Aston’s success are the DB9, the V8 Vantage and the V12 Vanquish. Let’s have a quick look at each of these fantastic cars.
Aston Martin V12 Vanquish
Equipped with the most powerful engine in any Aston Martin production car, the V12 Vanquish is a technical marvel and a work of art, all at the same time. The Aston V12 Vanquish benefits from a aluminum and composite body, electronic traction control and throttle, a formula-one style six-speed gearbox and all the latest gadgets one could think of. The 5.9-litre V12 is a real “Porsche killer” as many called it. However, the price of the Vanquish is of $220,000. This model was discontinued early in 2007.
Aston Martin DB9
The DB9 is equipped with a 6.0 L 450 brake horsepower (335 kW) V12 engine borrowed from the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish. The DB9 is a direct competitor of the 911 Turbo model from Porsche and the F430 Ferrari. According to Wikipedia, Aston Martin will be revealing the DB9 LM along with the DBS and the V8 Vantage N400 in the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show. The DB9 LM commemorates Aston’s GT1 class victory in the Le Mans 24-hour race in 2007.
Aston Martin V8 Vantage
The Aston Martin V8 Vantage has a 4282 cc engine, producing 380 hp (283 kW) at 7,000 rpm and 302 lb-ft (409 Nm) at 5,000 rpm. The V8 Vantage engine is assembled manually at the Aston Martin factory in Germany and is based on the V8 engine from Jaguar. The performance of the V8 Vantage is excellent, with a 75 mph – 280km/h top speed and a naught to 60 mph time of under 5 seconds.
Future Aston models
A 4-seater sports saloon has been in production for a few years now. It’s called the Rapide and most likely we will see it on the road in 2008. The Aston Martin DBS is another cool model presented to the public with the occasion of the last James Bond movie. Other concept cars have been presented this year, but there are no definitive plans to turn any of them into production vehicles. Read the rest of this entry »
Aston Martin Revives Historic Lagonda Marque
Posted by in Aston Martin on June 21, 2011
British sportscar manufacturer Aston Martin has confirmed the company’s intention to revive the historic Lagonda marque.
In a statement announcing the news, Aston Martin CEO Dr Ulrich Bez referred to the company’s forthcoming four-door Rapide model, further raising speculation that the car may be badged as a Lagonda rather than Aston Martin.
Dr Bez said: “We will take elements of DNA from the past but will be very future orientated as we are with Aston Martin.” Rapide is model name previously used by Lagonda.
By offering cars of a “different character” from Aston Martin and with “a unique design language”, the move is a bid to expand the company’s market presence from 32 to 100 countries worldwide.
Lagonda history
The last production outing for the famous marque, which was purchased by David Brown in 1947 together with Aston Martin and merged into one company, was the futuristic 1970s Aston Martin Lagonda.
While the car itself was beset by problems with its advanced electronics and did not earn a good reputation, the technical ambition it demonstrated as well as income generated from advance orders was credited with saving Aston Martin from bankruptcy.
Only a few bespoke four-door 1990s Aston Martin Virage models produced for export have since worn the Lagonda badge.
More jobs in Gaydon
The new Rapide is expected to add another 1,000 – 2,000 cars to Aston Martin’s production numbers and create jobs for at least 200 more workers at its British plant located in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The facility will be expanded with a new production line and developments to the body and paint shops.
A concept of the first new Lagonda will be revealed in 2009 with the car planned to be in production by 2012.
Stuart Coster is editor of motoring advice site KwikGuides.com, which provides free guides and tools to help with buying, selling and running a car. The site’s newest guide is on Choosing Car Insurance and Cutting the Cost. Read the rest of this entry »