Aston Martin

Lately it seems like the hippest new segment into which sportscar makers should be attmepting to break is that of the sedan. Porsche has done it with the Panamera, Lamborghini is considering doing so with a production version of the Estoque, and of course Aston Martin has the hyper-sexy new Rapide. But that seductively stretched DB9 derivative is hardly that iconic British marque’s first dance at the four-door ball. And the most memorable (for reasons of the good and bad varieties) of Aston’s prior saloons is the radical Lagonda of the 1970s and ‘80s. But just how many areas, if any, has the Rapide improved over its decidedly polarizing daddy? Read on and find out.

Performance: The Lagonda used Aston Martin’s 5.3L quad-cam V8 backed by a Chrysler-supplied 3-speed automatic transmission. The most powerful European iterations were rated at 300hp, while U.S. models made do with just 240hp. It reached 60 mph from a standstill in 8.8 seconds, and top speed was in the neighborhood of 140 mph. The Rapide features a 6.0L (technically 5.9L) V12 coupled teamed with a 6-speed automatic with paddle shifters. It’s rated at 470hp, sprints to 60 in 5 seconds flat and maxes out at 184 mph.

For most mainstream automakers, “entry-level model” is a euphemism for “thrifty, tiny and cheap.” Aston Martin is, of course, not a mainstream automaker, which is why the baby of its model family (at least until the surely-we’re-being-punk’d Toyota-based Cygnet city car drops in Europe and other markets), the V8 Vantage, is best described as “speedy, sexy and cheap-by-our-standards.”

However, for some folks, the 380hp of the pre-facelift V8 Vantage was just not enough, and many of these same folks would have preferred a bit less weight as well. For these people, Aston Martin offered the limited edition 2007 V8 Vantage N400, based on the V8 Vantage N24, a lightly-modified variant which schooled a whole host of more specialized racing machinery in the 2006 Nürburgring 24 Hour race. The British GT builder had no trouble selling every N400 it built, so why not do a sequel?

The Aston Martin DB9 is arguably one of the prettiest cars on the road with its distinctive curves, elegant lines and muscular shape. Recently, it has received an aesthetic refresh. However, there’s always a sense of nervousness when manufacturers update an already magnificent car. There’s that saying: “don’t fix it if it ain’t broke” and the DB9 “ain’t broke”. 

Luckily, the new revision has only made it prettier. Although the changes are very subtle and minor, it all comes together when you step back and look at it. With this in mind, there is a new lower grille housing new mesh inserts in the front and the side rocker panels now extend over to the rear wheel arches.

With the exception of the Corvette ZR-1, the $250,000 mark is where cars start crossing over from supercar to hyper car. We can all agree a Porsche 997 or Audi R8 are super cars, but at just over $100k MSRP, they're far from unique hyper car status. $250,000 on the other hand, will put you in a car that is equal parts fast and special. This is a club reserved for only the best the automotive world has to offer, and right now, that's quite a lot. The caliber of car you can get for $250,000 is simply incredible. For that money you can buy a car that will walk over a hyper-car from 5 years ago that costs twice as much. Some think it's a ridiculous amount of money to spend on a car, but I see it as the performance bargain of 2010.

For this list we picked the 5 high-end powerhouses that will become available this year; the Audi R8 GT, Ferrari 458 Italia, Aston Martin V12 Vantage, Mercedes SLS AMG and Porsche GT2 RS. Make no mistake, although these exotic cars placed from 1st to 5th place, this was not a blow-out. These cars are all incredible. Choosing a winner wasn't simple. This isn't high-maintenance Goldilocks being choosey about her porridge. This was pitting the 5 Iron Chefs against one another and having to pick a winner. And we couldn't be a delusional mom at a soccer game cheering, "They're all winners!" We had to pick one...

The phrase, "Ask and you shall receive" is a nice quote that's rarely true. I asked for a dirt bike starting at age 7 and I'm still waiting. Apparently the nice folks at Aston Martin are a lot more receptive to requests than my cautious parents. When the V12 Vantage made its public debut last year Aston Martin for an inexplicable reason hadn't planned on sending it to the U.S.  The U.S. is admittedly their biggest market, and yet they weren't going to give us their lightest, most powerful car yet. I guess I should have called Dr. Bez's daughter back...

Well after "unprecedented customer requests" Aston Martin's most capable driver's coupe to date is headed our way. Like public television, the 2010 Aston Martin V12 Vantage is brought to you by you, the viewer.

2009 was a tough year for the auto industry to say the least. Not only did we witness massive government bailouts, epic bankruptcies and a precipitous plummet in sales, but over 1,500 dealerships shuttered their doors. When I was back in my hometown of Cleveland, OH over the holidays, I notice at least 6 large dealerships throughout the city that had closed up shop, with all of the remaining ones seemingly relegated to the ubiquitous "Auto Mile" of car lots mostly owned by large conglomerates. A sad state indeed.

Current estimates peg the total number of new cars purchased last year at just around 10.5 million, which is about 7 million shy of the high reached in 2000 and 2 million below sales in China (yes, we're no longer numero uno). The Cars Allowance Rebate System (CARS) program, aka Cash for Clunkers, dolled out $2.8 billion in $3,500 - $4,500 rebates and supposedly resulted in 700,000 new car sales.  According to several leading analysts, this was just enough to keep the industry on life support while everyone scrambled to figure out how to infuse more cash into daily operations. Even though many hailed the program as a success, it had its detractors as well, and for good reason. Edmunds concluded that really only an additional 125,000 cars were sold that wouldn't have sold otherwise, resulting in a taxpayer burden of $24,000 per vehicle.

A few weeks ago we brought news of the Aston Martin Cygnet concept. It has now been reported that these petite luxury commuters will only be available to current owners. The Cygnet is essentially a plush and upgraded version of the Toyota iQ and will use the same 1.33-liter engine good for 97 hp and 91 lb-ft of torque. Surprisingly, a top speed of 105 mph is attainable.

Aston Matin's head honcho, Ulrich Bez, has been quoted as saying, "This concept is akin to an exclusive tender for a luxury yacht." The company has decided to go this direction now that environmentally friendly city cars are top of mind.

For the last couple of years, CAR magazine has challenged designers from major auto manufacturers to come up with designs that upgrade Santa's sleigh to the toy-delivery vehicle of tomorrow. In 2008, the likes of Bentley, Ford, Nissan and Rolls-Royce all delivered spectacular creations. This year Vauxhall, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Audi and Land Rover came through with some crazy cool concepts. 

Land Rover has created transportation for Kris Kringle that follows their brand aesthetic remarkably well. The particle accelerator propulsion system is a nice touch and we dig the optional CRS (Chimney Recognition Software) technology. But we're not sure how Santa is supposed to see over the big dome of the reindeer in front of him and it looks like every time the animal swivels its head, it would skewer ole Saint Nicholas, but these are just minor quibbles.