So what do you do when you have a salvageable Jaguar XK8 Convertible wreck in your hands? Well, you can either try to restore it to its previous condition as most people would or alternatively, create a whole different type of car like this eBay owner did. Thanks to the extended use of fiberglass, the XK8 denounces its wild-cat heritage and enters the ‘fantastic’ world of Aston Martin replicas with styling elements from the lone-gone Vanquish. Love the glued on steering wheel badge but think we’ll pass on this one.

Aston Martin doesn’t have a huge product range. In fact, until the Rapide and One-77 come along, its line-up essentially boils down to two models: the Vantage and the DB9. And if reports coming straight from Switzerland are to be believed, the now-independent British sportscar company is descending on the Geneva Motor Show next month with new top-of-the-line variants of both.

First up is the convertible version of the DBS. The iconic Bond-mobile, whose name may have finally been determined, will make for a stunning drop-top. Not unlike arch-rival Ferrari, which took the 430 Scuderia and crossed it with the F430 Spider to create the 16M Scuderia Spider, Aston will take the fixed-roof DBS and put it in a room together with the DB9 Volante, dim the lights, put on some Boys2Men and let nature run its course.

Reportedly joining the DBS Volante/Roadster will be the production V12 Vantage RS. Forgot about that one? It’s easy when Aston keeps serving up delectable new flagship supercars, so we’ll scribble the recipe down for you again: take one V8 Vantage and the 600-hp V12 engine from the DBRS9 race car. Add louvers, spoilers, carbon fiber and alcantara. Shake (don’t stir). Production should be very limited, and performance should be blistering. Stay tuned.

Selling million-dollar supercars isn’t as easy as it used to be. While Lamborghini quickly offloaded its small run of seven-figure Reventons and Bugatti has gone through the bulk of its Veyron production, Aston Martin may be finding it a bit more difficult to separate the obscenely wealthy from their millions.

The One-77 is the big-ticket supercar in question, to be built in a limited run of 77 examples, with only six headed to the US, five staying in the UK and the remaining 66 ending up in the Emirates dispersing around the world. Previous reports circulating the interwebs suggested that the entire production run sold out almost immediately – before the car was even fully unveiled – but those reports may have been misleading. Although 100 potential customers reportedly expressed interest in acquiring the uber-supercar, the order books have apparently yet to be filled with buyers who’ve plunked down the £200k desposit. But even in this economy, they’re bound to sell out soon, so if you’ve got the cash to spare, you’d better act fast. Like, 700-horsepower supercar fast.

Aston Martin is ready to tackle the 2009 24 Hours of LeMans in a pair of Gulf-liveried LMP1 vehicles on the 50th anniversary of its only overall win in the Franco enduro. The two coupes are based on the 2008 Charouz Racing System Lola and will be powered by the same production-based V12 found in the LeMans GT1 DBR9. Development was performed by Lola, Michelin, Koni and BBS, along with Aston’s largest partner, Gulf Oil. Driving duties will be handled by Jan Charouz, Tomas Enge and Stefan Mücke, along with Darren Turner who was part of the team that campaigned the DBR9 GT1 crew in 2007 and 2008. Harold Primat is the newest addition to the team and one other driver will be announced shortly. Unfortunately, Aston won’t be campaigning in the GT1 class in bid to focus all its efforts on LMP1 program. It’s going to be an exciting year and we’re hoping to bring it to you live the weekend of June 13 and 14. All the details are available in the press release below the fold.

PRESS RELEASE

Aston Martin to challenge for overall Le Mans win

Gaydon, 27 January 2009. On the 50th anniversary of its outright win at Le Mans, Aston Martin will return to La Sarthe with two Works LMP1 cars bearing the iconic blue and orange livery of Gulf Oil.

In an ambitious attempt to emulate the legendary achievements of the 1959 DBR1 driven by Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori, Aston Martin will endeavour to bring the Le Mans title back to Britain.

“2009 is a hugely significant year for Aston Martin at Le Mans and the challenge of reclaiming victory in this famous race for Aston Martin and Great Britain was simply too great to ignore,” said Aston Martin Chairman, David Richards. “However, we do not underestimate the task. While we have won the GT1 class for the last two years, competing against the proven speed and endurance of the diesel-powered cars with all their years of winning the prototype class, will be a massive undertaking. Nonetheless, I see this as a great opportunity to showcase the ingenuity of British engineering talent.”

Dr Ulrich Bez, Aston Martin Chief Executive Officer commented: “Racing has been, and still is at the heart of Aston Martin. Our cars today are subtle, elegant and handcrafted but they still have the genes for competition. I am happy that we have found partners who, with their support, will enable us to compete at the highest level of endurance racing. We will put all our heart and skill behind this project to demonstrate the essence of Aston Martin: Power Beauty and Soul.”

The new car which is based on the 2008 Charouz Racing System Lola will be powered by the same production-based Aston Martin V12 engine which, last year, helped Aston Martin secure its second successive Le Mans GT1 title with the DBR9. It also powered the Charouz car to a new La Sarthe lap record for a petrol car.

Aston Martin Racing is developing the car in conjunction with Lola, Michelin, Koni and BBS and continues its relationship with major partner Gulf Oil and official clothing partner Hackett.
In 2009, the ACO is introducing new regulations aimed at balancing the performance of petrol and diesel engined prototypes making the LMP1 category more appealing and relevant to Aston Martin.

Signalling ongoing commitment to motorsport, in addition to the Le Mans 24 hour race, the team will also compete throughout the year in the Le Mans Series (LMS), which opens with the 1000 km de Catalunya on the 5th of April.

Aston Martin Racing Works drivers, Jan Charouz (CZ), Tomas Enge (CZ), and Stefan Mücke (DE), who raced the Charouz car last year will renew their relationship with the team along with Darren Turner (GB) who was part of the winning DBR9 GT1 crew in 2007 and 2008. Harold Primat (CH) joins the team for the first time in 2009 with the remaining driver to be announced imminently.

To focus maximum energy on the LMP1 programme, the Works team will not defend its GT1 title at Le Mans. However, Aston Martin Racing will support any of its official partner teams and customers competing at the race.

Aston Martin Racing partner, Drayson Racing, has expressed its desire to compete at Le Mans with the new Vantage GT2. This follows confirmation of the team’s LMS entry and American Le Mans Series programme with a bio-ethanol powered Vantage GT2. Further announcements are expected in the weeks ahead as other Aston Martin Racing partner teams and customers confirm their plans for racing in the GT1, GT2, GT3 and GT4 classes of national and international racing series.

In today’s chaotic automotive industry, if you’re not merging, divesting, or collaborating, then you’re just not trying. Both Aston Martin and Mercedes are only about 18 months removed from their respective divorces from Ford and Chrysler, and now the two luxury automakers are looking to shack up with one another. This time, though, they’ll skip wedded bliss in favor of a limited agreement between two consensual companies. CAR gave us some details in on the limited partnership in its September issue, and now the British rag is making with the details.

Make the jump for the skinny.

Aston Martin has terrific brand value, but the independent British marquee can’t touch Daimler’s vast cash and engineering might. For that reason, Aston is reportedly interested in Mercedes for its engineering prowess. The next generation S-Class will feature a choice of mild, full, and plug-in hybrid variants, as well as smaller petrol engines to increase efficiency. Those powertrain combos will reportedly end up under the bonnet of the 2010 Rapide sedan, as well as the rumored Lagonda lineup. Aston is also looking to swap out its Ford-derived V12 engine in favor of Merc’s M275 twin-turbo twelve-banger. Dr. Z has reportedly already given the thumbs-up on the V12, along with hybrid powertrains, which in total could be worth €150 million or more. Aston may also utilize Daimler’s next generation CL platform on a successor to the DB9.

To receive all this wonderful technology that a niche automaker wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford, Aston will be charged with the monumental task of overhauling Maybach. The ultra-expensive Rolls Royce competitor has been less than a sales success, and the brand is a sore spot with Daimler execs. The German automaker is hoping the flexibility, speed, and absence of bureaucracy will enable Aston to design a better Maybach inside and out. After looking at some of the things Aston has pulled off since it left the Ford umbrella, we’re guessing Mercedes will get the distinctive styling the current model lacks. Aston has plenty of incentive to do the Maybach right, because a future Lagonda saloon could effectively be a sporty version of the next 57 or 62. We’re guessing this won’t be a badge engineering job, either, so stop imagining a Maybach with a carbon fiber splitter and a Cobalt SS spoiler bolted to the trunk.

A €300 million Aston/Daimler collaboration could wind up being yet another bad idea, but there’s also a good chance this Euro luxury hook-up could result in some good-looking offspring. We may find out sooner than later, too, as the first Lagonda concept is rumored to be unveiled next year, and under that beautiful Aston sheet metal may well be some fine German engineering.

Aston Martin has a whole slew of new flagships on the way. The One-77 supercar has yet to be fully revealed, the Rapide four-door is in the pipeline, and the V12 Vantage is undergoing testing. But before any of those hit the market, Aston Martin is preparing to unveil a convertible variant of its current top-of-the-line model, the DBS. However reports suggest that the niche automaker is still undecided as to what name the drop-top Bond-mobile will carry.

Traditionally convertible Astons – four-seaters, particularly – have carried the Volante nameplate, as the DB9 currently wears, while the open-top version of the two-seat V8 Vantage carries the sportier Roadster nameplate. The DBS is based on the DB9 but does away with the rear seats (unless the customer asks nicely), leaving it somewhere in the middle, and leaving Richards, Bez and company scratching their heads.

Source:autoblog

If you’re looking to be one of the lucky (and rich) buyers of the Aston Martin One-77, you may already be too late. Aston claims that over 100 wealthy buyers have signed up for the One-77 supercar, though it plans to build only enough to satisfy the car’s label: 77. Amazingly, those customers have dropped a £200,000 deposit without ever having so much as seen a totally uncovered photo of the British supercar. But hey, it’s an Aston, so how ugly can it be? If you’ve got money to burn, we can think of few ways to better spend over £1 million on an automobile, especially considering that it’s rare enough to actually increase in value over time. It would help, too, if you could park and store a vehicle with a carbon fiber chassis, aluminum body, and 700-hp V12 engine, but that doesn’t sound like much fun at all. From what we’ve seen of the car so far, it wouldn’t be fair to force the museum life on the One-77.

Aston Martin has stepped in to clarify recent rumors of its Lagonda revival. We know that a Lagonda concept is due to be shown at next year’s Geneva Motor Show, and of late it was speculated to be something SUV-ish. An Aston spokesperson has laid out the plan, and this time neglected to mention the acronym “SUV” at all.

Two upcoming Lagondas will probably be sedans and use Aston’s VH platform, tending to the luxury side of sporting while Aston solidifies its grip on the sporting side of luxury. An upscale and up-priced version of the Rapide will come in 2011, followed by a $100,000-or-so S-Class challenger in 2012. Now that we’ve got the SUV thing out of the way, let’s hope Aston stays on the right course and creates cars that don’t look anything like more DB9 clones.

Aston Martin has stepped in to clarify recent rumors of its Lagonda revival. We know that a Lagonda concept is due to be shown at next year’s Geneva Motor Show, and of late it was speculated to be something SUV-ish. An Aston spokesperson has laid out the plan, and this time neglected to mention the acronym “SUV” at all.

Two upcoming Lagondas will probably be sedans and use Aston’s VH platform, tending to the luxury side of sporting while Aston solidifies its grip on the sporting side of luxury. An upscale and up-priced version of the Rapide will come in 2011, followed by a $100,000-or-so S-Class challenger in 2012. Now that we’ve got the SUV thing out of the way, let’s hope Aston stays on the right course and creates cars that don’t look anything like more DB9 clones.

The ultimate Aston Martin is only a year old, but it’s already getting some updates including a new automatic transmission. The DBS will receive an optional automatic transmission dubbed the TouchTronic 2 for the 2009 model year, a re-engineered version of the ZF six-speed unit equipped in the DB9. Given the DBS’ more harder attitude over the DB9, the transmission has been tuned for faster, more aggressive shifts in order to maintain the same acceleration capabilities as the manual transmission version and giving drivers the choice of swapping their own cogs via steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters. When the situation is more relaxed the driver can enjoy some tunes over the new 1,000-watt Bang & Olufsen stereo system. For those inclined to occasionally punish a couple of friends, Aston is now offering a pair of +2 rear seats. The company claims this is at the request of customers, but frankly, customers who make such silly requests should probably be sent elsewhere anyway. The automatic DBS commands a $4,000 premium over the three pedal variant and starts at $273,000.