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Autoblog's adventures at the Nurburgring 24-Hour race [spoilers]

The brand-new Audi R8 LMS, said to share 50 percent of its components with the street-legal R8 shown off at Geneva, has won its very first race at the 2015 Nurburgring 24-Hours. The No. 28 car driven by Christopher Mies, Edward Sandstrom, Nico Muller, and Laurens Vanthoor for the Audi Sport WRT team out of Belgium finished only 40.279 seconds ahead of the No. 25 BMW Sport Team Marc VDS Z4 GT3 in second place, for the smallest winning gap since the race began in 1970. Those two cars traded the lead throughout Sunday morning and were less than a minute away from one another for the last two hours. They were part of a total 35 lead changes during the entire race – a record for the event – and both did 156 laps. Third place went to the No. 44 Falken Tire Porsche 997 GT3, one lap down. The Audis did what they always do: lurked close to the front, stayed out of trouble, then pounced when everyone else faltered. For the opening stretches the BMW Z4 teams owned it, running 1-2-3 for a while, but all of them hit trouble. When morning came and the race got over its yellow-flag fever, the No. 28 Audi was in front and stayed there. It was the third Nurburgring 24-Hour win for Audi in four years, the brand's first win only coming in 2012. Last year's winner, the Phoenix Audi team that set a race record by doing 159 laps, had both of its cars retire. One hit an oil patch about 12 hours in, spun and was hit by another car behind, taking on too much damage to continue. The other retired with engine issues. Other Notes Three cars crashed out of the race while leading, after the rains that weren't supposed to happen, happened about 90 minutes in. The No. 20 Schubert BMW Z4 led the first 50 minutes of the race, hopped a crest at Pflanzgarten, landed in a pool of water, and hit the wall on the 30th lap. Then the No. 30 Frikadelli Porsche, with a driver team that included ex-'Ring Taxi driver Sabine Schmitz, hit the No. 31 Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 on the approach to Carrousel and crashed out. Then the No. 1 Phoenix Audi, last year's winning car, took the lead but hit the wall after that oil patch near Pflanzgarten and was out of the race. Aston Martin celebrated a class win in the SP8 category with the No. 49 Vantage GT4 N430. This being the tenth anniversary of the Vantage running the Nurburgring-24, this year's car was painted in the same colors as the racecar from ten years ago.

James Bond 'No Time To Die' roundup | All the cars, history and stunts

"No Time To Die" is finally, officially in theaters. It’s been an extra long road for this James Bond movie to come out, but the wait is over now. Since today is Bond day and all (at least for U.S. theaters), we figured it was time to get you a wrap-up of all the Bond-related content youÂ’ll want to go along with the film. Below, youÂ’ll find stories weÂ’ve published about "No Time To Die" over the past couple of weeks. Beware of any spoilers if you havenÂ’t seen the movie yet (if not, get to it), but those who have viewed it can read on safely. All of the Bond cars of 'No Time To Die'  Since youÂ’re here at Autoblog, we figure this is the one youÂ’re most likely looking for. The list of excellent cars in this latest Bond installment is a long one, and we have them all contained in this succinct list. Just as in past Bond movies, automotive (and motorcycle) enthusiasts will be delighted at every corner in "No Time To Die." From the classic Aston Martin DB5 to flying Land Rover Defenders, this Bond has plenty of eye candy for the engine-minded. 007 Questions for James BondÂ’s stunt master Ever been curious about all the incredible stunts that are seemingly routinely pulled in every James Bond movie? Well, here are some answers from the stunt master himself, Chris Corbould. In this story, we sit down with Corbould and grill him on how itÂ’s pulled off so masterfully. As youÂ’d expect, "No Time To Die" has its fair share of stunts. From the bonkers motorcycle jump seen in one of the trailers, to more we wonÂ’t detail for fear of spoiling your fun of watching them. Make sure to see the movie, then come back here for more background on how the sausage is made. All 24 James Bond movies ranked only by their cars You want more cars? WeÂ’ve got you covered. Our James Bond expert, James Riswick, ranks all of the Bond movie based on the cars within. Of course, Bond films are known for the excellent “Bond cars” depicted within them, so picking the best requires some parsing. If youÂ’re hoping to get up to speed with all the great Bond cars before (or after) seeing "No Time To Die," this is a great way to do it. No stone is left unturned, so take a ride with us down memory lane and see if you agree with our definitive list.

Aston Martin Vantage AMR is road-going follow-up to AMR Pro

Two months ago, Aston Martin launched its new AMR line of vehicles with a pair of limited-edition cars. One was a slightly warmed-up Rapide sedan called the Rapide AMR, and the other was a track-only Vantage with a race-car-derived V8 called the Vantage AMR Pro. Now the company has released a third, or third and fourth depending on how you're counting, model that splits the difference. The new Vantage AMR, sans the Pro part, is available with either a V8 or a V12, and can be had as either a coupe or convertible. What make the Vantage AMR special are limited production and aesthetic upgrades. Only 300 examples will be made, 200 of which will have the V8, while the other 100 have the V12. The V8 doesn't make any more power than the standard model, but the V12 produces an extra 30 horsepower over the standard model for a total of 595. Aston Martin also offers an optional titanium exhaust to improve the sound of these engines and reduce weight, but it doesn't change output. Observers of these Astons will be able to spot them by their special paint schemes with a center stripe down the middle. The cars can be had in white with an orange stripe, black with a blue stripe, blue with a red stripe, or silver with a gray stripe. There's also a "Halo Pack" that includes a green paint scheme similar to Aston Martin's GT racing cars, complete with a lime green stripe. There's also a no-cost option to add an Aston Martin badge painted in the colors of the Union Jack. Every color combination comes with a color-coordinated interior, too. Just because this is a very rare Aston Martin doesn't mean there aren't any options. On the contrary, there are quite a few, mostly concerning appearances. On the outside, carbon fiber side skirts, headlight housings, and grille are all available. An aerodynamics kit is also available that adds a big rear wing, front splitter, and front canards for additional downforce. Lightweight forged wheels are also available. Inside, the carbon fiber decoration continues with available seats, instrument surround, window sills, and grab handles. Depending on whether you're converting Euros or British pounds, an Aston Martin Vantage AMR will start between about $125,000 or $143,000. That doesn't really matter, though, since the Vantage AMR won't be offered in the US. It will only be available in the UK, Europe, China, and the Asia Pacific region. Middle Eastern buyers can also pick one up, but only the V12 variant.