2006 Aston Martin Db9 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Henrik Fisker presents 'Thunderbolt,' a take on the Aston V12 Vanquish

Henrik Fisker's name no longer even appears on the vehicles from his former brand, but since leaving the company, the man is slowly transitioning back into what made him famous in the first place: design. Fisker has already put pen to paper for a concept motorcycle and a carbon-fiber-bodied Ford Mustang. For his latest project, Fisker has made his unofficial return to Aston Martin to create a one-take on the Vanquish called the Thunderbolt. Debuting its carbon fiber skin at the 2015 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, Fisker keeps his transformation of the Vanquish far more subdued than his recent work on the Mustang. He enlarges the grille to take up the entire front end but retains Aston Martin's traditional shape, and the hood receives a power dome with triangular air intakes on each side. In profile, this is still clearly an Aston just sharper and leaner. It's also lowered 0.6 inches and rides on 21-inch wheels. A big change comes at the back where Fisker adds wraparound rear glass and transforms the taillights into thin strips of LEDs. The interior offers a mix of high-end leather and more carbon fiber, plus an 11.6-inch Curved Control Screen from Panasonic. Unfortunately, even if you have the means and want to buy this Thunderbolt, it's not for sale. However, Galpin Aston Martin is taking limited orders for a tweaked version with a revised front end that includes different intakes on either side of the grille and without the Panasonic infotainment screen. As designer for the Aston Martin DB9 and V8 Vantage, the Thunderbolt can be thought of as Fisker's return to the British brand, albeit in an unofficial and extremely limited way. Still, it's fascinating to get a glimpse at what the marque's models might look like, if he were still there. Related Video: HENRIK FISKER UNVEILS HIS LATEST DESIGN STUDY, A TIMELESS GT COUPE, AT 2015 AMELIA ISLAND CONCOURS D'ELEGANCE One-Off V12 Vanquish-Based Coupe Features Carbon Fiber Coach-Work and World's First Panasonic Curved Screen Infotainment System Amelia Island, Florida (March 14, 2015) – Henrik Fisker today took the wraps off of his latest design study, the "Thunderbolt," at the 2015 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance. Designed by Henrik Fisker as a powerful GT coupe; this is his personal interpretation of how his Aston Martin V12 Vanquish coupe could look like.

Red Bull and Aston Martin are working together on a supercar

Ever since Adrian Newey stepped back from the day-to-day at Red Bull Racing last year, we've been wondering what he would do next. And here we very well may have the answer. According to Autocar, the legendary F1 engineer is working on a hardcore, track-focused supercar for Aston Martin. Details are few and far between, but it is believed that the project could make use of a Mercedes engine and take aim at the likes of the Ferrari FXX K and McLaren P1 GTR. That's more or less the same territory Aston is already going after with the Vulcan (pictured), but just how closely aligned the two vehicles would be remains unclear. Newey is said to be keen on making the vehicle road-legal, however – something which the FXX K, P1 GTR, and Vulcan are not. The news comes hot on the heels of an earlier report that indicated Aston Martin and Red Bull were in discussions over a potential partnership in F1 (together with Mercedes). Both developments appear to be stemming from the same rapprochement between the two outfits, but are said to be independent of one another in that one could go ahead without the other. It is just one of several projects, however, that Newey is said to be evaluating in his capacity as head of Red Bull Technologies. It would not be the first time we would see a high-end automaker team up with an F1 team to create a supercar, after all. McLaren built the SLR for Mercedes before going it alone, and Jaguar more recently collaborated closely with Williams Advanced Engineering on the C-X75 concept, an experimental supercar project that was unfortunately aborted prior to reaching production. We'll be watching and hoping to see how the Aston Martin/Red Bull partnership pans out.

Bond does a machine-gunning Aston Martin donut in first 'No Time to Die' trailer

James Bond doesn't just drive an Aston Martin. He doesn't just do donuts, and he doesn't just shoot machine guns. Double-oh-seven does donuts in an Aston Martin DB5 while Gatling guns pop out of its headlights and snipe his enemies. The stunt is one of the most eye-popping visuals in the first official trailer for the newest film in the Bond franchise, "No Time to Die." For the last time, a Bond trailer debuts with Daniel Craig as the lead man, and it puts all of the information we've been collecting throughout the past few months into an action-packed 2 1/2 -minute clip. The trailer starts exactly how we'd hoped, with a car chase between the DB5, Jaguars, and some motorcycles. Even before the new footage, Aston Martin detailed exactly which cars we'll see in the new flick. To some degree, the Valhalla, the DBS Superlegerra, the V8 Vantage, and the DB5 will all make appearances. While the DB5 seems to be Bond's vehicle of choice, the trailer shows newcomer Nomi (played by Lashana Lynch) driving the DBS. In addition to the Range Rover seen flipping in the clip, we also expect to see the new Land Rover Defender in the film.  As is typical of any Bond story, 007 seems to get caught in a trap, as he navigates his relationship with Lea Seydoux as Madeleine Swann and chasing Rami Malek, the new villain Safin. Here's the synopsis straight from YouTube:  In No Time To Die, Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology. We also see appearances from Ralph Fiennes as M, Christoph Waltz as Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, and Jeffrey Wright as Leiter. "No Time to Die" releases April 8, 2020. Celebrities TV/Movies Aston Martin Videos James Bond trailer Daniel Craig db5 No Time to Die