2006 Aston Martin Db9 Base Coupe 2-door on 2040-cars

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Aston Martin skids in stock market debut

LONDON — Shares in luxury automaker Aston Martin fell as much as 6.5 percent on their market debut in London on Wednesday as investors and analysts raised concerns over Aston's ability to deliver an ambitious rollout of new models. The company, which last year made its first profit since 2010 and has gone bankrupt seven times, had priced its shares at 19 pounds each, giving it a market capitalization of 4.33 billion pounds ($5.63 billion). The shares fell to as low as 17.75 pounds. Aston Martin has plans to launch a new model every year from 2016 to 2022. "(It) has very aggressive growth plans. The execution of that growth needs to be flawless — nothing eats cash more than a car company when the cycle turns. There is concern that it's more cyclical than the commentary has been," said James Congdon, managing director of cashflow returns specialist Quest. "The banks have done a good job for their client — but there's no bounce." Aston is going all-in Aston Martin — full name Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings Plc — expects to produce around 7,100 to 7,300 cars in 2019, and 9,600 to 9,800 cars in 2020. It aims to increase production to 14,000 cars in the medium term, helped by new models and improving its manufacturing process. The company is investing all of its cashflow to try to achieve this, leaving nothing for dividends or paying down debt. "In terms of execution risk — this is what I've done for all of my career. I'm an engineer: we mitigate risk," Chief Executive Andy Palmer, who has led a turnaround plan at the company since 2014, told Reuters. Palmer played down risks to the business from Britain leaving the European Union, even as other car manufacturers step up warnings over a disorderly Brexit. He said Aston Martin was "relatively well insulated" from the effects of Brexit because Europe is not its biggest market and it may actually benefit from exporting with a cheaper pound. However, 60 percent of its parts are imported from the EU and will be hit by tariffs if there is no trade deal. "Obviously we'd all prefer no tariffs to be frank, no doubt, but the industry has to learn to adapt, and it always has adapted to changes," Palmer said. Valuation In 2017, Aston Martin had adjusted earnings before tax interest, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of 206.5 million pounds, up from 100.9 million pounds in 2016.

Petrolicious shows a 1977 Aston Martin V8 shared by a father and son

Beyond a knack for great cinematography and skilled sound mixing, Petrolicious has a sixth sense for finding beautiful classic cars that bring families together. This time, it has turned the focus on a 1977 Aston Martin V8 that started as a son's ratty ride in high school and was later wonderfully restored by his dad. Paul Kitchen grew being surrounded by his dad, Jonathan's, classic cars, and eventually wanted to get one of his own. Paul first looked at a Chevrolet Chevelle, but Jonathan pointed his son towards an Aston Martin. Now, the two of them share this beautiful V8. The real highlight of this clip is watching this wonderful coupe snake over some wet roads over the burble of its V8. While the car's overall design was clearly European, Aston's stylists definitely had a look at some American muscle cars before picking up their pens. The result was a sublime blend of James Bond and Bullitt.

World's Fastest Gamer prize: Racing Aston Martins around the world IRL

LONDON — Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya is to lead the judging panel for season two of World's Fastest Gamer, a competition aiming to take a virtual racer to the real track for a season with an Aston Martin sports car team. Season one winner Rudy Van Buren, previously a sales manager in the Netherlands, won a year as simulator driver with the McLaren Formula One team. Competition founder Darren Cox said the message coming through from the esports world was that gamers wanted more. "These gamers at the end of the day want to go racing," he said on Wednesday. "So we thought, let's not go against what everyone wants, let's push it and have the real racing as the prize." Cox has plenty of experience of that, having created the GT Academy program that took 23 people from gaming to racetrack with Nissan: "The big prize for the gamers in GT Academy was one race ... this time we're saying we're confident we'll find someone who's good enough and who will do a full season in Aston Martins at the biggest tracks in the world." The winner from 10 finalists — eight of them champions from top motor racing esports series and two separate qualifiers — will become a professional racing driver with Swiss-based R Motorsport, who work closely with Aston Martin. Van Buren will also be racing a full season as teammate to the winner. Cox said the prize of a full season was worth more than $1 million. The circuits will include Monza, Le Castellet, Brands Hatch, Nurburgring, as well as 24-Hour endurance races at Spa-Francorchamps and Daytona. Montoya, who won seven Formula One grands prix with Williams and McLaren, is also a keen online racer and still practices on simulators. Cox said he had started talking to the outspoken Colombian about gaming when they met at Daytona a year ago and he was "fully up for it." "I know the skills between real and virtual are completely transferable, so my job on WFG is to make sure these gamers are hungry and perform under the pressure I intend to put them under," Montoya said.