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

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Aston Martin CFO departs as stock hits a record low, losses deepen

LONDON — Aston Martin shares slumped to a record low on Thursday after the British luxury carmaker said its losses ballooned last year and its chief financial officer would leave by the end of April. The firm, famed for being fictional agent James Bond's car of choice, posted a pretax loss of 104 million pounds ($135 million) last year compared with 68 million pounds in 2018 following a 9% decline in sales to dealers. Aston Martin is in the midst of restructuring after announcing last month that a consortium led by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll would buy up to 20% of the company and existing shareholders would inject more cash. Its shares, which were listed in October 2018, have been on a steady downward trajectory ever since and hit a record low of 328 pence following the announcements on Thursday, more than 80% lower than their flotation price. "The big difference between last year and this year is the strength of the balance sheet," Chief Executive Andy Palmer told Reuters. "We're in a very different place and have therefore an ability to properly ... destock and that means get the balance right between supply and demand." Chief Finance Officer Mark Wilson will step down from his role no later than April 30 but had not been fired, said Palmer. Coronavirus impact China, Aston's fastest growing market, was a rare bright spot last year with sales rising 28% but the company, like the rest of the industry, has seen demand drop due to the coronavirus outbreak. The virus has infected more than 80,000 people and killed about 2,800, the majority in China, confining millions to their homes, disrupting businesses and delaying the reopening of factories after the extended Lunar New Year holiday break. Aston has seen disruption to the arrival of certain parts but said it had not had to stop production at its factories, with components secured until at least the end of March because it has no direct suppliers in China. "Since almost the first weeks of the New Year we've had issues with those Tier 2 and Tier 3 (suppliers) which have meant that our supply chain guys have had to be on it constantly," said Palmer. "We're ironically benefitting from the fact that we built up a Brexit stock," he said, in a reference to extra components the firm held in case Britain's departure from the European Union led to additional delays in the movement of goods.

Aston Martin documentary tells development story of Vantage GTE racer

Aston Martin doesn't merely go racing, the carmaker's name enshrines racing: Company co-founder Lionel Martin conquered the Aston Hill Climb in 1914 with a tuned Singer automobile; when Lionel needed a name for the car he built with funding from Robert Bamford, Lionel's wife suggested "Aston-Martin." That makes the Vantage GTE racer that will enter the 2018 FIA World Endurance Championship not only an obvious descendant, but a necessary one. To show us what went into the new standard-bearer, Aston Martin produced a nine-minute documentary on the Vantage GTE's development. The endurance challenger replaces the six-year-old V8 Vantage GTE race car that — even at the end of its development path — took WEC team honors in 2016 and class victory at Le Mans this year. The short doc visits Aston Martin Racing over the course of 18 months spent creating the new Vantage GTE, finding out how the road car got upgraded to race spec, what new partners like Ohlins and Alcon provided, and revealing that electrical wiring can't be mapped out entirely in CAD beforehand, the wiring has to be laid into the chassis by hand in order to find the shortest paths. The Vantage GTE rings in at 2,745 pounds dry, roughly 500 pounds lighter than the Vantage road car. The AMG-sourced twin-turbo V8 gets around 536 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque depending on circuit regulations, and shifts through an Xtrac six-speed sequential transmission with a carbon fiber driveshaft. Ohlins created a five-way suspension, Alcon supplies the brakes, clutch, and limited-slip differential, the Akrapovic inconel exhaust exits just behind the front wheels, and 18-inch forged magnesium TMS wheels wear Michelin tires. Unanimous feedback from the drivers says the new racer is already more durable, more torque-y, and more reliable than the one it replaces. The Vantage GTE debuts on track at the 6 Hours of Spa on May 5, 2018. You can watch it now in the video above. View 16 Photos Related Video: News Source: Aston Martin via YouTube Motorsports Aston Martin Coupe Racing Vehicles Videos fia wec world endurance championship aston martin vantage aston martin vantage gte

Aston Martin Vanquish Carbon Edition is back in black [w/video]

Earlier this year, I spent the weekend with an Aston Martin Vanquish Volante in a particularly interesting shade of green – the same car you see photographed here, for our First Drive. When it was dropped off, I remember just staring at it, taking in all of its lines, the curves, its pronounced hips – all the details. To say the Vanquish is a gorgeous car is a vast understatement. And here at the Paris Motor Show, the already classy range-topping Aston coupe dons an even more gorgeous appearance in the form of the Carbon Edition. Aston Martin has already given similar treatments to its Vantage, DB9 and DBS (the Vanquish's predecessor), and the svelte look can be had on either the coupe or convertible models, available in black or white. The car gets black window surrounds, darker headlight trim, gloss black alloy wheels and a stylish herringbone carbon fiber trim in the cabin to go with the quilted leather upholstery. One thing that's left unchanged with the Carbon Edition is the massive, old-school powerplant underhood: Aston's 6.0-liter naturally aspirated V12 with 568 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque. Hitting 60 miles per hour takes just 3.6 seconds, on its way to a top speed of just over 200 mph. Have a look at the Carbon Aston in our live gallery above, and click below for a short video showing the sleek new Vanquish.