02 Aston Martin Db7 Vantage Automatic Asanti-wheels Wood-trim Custom-leather on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Aston Martin teases the DBX again ahead of December debut

Aston Martin began the teaser campaign for the DBX two months ago with a 37-second video of the coming crossover on a romp over dirt roads, carousing and drifting through a magenta landscape. The next month brought a dynamic tease, the DBX running up the hill at Goodwood. Now another teaser is out, this one called The Grille, focused on that trademark Aston Martin component. The dreamy vid, laid out like an opening credit sequence for a Bond film, is captioned, "Aston Martin’s first SUV features the iconic DB grille." In case that's not enough to make the connection, the DB11 opens the 41-second clip before eventually transitioning into the DBX. The DBX is built on the same Second Century Architecture supporting the DB11, the SCA also planned to carry the Lagonda's future lineup of electric vehicles. Power will come from the same Mercedes-AMG-sourced 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 found in the DB11 and the Vantage. If the horsepower rumors come true, we can expect 503 ponies from the charge, same as found in the 2020 Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S Coupe, and something like 516 pound-feet of torque. The engine being hooked up to a Mercedes electrical architecture helps explain the surfeit of Mercedes-looking switchgear inside the DBX cabin, including what looks like a heavily MBUX-inspired infotainment system. Without stating a figure, Aston Martin makes note of DBX towing capability; the GLC 63 can manage 3,500 pounds, enough for the DBX to pull the required barrow of champagne to Royal Ascot 2020. The reveal is scheduled for December, deliveries to come in 2020 after units roll off the carmaker's new factory in St. Athan, Wales. Production numbers are penciled in for 5,000 units per year. The order book opened over the weekend at Pebble Beach; selling the planned annual production would nearly double the company's annual sales.

Aston Martin DB9 successor makes one sexy mule

It's been a dozen years since Aston Martin first introduced the DB9 to the world, and while it has undergone numerous revisions and updates over the course of its lifetime, twelve years is a long time. Fortunately the British automaker is preparing to launch a new version, and that's just what our shooters in Eiffel have spotted running around the Nurburgring. Now it's hard to tell much from these spy shots, because the prototype they depict is mostly wearing the bodywork of the existing DB9. So all the interesting stuff is happening beneath the skin. But it does appear that the front end is wider, giving the next-generation model – whatever it will ultimately be called – a wider front track and more room in the engine bay. Those who've been following the news will know that Aston has signed a deal with Mercedes-AMG that will see the German automaker's performance division supply it with a new powerplant, but that's not expected to be ready for the DB9 successor's arrival. Look for it to pop up in production guise sometime next year, then, with an evolution of Gaydon's long-serving and ubiquitous 6.0-liter V12 engine that's already developing 592 horsepower in the Vantage GT3... excuse us, Porsche: "GT12." Related Video:

Aston Martin will make a profit for the first time since 2010

LONDON — Aston Martin is on course to post its first annual pre-tax profit since 2010 as strong demand for the luxury automaker's DB11 sports car boosts its performance. Pre-tax profit reached 22 million pounds ($29 million) in the first nine months of 2017, reversing a loss of 124 million pounds in the same period in 2016, Aston said on Wednesday. "Our strong financial performance and continued profitability reflect the growing appeal of our high-performance sports cars, with the new DB11 Volante and a new Vantage expected to stimulate further demand in the coming year," Chief Executive Andy Palmer said. Asked on Monday whether the firm would be in the black this year, Palmer told Reuters: "It's our intention to be." Aston Martin, which is mainly owned by Kuwaiti and Italian private equity firms, last posted a profit in 2010. Its losses then grew, partly due to lack of new models, a high-profile recall and an extended period without a chief executive. Since Palmer's appointment in 2014, the firm has pursued a turnaround plan designed to boost its model lineup, quadruple volumes and produce its first SUV at a new plant in Wales, setting up a possible stock market flotation. Volumes rose 65 percent to 3,330 cars in the first nine months of the year, prompting the firm to raise its full-year guidance to expect core earnings of at least 180 million pounds on revenue of over 840 million pounds. Third-quarter profit stood at 0.8 million pounds, reflecting a quieter period across the car sector when demand falls as people take holidays and some customers prefer to wait until after the vacation period to have their cars delivered. On Tuesday, the firm launched its new Vantage model, which will take its output to 7,000 sports cars in 2019, its highest level in a decade. Related Video: