2001 - Aston Martin Db7 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Behold the Aston Martin SUV: Officially named DBX, coming in 2019

It's official. The Aston Martin DBX SUV is named and it's on its way, folks. Oh, and Aston really wants you to know it can drive on dirt. Every official photo we have of the thing shows it doing something off the pavement. In other definite news on the SUV, it will be revealed in the last quarter of 2019 and be built at Aston Martin's new St. Athan factory in the U.K. Everything else about the tall Aston will remain a mystery for now. But we finally have a decent look at what's coming. The most obvious feature is the V8 Vantage-style grille. It's the most outlandish and distinguishing styling element on the Vantage, but we're not so sure about it on the DBX. There's plenty that looks unfinished behind the fake grille-looking piece, so we wouldn't be prepared to say that the design is what we'll see on the production SUV quite yet. It looks like standard, boring SUV fare down the sides, but then it gets funky in the rear. To our eyes, it looks like there are two spoilers back there — one extending from the roof, then another ducktail-looking thing coming out of the hatch. Once again, the design doesn't strike us as fully-baked yet, so it's tough to say what the rear end is going to end up like. The little exhaust outlets poking out of the bumper are pretty cool, though. This prototype pictured is being put through a Welsh rally stage for testing purposes, one of many different environments in which Aston says it wants the DBX to excel. The other notable spot is the Nurburgring, but we'd expect an Aston Martin SUV to handle well. We don't think an electrified version is coming right away, but Aston is building it in the same factory it says will be the brand's "Home of Electrification." It's safe to assume a hybrid or fully-electric vehicle from Aston will be coming when we get to the next decade, especially with the way Aston is talking. Related video: Featured Gallery Aston Martin DBX prototype View 13 Photos Image Credit: Aston Martin Aston Martin Crossover SUV Luxury Off-Road Vehicles Performance aston martin dbx

Aston Martin barn finds highlight $16M Bonhams sale

Every year, Bonhams holds an auction of classic Aston Martins at the automaker's historic home in Newport Pagnell. But never has it brought in as much as it did this year. The 16th annual Aston Martin Sale, held this past weekend, raked in an impressive GBP10,280,275 in sales – equivalent to nearly $16 million at current exchange rates. Among the highlights of the 50 classic Astons sold were a number of barn finds, including a pair of DB Mark II sports saloons from 1958 that doubled the pre-sale estimates to sell for GBP104,540 and GBP115,740, respectively. Those weren't even the top lots of the day, though. A 1962 DB4 Series IV Vantage Convertible that was once owned by legendary thespian Sir Peter Ustinov sold for GBP1,513,500, while a 1966 DB5 Vantage Convertible went for GBP1,524,700 to claim the top spot. "The quintessentially British marque of Aston Martin attracts interest from enthusiasts across the world, a fact demonstrated here again this year as we took bids from all corners of the globe," said Bonhams' Tim Schofield. "The sale attracted a larger and more cosmopolitan attendance than ever before, achieving an excellent result." The auction was complemented by the Spring Concours held by the Aston Martin Owners Club down the road at Woburn Abbey in nearby Bedfordshire, bringing out a record assembly of 350 Astons old and new. The company used the occasion to mark the UK debut of the new Lagonda Taraf as well. BIGGEST BONHAMS SALE TO DATE AT ASTON MARTIN WORKS - 16th annual Aston Martin Sale sees total transactions top GBP10m - Sir Peter Ustinov-owned DB4 Series IV Vantage Convertible nets GBP1.5m - More than 50 sports cars and 170 items of automobilia change hands 11 May 2015, Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire: In its 60th anniversary year Aston Martin Works played host to another hugely busy Bonhams Aston Martin Sale on Saturday – with GBP10.3m worth of rare and prized sports cars changing hands. The historic home of the great British luxury brand was the venue for the 16th annual Bonhams Aston Martin Sale, which saw around 50 classic Aston Martins sold. The annual sale is recognised as a globally-significant occasion for Aston Martin collectors and enthusiasts around the world. The 2015 event was the biggest to date, setting a sales total of GBP10,280,275 and witnessing a fascinating and diverse collection of Aston Martin-related automobilia go under the hammer in several hours of exciting and highly-charged bidding.

Mercedes to offer SL, GL platforms to Aston Martin?

The agonizingly slow courtship between Aston Martin and Mercedes-Benz has been a regular topic of conversation ever since the 2009 Lagonda Concept debuted, riding on a Mercedes GL chassis. Beyond that one polarizing concept, though, nearly every other attempt to pair the two brands up in a major way has fallen through. Only the technical partnership between Mercedes and Aston for certain components from AMG, which was negotiated back in July, has held up so far.
That may finally be set to change, according to an excellent profile of the two brands' relationship from Automobile, which claims that two platforms will unite the Germans and Brits. The first tie up is, not surprisingly, a sports car.
As Aston Martin's VH platform - which underpins every car that comes out of Gaydon - continues to age, the pressure will well and truly be on Aston to find a next-gen replacement to underpin the successors to the Vantage, Vanquish, DB9 and Rapide. Automobile claims Mercedes has just such an architecture, in the form its new modular sports car platform. This new platform is slated for the next-generation SLK and SL and is still in its design infancy.