2001 Aston Martin Db7 Vantage on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Latest Spectre trailer loaded with cars, action

We've already received our first glimpse of the latest James Bond film, Spectre. But while that 90-second trailer was a bit light on vehicular mayhem, the trailer that aired during last night's NBA Finals game certainly wasn't. The 60-second spot started similarly to the first official Spectre trailer, but it quickly descended into something with a lot more action. Bond's one-off Aston Martin DB10 makes an appearance, as it did in the first trailer, but this time, we get a look at its duel with the Jaguar C-X75 of the film's villain. There are flames. Many flames. Check out the full trailer up top, and keep an eye open come November, when Spectre hits theaters.

Aston Martin testing modified Vantage at the 'Ring

Aston Martin is on the verge of a renaissance that stands to be the biggest shift for the British automaker since it went independent in 2007 – if not since Ford took it over in the early 1990s. It's got a new chief executive, a new engine deal in place with Mercedes-AMG, a new platform under development and – if the new Lagonda sedan is anything to go by – maybe a new design direction in the works. And what do we have here? A test mule that could foreshadow one of the first new models of this new era. Spied undergoing testing at the Nurburgring (where else), this prototype looks for the most part like the existing V12 Vantage S, but with what look to be even wider wheel arches. The question, then, is what those widened wells are there to accommodate, and the most likely conclusion would be that new Mercedes engine. Aside from the lack of grille slats inside that trademark opening in the nose and the competition-spec alloys inset in those arches, there's not much else to go on. But that Aston is testing such a prototype at all is evidence enough that work is under way on something exciting, so watch this space.

Aston Martin CEO dreams of an electric future for James Bond

With an endless stream of leggy models, futuristic weapons, and a dashing wardrobe, James Bond can rightfully be associated with indulgence. But his car of choice may soon take on a more ecologic bent by way of electric motor and some batteries. So says Andy Palmer, who is predicting an electric vehicle in Bond's future. EVS are 'almost as inevitable as death and tax.' - Andy Palmer Palmer, of course, is CEO of Aston Martin. As he said in a recent interview with CNBC, mass adoption of electrified vehicles is "almost as inevitable as death and tax," and that will extend to Bond – James Bond – as well. Take a look at CNBC's one-minute video clip with Palmer here. The fictional character has been linked to Aston Martin since the third James Bond film, 1964's Goldfinger. In it, the spy, then played by Sean Connery, drove an Aston Martin DB5. Most recently, Aston Martin built James Bond's DB10 especially for the 2015 film Spectre. The lure for the spy would be less the environmental statement and more the fact that electric cars have a ton of torque and can take off like a shot, says Palmer. He should know, having joined Nissan in 1991 and playing a key role in the development of the Nissan Leaf. He also pushed Nissan to add an electric powertrain to the Infiniti LE with the goal to do so by 2014, but by that year he'd left Nissan for Aston Martin. As for the UK automaker, it said last year that it was working with investment firm ChinaEquity on fitting the Aston Martin Rapide with an electric powertrain by 2017, and the car may have as much as 1,000 horsepower, too, which should be plenty for Bond. The company may also be working on an all-electric DBX SUV.