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Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato goes into limited production

Thanks to "unprecedented customer interest," Aston Martin has confirmed plans to build a limited production run of Vanquish Zagato coupes. Just 99 wealthy owners will get the privilege to park one of these beauties in their garage, and each will be built to order. Deliveries are expected to begin in the first quarter of 2017, so there may still be time to put in a request, should you have the means and the desire. The Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato debuted in concept form at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este at Lake Como, Italy in May 2016. We loved it then, and we still love it now. The entire body is hewn from carbon fiber, with a 6.0-liter V12 delivering 576 horsepower to the rear wheels. That's good enough for a 0-60 run of 3.5 seconds, though this Grand Touring car won't really be about racing any stopwatches. Aston says the Zagato's suspension will be specially tuned for "a unique GT experience," which we assume means more long-distance comfort than race track dominance. This is the fifth time Aston Martin has teamed up with Zagato, starting with the DB4 GT racecar in 1960. The last time the partnership bore vehicular fruit was in 2011, when the V12 Vantage Zagato was unveiled. Check out the high-resolution image gallery at the top to see the new Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato in all its bright-red glory. Related Video: Featured Gallery Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato View 19 Photos Design/Style Aston Martin Coupe Luxury Performance Supercars zagato aston martin vanquish aston martin vanquish zagato

Aston Martin Rapide AMR spied testing at the 'Ring

At last year's Geneva Motor Show, Aston Martin launched its AMR line of limited-edition, high-performance models. The first two models presented were a Vantage AMR Pro designed only for the track, and a Rapide AMR that's was a slightly hopped up version of the Aston sedan. Though they were fully revealed back then, it seems Aston Martin has still been doing a bit of testing, since one of our spy photographers caught the Rapide AMR at the Nurburgring. The car is most certainly a test vehicle, since the hood and front bumper are unpainted. It's also missing its florescent green stripe down the middle. But it looks like there haven't been any visual changes to the bodywork compared to the show car. It is also missing four massive exhaust tips at the back. Still, it should have the same 592-horsepower V12 under the hood with a louder exhaust system and plenty of carbon fiber bits inside and outside of the car. This may be one of the only times we ever see one of these cars at the famous German race track, or any race track for that matter. Only 210 Rapide AMR cars will be built, meaning collectors will probably be squirreling them away into garages and only bringing them out for the occasional car show or Sunday drive. Hopefully Aston will also record and announce a lap time for the big-engine sedan, since we doubt anyone else will try to set a record time. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2019 Aston Martin Rapide AMR spy shots View 13 Photos Image Credit: CarPix Spy Photos Aston Martin Luxury Performance Sedan aston martin rapide aston martin racing aston martin amr

No surprise, Brits still love the Aston Martin Vanquish

We like the Aston Martin Vanquish very much. Sure, there are faster, wilder, crazier vehicles available for the money. Cough, Ferrari, cough. But there's something just so damned charming about the Aston and its big, monstrous V12 engine and stunning looks. And we're not alone in that opinion. You'll hear much the same if you watch the video above, the latest from the team at Xcar. In it, you'll watch host Alex Goy sample the stunning Vanquish Carbon White Edition, rocketing along Britain's stunning B-roads accompanied by a howling engine note. Goy heaps particular praise on the Vanquish's new transmission, the extremely well-received eight-speed automatic from ZF. Aston Martin has a spotty record when it comes to automatic transmissions, but this is the same sublime box being employed by luxury brands across the globe. Considering that, its capabilities in the Vanquish aren't too surprising. You can and should check out the full video from Xcar up at the very top of the page, if only for the V12 soundtrack alone.