2006 Aston Martin Db9 Volante Conv. V12 on 2040-cars

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Looking for a deal? Check out your nearest Acura dealer

For the fourth time in the last year, an Aston Martin out-discounts all other automakers by offering the largest monetary savings off the retail price of an automobile in America. This time, though, the discount isn't on the aging (though still beautiful) Rapide sedan or range-topping DBS Superleggera, it's for the DB11 sports car. For those keeping track, the DB11 also led this discount list back in May of 2020. This time, though, the price is even lower than before. Right now, buyers of the Aston Martin DB11 are seeing discounts of $24,330. That's a 12.1% cut off the car's average retail price of $201,820 and it means buyers are paying an average transaction price of $177,490. Still expensive, but really not bad for a drop-dead gorgeous machine with as much as 630 horsepower. Next in line is a familiar face, the Acura NSX. As impressive as the Japanese hybrid supercar may be, Acura has been running big rebates on the NSX for as long as we've been running these lists. This month, the NSX buyers are seeing discounts of nearly 14% for an average transaction price of $138,648. The third biggest discount this month shows up on the most expensive vehicle on the list. The Rolls-Royce Phantom carries an average sticker price of $537,500. But buyers are getting about 4% off that for an average transaction price of $516,333. It may not be a massive discount when measured by percentage, but when the asking price is so high, even a small discount equals big bucks. Related Video:

Aston Martin owners rev up for possible sale or stock IPO

LONDON — Aston Martin's owners have hired financial advisory firm Lazard to prepare for a stock market listing or sale of the British sports car maker made famous by fictional spy James Bond, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Italian private equity fund Investindustrial and a group of Kuwaiti investors, who together own more than 90 percent of the marque, are hoping to cash in on a recovery in sales and are in the initial stages of a strategic review. They have hired investment bank Lazard to work on a preliminary plan and could either opt for an initial public offering (IPO) in the third or fourth quarter of 2018 or a trade sale, two of the sources said on Friday. A deal could value the maker of the sports car driven by Britain's Prince William on his wedding day at between 2 billion and 3 billion pounds ($4 billion), one of the sources said, adding a listing was the most likely option. However, no final decision had been taken and the investors could decide to retain control, the sources added. Investindustrial declined to comment while Aston Martin and Lazard did not return requests for comment. Adeem Investment, one of the Kuwaiti investors, was not immediately available. If successful, a float of Aston Martin would be a milestone deal for the 104-year-old car manufacturer and would follow the IPO of Italian sportscar maker Ferrari which made its Wall Street debut in 2015 amid strong investor demand. Investindustrial, led by founder Andrea Bonomi, bought 37.5 percent of Aston Martin in 2012 in what was the fund's best-known investment in Britain. The fund, which has clinched a number of Southern European investments since its launch in 1990, is Aston Martin's single biggest investor and is driving the plans, the sources said. Beside Lazard, other investment banks have approached the private equity fund in recent weeks offering advice ahead of a possible IPO, another source said. Yet no other mandates will be awarded this year for the Gaydon-based firm, which is in the midst of a turnaround plan that aims to restore the business to profitability following six years of losses. Aston Martin, which recently unveiled its new Vantage model, 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.

2019 Aston Martin V8 Vantage First Drive Review | A sportier bark and bite

Aston Martin's 21st century renaissance kickstarted with the DB11, a high-dollar grand tourer that upped the outgoing DB9's dynamic envelope while keeping one foot firmly planted in the brand's aesthetically elevated roots. The sequel to Aston's bid for relevancy is the V8 Vantage, a more agile and track-focused two-seater, perennially the company's best-seller that guns for the heavyweight in the segment, the Porsche 911. With a completely updated design language and laser-like focus on performance, the 2019 Aston Martin V8 Vantage is arguably the most important modern car to come out of Gaydon in... well, forever. Forget everything you know about the late, great V8 Vantage (and its sublime V12 counterpart). The 2019 model is a completely re-imagined beast, built from the ground up with around a turbocharged engine from an unexpected source. The old Vantage V8's naturally aspirated V8 is gone, and in its place is a Mercedes-AMG-sourced twin-turbo 4-liter V8 producing 503 horsepower and 505 lb-ft of torque (up from the old 4.7-liter mills' 430 hp and 361 lb-ft). The new donor powerplant receives a re-tuned intake and exhaust to give off a slightly different aural impression that's slightly raspier than the thumpy AMG. Unlike its AMG counterpart, the Aston version adopts a wet-sump oiling system, with the benefits of sitting lower to the ground and improved fuel economy due to the system's slightly reduced parasitic losses. Senior Vehicle Engineering Manager Craig Jamieson says that his team's learnings developing the wet sump system in the V12 Vantage enabled them to fine tune this setup for track duty. The engine mates to the ubiquitous ZF 8-speed automatic gearbox, which comes equipped here with stationary paddle shifters. Power is routed through Aston's first use of an electronic differential at the rear transaxle, which helps achieve a balanced 50/50 weight distribution. Seventy percent of the bonded aluminum chassis, which is derived from the DB11's, is unique to Vantage. Its dry curb weight is 3,373 pounds (a more standard wet curb weight wasn't available at press time), and it'll sprint to 60 mph in a claimed 3.5 seconds on its way to a top speed of 195 mph. Though much of the Vantage's design direction comes from the obvious decision to depart from the brand's bygone era, a few choices were informed by function – most controversially, those squinty LED headlamps which some detractors have slammed as being "Mazda-like".