2006 Aston Martin Db9 Volante, Triple Black With Black Wood, Only 14k Miles on 2040-cars

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Here's what Top Gear thinks of the Aston Martin Vulcan

With a limited run of just 24 units, the Aston Martin Vulcan isn't an easy vehicle to get your hands on. Even if you find one, the next challenge is locating a suitable track to drive it because these rare beasts aren't street legal. Top Gear (the website, not the TV show) arranged both and reported on the amazing experience of driving this rare hypercar in must-read story. Top Gear lapped the Vulcan around the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix circuit and came away thoroughly impressed. The author admits that the McLaren P1 GTR has a greater output, but driving the Aston Martin is still an incredibly visceral experience. Downshifts judder through the chassis, flames shoot from the side pipes, and the 820-horsepower V12 screams. "Five laps and I'm spent – I start to get a headache, I need to drink, sweat gathers, ears ring," the writer says. The Vulcan trains its handful of wealthy owners to be racers, but the interior still cossets them in Aston Martin's traditional luxury. As they learn the car, drivers can turn the power up from 550 hp, 675 hp, and to the full 820 hp when they feel ready. The suspension is also fully adjustable. So there's a touch of understeer out of the box, but a person can mitigate that as they gain experience. Plus, the writer claims the cabin fit and finish is marvelous. Head over to Top Gear to get the full story, it's well worth a read. Related Video:

So we think the Aston Martin DB11 Volante is coming in Spring 2018

Most automakers go out of their way to disguise new cars. There's camouflage and body cladding and if a spy photographer does get close enough to get a snap, engineers usually greet them with certain hand gestures. Aston Martin is not most automakers – instead of hiding the new DB11 Volante, it headed to the Arctic Circle in an undisguised car with a "DB11 – Opening Spring 2018" sign on each door. Subtle, guys. The new images of the droptop DB11 should assuage the emotions of critics of the hardtop model's odd roofline. The addition of a fabric softtop improves the car's look immeasurably, giving it a much more conventional profile. Where the sloping, floating roof on the DB11 coupe fights for visual attention with the rear haunches, the convertible top is innocuous, blending in favorably with the strong line over the rear wheels. We can't wait to see this car with its roof down, because it will look stunning. But as is the case with most convertibles, the roofline is the only place where changes happen. Below the beltline, the Volante shares its fascia and, rather unfortunately its weird side vent, with the hardtop model. And of course, the droptop is also sharing its engine with the coupe. We expect the same 5.2-liter, twin-turbocharged V12 and eight-speed automatic when the DB11 Volante debuts. Normally, this is the point in a spy photo story where we'd speculate about when and where a new car will debut. But since Aston Martin helpfully scrawled part of that info on the side of the car, it's not really necessary. The Aston Martin DB11 Volante will debut in spring of 2018, a period that lines up neatly with the Geneva Motor Show. Related Video:

Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro | Screaming Viking from the Valhalla of speed

This summer, two years after Aston Martin debuted the 800-horsepower, track-only Vulcan, the English carmaker unveiled the harder, faster, more-aero-focused Vulcan AMR Pro. We still haven't seen the final version of the road-ready Valkyrie, but as of right now we know Aston Martin's 's how-fast-can-you-go roadworthy jewel will get a track-only Valkyrie AMR Pro flavor. Detailed specifics will need to wait, but we're told to expect lap times rivaling "recent Formula One cars." For perspective, insider trading on the Valkyrie road car suggests 1,130 horsepower and a 2,270-pound curb weight. A naturally aspirated, 6.5-liter V12 takes credit for most of those horses, the remainder coming from a Rimac-developed, F1-style kinetic energy recovery system. Yes, that Rimac. The Valkyrie AMR Pro will send owners to a g-force-induced Valhalla, having more power, less weight, and "significantly increased downforce." The designers used a lighter grade of carbon fiber, replaced the windscreen and side windows with polycarbonate, traded for a lighter, molded racing seat, threw out the infotainment system, installed carbon fiber wishbones on the new suspension uprights, and bolted on smaller, 18-inch wheels that will fit the same Michelin tires used on LMP1 cars. Beyond larger front and rear wings and new programming for the active aerodynamics, Adrian Newey's team tweaked every aero surface. Powering all that with a lustier, remapped 6.5-liter V12, Red Bull simulations show the Valkyrie AMR Pro capable of close to 250 miles per hour. Sustained cornering forces should hit 3.3g. Thanks to F1-style carbon brakes, deceleration force tops 3.5g. Here's more perspective: the Telegraph spoke to Red Bull F1 in 2010 about in-car g-forces, and wrote, "Breath control is crucial — you cannot breathe freely above 3g because to do so would expose you to the risk of passing out." Since those numbers hint at something like ground-based flying, Aston Martin has sensibly organized a ground-based flight school. Owners will get "an intensive and comprehensive driver development program" that takes advantage of the same facilities and simulator used by Aston Martin Red Bull Racing F1. Fitness training comes with it. If you haven't signed the paperwork for a Valkyrie AMR Pro, you're too late. Twenty-five examples — one more than the Vulcan AMR Pro — will be produced, with expected delivery in 2020, and all are sold. Related Video: