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Aston Cambridge celebrates British Spitfire with bespoke V12 Vantage S

Update: These special-edition Aston Martins are a creation of Aston Martin Cambridge, a dealer. They are being built in cooperation with Aston's Q bespoke division. The Supermarine Spitfire is well-known in the UK for its role in World War II. To commemorate the plane's first flight, which took place 80 years ago, Top Gear reports that Aston Martin Cambridge has created a limited-edition model of the V12 Vantage S. The automaker will only build eight units of the Spitfire 80, and it's safe to assume that none will make it to the US. As a special-edition model, the V12 Vantage S is finished in "Duxford Green" – aptly named after the Royal Air Force base where the first Spitfire squadron was stationed – with a yellow pinstripe along the side of the vehicle. The special edition isn't just a fancy paint job, as Duxford's Aircraft Restoration Company hand-built several components for the vehicle. The most prominent include the tailpipe finishers that have a rainbow bloom effect to match the original Spitfire's exhaust. Aston Martin's Q division added special touches to the interior with bespoke embroidered logos on the headrests, and the RAF's iconic roundel is integrated directly into the central dash. According to a Facebook post by Aston Martin Cambridge, the seats and inside of the glovebox feature Kestral Tan leather with black stitching, while the rest of the interior has black Alcantara with Kestral Tan stitching. Because of the car's exclusivity and unique touches, Aston Cambridge priced the Spitfire 80 at roughly $240,210, which is almost $50,000 more than a standard V12 Vantage S. An unspecified percentage of the vehicle's price will be donated to the RAF Benevolent Fund. All eight owners will receive their vehicles at IWM Duxford – a historic airfield and museum – on October 18th and go for a flight in a Spitfire. Related Video:

Aston Martin and Zagato will offer $7.9M limited edition sold only in pairs

Aston Martin and Zagato are planning to collaborate for a limited production run of a couple of incredible cars it's calling the DBZ Centenary Collection. There will be 19 DB4 GT Zagato Continuation cars and 19 DBS GT Zagatos made. These cars are only to be sold as pairs, meaning you get one DB4 and one DBS (based on the 2019 DBS Superleggera) when you buy. So why are Aston and Zagato doing this? Well, Zagato reaches its 100th anniversary in 2019, so a celebration is clearly in order. Aston Martin and Zagato have quite the storied recent and not-so-recent past. You might remember that Aston unleashed 25 DB4 GT Continuation cars sans Zagato earlier this year. The idea is the same here, but Zagato gets included on this project. Back in 1960, Aston Martin and Zagato had planned to make a 25-car run of Zagato-bodied DB4s. When demand wasn't high enough, it was cut off at 19, which explains why it's making 19 cars today as well. Aston and Zagato created those DB4s to race against others like Ferrari in the '60s, and the Continuation DB4 Zagato will be sold as a race car as well. Set to be built at Aston Martin Works in Newport Pagnell, England, the goal is to make the new car resemble the old as accurately as possible. At the same time, Aston is benefiting from modern engineering to make the car even better looking. So while it still uses a tubular frame and thin-gauge aluminum body panels, Aston also uses digital scanning technology to ensure the bodywork is absolutely perfect in fitment and consistency. Looking at the mechanical side of things, we've got an inline-six engine that makes 380 horsepower hooked up to a four-speed manual transmission and a limited-slip differential. That's significantly more power than the 331 hp DB4 Continuation that Aston made before. The commitment to looking and feeling the part is there, but we really wonder how the driving experience differs from that of a Zagato from the '60s. That's only the first half of the pair. Wealthy owners will also receive a DBS GT Zagato. It's unclear exactly what that car will look like just yet, because Aston has only provided us with what looks like a rough design sketch. It says we'll see a fresh take on the "double-bubble" roof, new grille and a truncated tail to differentiate it from the run-of-the-mill DBS Superleggera. As a reminder, the DBS Superleggera has a 5.2-liter turbocharged V12 that makes 715 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque.

Alfa Romeo Tonale Jeep-derived crossover reportedly delayed by new CEO

Alfa Romeo's long-awaited Tonale crossover might not make its global debut in 2021 after all. Its launch has reportedly been delayed because the firm's boss wasn't satisfied with the proposed plug-in hybrid drivetrain. Anonymous sources familiar with the company's product plan told industry trade journal Automotive News that the Tonale won't begin arriving in showrooms until the first part of 2022 at the earliest, a delay of at least three months. It was tentatively scheduled to enter production on the outskirts of Naples, Italy, in October 2021. While setbacks aren't uncommon, the same sources claim the soft-roader's postponement was ordered by Jean-Philippe Imparato, who was appointed Alfa Romeo's chief executive in January 2021 when FCA merged with PSA to form Stellantis. Formerly at the head of Peugeot, Imparato demanded better performance from the hybrid powertrain that will be offered on some variants after seeing the Tonale for the first time in January 2021. Whether he wants additional electric range, more horsepower, or both remains to be seen. Alfa Romeo hasn't released technical details, but Automotive News reported the crossover will be closely related to the Jeep Compass, so it could get its American cousin's gasoline-electric plug-in technology. It consists of a 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine and an electric motor mounted over the rear axle. The system's total output checks in at 190 horsepower and 199 pound-feet of torque, though a 240-horse variant of the drivetrain is available on more upscale trim levels. Electric range is rated at 31 miles at up to 81 mph, and hitting 60 mph from a stop takes 7.5 seconds, a respectable figure for the segment. Another point that's unclear is how engineers will improve the Tonale's numbers. Making tweaks to Jeep's 4xe powertrain is an option; borrowing components from the Peugeot-Citroen parts bin is another, though the latter solution is more difficult to implement than the former. Less than a year away from production, even with the delay taken into account, the Tonale is mostly locked in. Photos taken during a design clinic (pictured) suggest it has changed significantly since we discovered it as a concept in 2019. Redesigning the engine bay to accommodate a different four-cylinder or reengineering the structure to fit a bigger battery could cost millions of development dollars.