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Aston Martin sold its old Vanquish tooling, but to whom?

Where do car models go when they become old? In some cases, they go to developing markets to be reborn again: Nissan built the Sentra in Mexico for ages, and old Peugeot saloons have been made in Iran for decades. Sometimes a separate company buys the tooling, which has been the case for Saab, for instance: the 9-3 and 9-5 sedans found a new life in China, albeit with new sheetmetal. These scenarios usually play out with passenger cars and trucks, and more rarely with sports cars. But for the Aston Martin Vanquish, there might be plans afoot. Aston Martin was revealed to have sold the second-generation Vanquish tooling and design drawings in June, for around $26 million. Aston didn't disclose the name of the buyer, so speculation quickly rose. Who wants to start building the V12 range-topper originally launched in 2012? Automotive News suggests the buyer could be a boutique European tuner such as Mansory, who would expand from converting cars into having bespoke products of its own. Jalopnik mentions Zagato, who has already partnered with Aston Martin and helped create the exclusive Zagato Vanquish. Whoever the buyer turns out to be, they will get 18 months of assistance from Aston Martin Consulting, as dictated in the deal. An interesting development would be if the Vanquish would be recreated as an electric supercar, if the anonymous buyer chooses not to fit their creations with Aston's V12 engines. Still, Aston won't be the first British sportscar maker to sell its tooling to another company: surely everybody remembers the time the front-wheel-drive Lotus Elan reappeared in Korea, as the Kia Elan/Vigato? Related Video:

King Charles' electric I-Pace goes to auction next month

Never mind the Bentley State Limousines, the Aston Martin DB6 Volante that Queen Elizabeth II bought him on his 21st birthday, or the Rolls-Royce Phantom VI valued at more than $600,000. The car of the moment, if we’re talking about the garage of King Charles III of England, is a far more ordinary — and all-electric — Jaguar I-Pace purchased in 2018 by His Majesty “for his personal use." The royal Jag is set to be auctioned off March 2 at the famed Ascot Racecourse; estimated selling price is as high as $88,000. If you miss out on the auction of a president's former ride, here's one from a king. The SUV, notable as the first all-electric vehicle to be embraced by the royal family, is the range-topping I-Pace EV400 HSE all-wheel-drive luxury five-seater that the king — prince of Wales at the time — bought in September 2018 for $75,000. According to the auction site, the Jag was "purchased with his own money." Charles had Jaguar install a fast charger at Clarence House, his residence. The vehicle was returned to a Jaguar dealership after two years — itÂ’s not clear if it had been leased — with only 3,000 miles on the clock. Subsequently, the SUV was sold to one Karen French of Oxfordshire. She said in a statement offered by Historics Auctioneers, “This I-Pace was exactly what I was looking for and pretty much on my doorstep. It was only when I agreed to buy it that I discovered its extraordinary history — I was absolutely thrilled. Having driven it over 30,000 miles,” she added, ”I decided in the New Year that it was time for a change.” Noted by the auctioneers in typical British understatement, the high-specification car was uniquely finished in Loire Blue and remains the only I-Pace “to be painted in this colour, whilst those inside the car enjoyed a sumptuous, contrasting leather interior in, fittingly, Light Oyster Windsor.” A revised Jaguar I-Pace is scheduled to arrive next year. Regarding the KingÂ’s affection for automobiles — British automobiles — he reportedly overseas a fleet worth more than $17 million. And while heÂ’s fond of driving conventional vehicles, he told the BBC some years ago that “my old Aston Martin, which I've had for 51 years, runs on — can you believe this — surplus English white wine, and whey from the cheese process.” Essentially the classic had been converted to run on E85 bio-ethanol. "The engineers at Aston said, 'Oh, it'll ruin the whole thing,'" Charles shared with The Telegraph in 2018.

Aston Martin Vantage GT3 gets it done the old fashioned way [w/video]

Aston Martin may be looking towards the future with new product unveiled here at the Geneva Motor Show like the Vulcan track car and DBX electric crossover concept. But it's not about to leave its existing lineup behind. That's where the model you see here comes in. What you're looking at is the new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Special Edition. As you might have guessed, it's based on the Vantage that first arrived a decade ago, but has come a long way by now: where the original packed a 4.3-liter V8 with just 380 horsepower, the GT3 goes with Aston's long-serving 6.0-liter V12 tuned to 592 horsepower. That's more powerful than anything this side of the One-77. Of course Aston didn't just toy with the engine and then head to the pub. It also replaced many of the body panels with carbon fiber and junked anything extraneous to cut the curb weight by 220 pounds (compared to the V12 Vantage S), fitted it with a more aggressive aero package and mounted semi-slick tires on a wider track. Only 100 examples will be offered, so if you're not on the list, the closest you're likely to get is in the slideshow of live images from the floor of the Geneva Palexpo. Featured Gallery Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Special Edition: Geneva 2015 View 10 Photos Related Gallery Aston Martin Vantage GT3 View 22 Photos Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2015 Drew Phillips / AOL Geneva Motor Show Aston Martin Coupe Performance Videos 2015 Geneva Motor Show aston martin v12 vantage aston martin vantage gt3