2009 Aston Martin 2dr Cpe on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Aston Martin and Airbus reveal ACH130 AM helicopter collaboration

The Aston Martin DBX is one of the brand's several recent forays into novel territory. In November, the carmaker unveiled a motorcycle co-created with Brough Superior, the AMB 001. A month later, the brand teased a liaison with Airbus Corporate Helicopters with the ACH130 model at its heart. Here we have the result after 12 months of planning, the ACH130 Aston Martin Edition. The exterior lines of the six- or seven-seat chopper most often used for "sightseeing services, charter operators, and emergency medical services" are unchanged. Aston Martin's creative hand came in composing four exterior color combinations and an interior embellished with the carmaker's hallmarks. The pictured ACH130 AM wears livery in Stirling Green that fades into Jet Black underneath, accented with Skyfall Silver cowlings. The remaining three choices use Xenon Grey, Arizona, or Ultramarine Black as their primary colors. Seats profiled to recall Aston Martin road cars can be dressed in hides of colored Oxford Tan, Pure Black, Cormorant, or Ivory. Brogue detailing decorates the strip of Pure Black ultra-suede running down the center of the front seatbacks, stopping at hand-crafted leather satchels affixed to the lower portions. The rest of the interior is trimmed in matching leather and Pure Black ultra-suede, with embossed Aston Martin wings "tastefully positioned throughout the cabin," and a plaque inscribed with the edition number of the particular ACH130 AM. The bird can be ordered as of now, with deliveries to begin this quarter. Aston Martin and Airbus didn't release the price, but a standard ACH130 costs $3.3 million before frills. That makes the ACH130 AM the most wallet-friendly offering among Airbus' carmaker collaborations; the Mercedes-Benz ACH145 costs about $8.5 million, the ACH160 developed with Peugeot's design consultancy requires roughly $18 million. Related Video:

Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato expected to fetch over $16M

Classic car collectors will want to head to New York on December 10. That's where RM Sotheby's will be holding its Driven by Disruption sale, with some of the most desirable pieces of automotive history on the docket. And arguably the most tempting of them is the 1962 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato pictured here. The start of a long and distinguished partnership between Aston Martin and Zagato, the DB4 GT is considered by many (ourselves included) to be one of the most beautiful automobiles ever made. You can judge for yourself after looking over the images in the gallery above. Only 19 were originally made, of which this, the 14th example, was the only one delivered new to Australia. After undergoing a complete restoration in 2002, chassis number DB4GT/0186/R won first-in-class awards at both Pebble Beach and Villa d'Este. RM hasn't published pre-sale estimates for how much it expects to get for this one, but in correspondence with Autoblog, a spokesperson for the auction house revealed that "it is expected to fetch in excess of $16 million USD when it crosses the podium in December." That would eclipse by order of magnitude the prices fetched at auction for previous examples in recent years, which (according to the records at Sports Car Market) have traded hands for around $2.5 million. Of course, the Aston isn't the only classic automobile consigned for the event. With two months still to go before the auction takes place, RM has confirmed a 1955 Siata 208S Spider that's expected to fetch upwards of $1.5 million, a '53 Ferrari 250 Europa (~$4 million), and a '38 Bugatti Type 57C Atalante (>$2 million). Fans of more modern and rare equipment, however, may be more enticed by the Lamborghini Concept S previously announced for the auction, expected to go for as much as $3 million.

Aston Martin's front-engined sports cars getting big upgrades for 2023

On an investor call in March 2021 to go over financial results for the year 2020, Aston Martin CEO Tobias Moers told listeners that the automaker's range of front-engined cars were going under various knives to get a "full refresh." At last, thanks to voluminous commentary provided at the launch of Aston Martin's AMR22 Formula 1 car, we have some idea of what Moers' meant. When Autocar spoke to carmaker CEO Lawrence Stroll, he told the outlet the DB11, DBS, and Vantage were going to be like "all-new cars" after receiving upgraded powertrains, suspensions, and infotainment systems. It sounds like there could be design tweaks in store as well, the honcho claiming, "There's no similarity at all to the current cars" save for "some carry-over" in the rear quarters. Autocar believes the AMG-sourced M177 twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 in the DB11 and Vantage will get more power, both of those coupes furnished with 503 horses from that mill at the moment. Meanwhile, the AMG GT 63 S four-door coupe is getting 630 horses from the same engine, more than the 600 hp Aston Martin elicits from its in-house, 5.2-liter V12. It will be interesting to see if the V12 is pushed further in order to retain the same daylight between it and the V8. Alongside this, Stoll told Bloomberg the next 18 to 24 months will bring us electrified versions of the entire model portfolio. The DBX will likely come first, in the next 18 months, with performance that will match or exceed the recently launched DBX707. The hybridized "front-engine program" will follow on its quad pipes. The interiors will take a luxurious step up thanks to the arrival of touchscreens. Before the English firm's tie-up with AMG, it used Volvo-sourced infotainment screens, a necessary cost-saving measure but one that wasn't up to the standards of the brand. Moving to the Mercedes-based system improved the perception, but Aston Martin had to agree to using three-year-old Mercedes technology, another move that didn't fit the standards of the brand. As Stroll asked rhetorically yet rightly, "How can you have an Aston Martin that sells for GBP150,000 with three-year-old technology?" To be clear, we're still taking about underlying Mercedes tech, but the up-to-date stuff that, furthermore, will issue directives with "a proper English accent." The results of the upgrade program are anticipated to reach dealer in 2023, perhaps as 2024 models.