2004 Aston Martin Vanquish V12 Coupe Only 13k Miles Hre Wheels on 2040-cars

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FIA introduces 'Hypercar Concept' for World Endurance Championship

One of the most common jabs at hypercars is the question, "Where can you drive them to their potential?" Imagine the answer being: to the checkered flag in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. We're not there yet, but the FIA World Motor Sport Council took a step closer to the possibility during its second annual meeting in Manila, the Philippines. One of three initiatives the WSMC announced for the 2020 World Endurance Championship was "Freedom of design for brands based on a 'Hypercar' concept." This "Hypercar concept" would replace LMP1 as the premier class in the WEC. The dream, of course, would be seeing racing versions of the AMG Project One, Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro, Bugatti Chiron, Koenigsegg Regera, McLaren Senna GTR, Pagani Huara BC, and the rest of the gang trading paint and carbon fiber through Dunlop in a heinously expensive version of "Buy on Sunday, sell on Monday." The reality is that we don't have all the details yet on the set of regulations called "GTP," but the FIA wants race cars more closely tied to road cars, albeit with the performance level of today's LMP1 cars. Exterior design freedom would shelter internals designed to reduce costs, the FIA planning to mandate less complex hybrid systems and allow the purchase of spec systems. One of the FIA's primary goals is lowering LMP1 budgets to a quarter of their present levels. Audi and Porsche budgets exceeded $200 million, while Toyota - the only factory LMP1 entry this year and next - is assumed to have a budget hovering around $100 million. Reports indicated that Aston Martin, Ferrari, Ford, McLaren, and Toyota sat in on the development of the proposed class. If the FIA can get costs down to around $25 million, that would compare running a top IndyCar team and have to be hugely appealing to the assembled carmakers. The initiative represents another cycle of the roughly once-a-decade reboot of sports car racing to counter power or cost concerns. The FIA shut down Group 5 Special Production Sports Car class in 1982 to halt worrying power hikes, and introduced Group C. In 1993, Group C came to an ignoble end over costs; manufacturers were spending $15 million on a season, back when that was real money and not one-fifth of a Ferrari 250 GTO. Then came the BPR Global GT Series that morphed into the FIA GT Championship, which would see the last not-really-a-road car take overall Le Mans victory in 1998, the Porsche 911 GT1. That era would be most aligned with a future hypercar class.

2020 Aston Martin DBX pricing, interior revealed

We’ve gotten the rundown on the 2020 Aston Martin DBX's performance specs and heard the sound of its V8, seen the grille and learned about its dog-friendly Pet Pack and other accessories. There's also all those spy shots of mule versions running about. Now we have our first image of the interior and details on pricing of AstonÂ’s first SUV ahead of its Nov. 20 unveiling in Beijing. First up, the price. And it ainÂ’t cheap, but you knew that, because itÂ’s an Aston Martin. The off-road-capable luxury crossover will start at $189,900 here in the United States. That puts it in the rarified air of competitors like the Lamborghini Urus, the Rolls-Royce Cullinan and the Bentley Bentayga. For that kind of cheddar, youÂ’d better be riding in style. The interior photo, taken from the rear seat looking forward, shows a butterscotch-colored cabin, with stitched leather seats, what appears to be an Alcantara headliner, backseat climate controls with vents in the center console and on the B-pillars and, up front, a large touchscreen framed in an oval-shaped cluster. Aston says the bridged center console offers storage space below for handbags or other large items. ThereÂ’s also a huge, full-length glass roof and broad side windows, and weÂ’re told — but offered no concrete measurements — of class-leading front and rear legroom, and an abundance of space throughout. Aston says it did extensive customer research and carefully consider the ergonomics needs of a broad range of male and female occupants, with more than six months alone dedicated to determining the exact and best position of the driver within the vehicle and a "Female Advisory Board" to help dictate the layout of dashboard controls. Aston also wants us to know that it gave special consideration to backseat passengers and children. The decision to use an all-new platform and its longer wheelbase allowed designers to optimize cabin space while keeping the low roofline. The DBX will produce 542 horspower and 516 pound-feet of torque from the twin-turbo 4.0-liter borrowed from Mercedes-AMG, making it the most powerful version of the engine used in an Aston. Order books open after the reveal later this month.

Veneno Roadster, One:1, One-77, LaFerrari, P1, Veyron headline 25-car Bonham's auction

Bonhams is holding a no-reserve auction in fall 2019 that includes some of the most valuable and sought-after supercars of the past decade. The lot of 25 beautiful collector items includes a Lamborghini Veneno Roadster, a Koenigsegg One:1, an Aston Martin One-77, a Ferrari LaFerrari, a McLaren P1, and a Bugatti Veyron. The collection, which was seized from a corrupt politician from Equatorial Guinea, is valued at roughly $13 million. If selling off future classics that are still in their infancy as collector items seems strange, it's because this is not a straightforward situation. These cars will be sold off by the State of Geneva, not a person. The collection was previously owned by the vice president of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang, but the cars were seized when he was placed under investigation for money laundering and unfair management of public interests. These 25 cars, which were located in Geneva, were first sequestered in fall 2016. A trial court ordered them sold off, and the money earned from the sales would be invested in social programs that benefit Equatorial Guinea. And so, Equatorial Guinea is about to see an influx of cash, as every vehicle is valued in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars. The rarest might be the Koenigsegg One:1. One of only six remaining, it has 371 miles on the dial, and is valued at roughly $1.8 million. The Lamborghini Veneno Roadster, one of nine in the world, is a close second. It has 202 miles logged, and is valued at about $5.1 million. The Aston Martin One-77 is another rare bird. It is example No. 35 of 77, holds a 7.3-liter V12 engine, and is valued at about $1.4 million. A McLaren P1, Ferrari LaFerrari, and Bugatti Veyron 16.4 round out the top of the list. The remaining cars are not fully detailed, but they include examples from Mercedes-Maybach, Bentley, Maserati and Porsche. The auction will take place on Sunday, Sept. 29, at the Bonmont Golf & Country Club near Lake Geneva. For more photos and information, visit Bonhams.