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Aston Martin DB5s from 'No Time to Die' sampled by Carfection

The excellent Henry Catchpole might have just made the most persuasive argument for restomods using one of the world's and pop culture's most celebrated classics. The Carfection host spent a day at Silverstone with no less than four takes on the Aston Martin DB5 — one of them the showstopping original in gleaming Silver Birch with the license plate BMT 216A, three of them stunt cars used in the next James Bond installment "No Time to Die." Catchpole starts off in the stock vintage two-door, its 4.0-liter straight-six sending about 282 horsepower and 287 pound-feet of torque to the live rear axle to move about 3,300 pounds. It's a thrill to run through apexes, but perhaps more for its pedigree than its prowess; at one point, Catchpole wonders, "How on earth he did some of those car chases with seats like this, I've got no idea." Of course, Bond only had to outrun a couple of even older Mercedes sedans in "Goldfinger." The host then slides into the shotgun seat of one of the ringers, with one-time Subaru-driving rally ace Mark Higgins behind the wheel. Higgins has been a stunt driver in four Bond films now, starting his tenure in a Land Rover Defender in "Quantum of Solace," working his way up to drifting the one-off Aston Martin DB10 at around 90 miles per hour through St. Peter's Square in The Vatican. Higgins explains a bit of what went into the DB5-looking stunt cars built for "No Time to Die," one of them built on a ladder frame chassis dressed in carbon fiber body panels, powered by a modern straight-six engine, suspended with Ohlins dampers. The directive was to get repeatability in tricky environments, and hey, more power and less weight is never a bad thing, either.  When Catchpole takes the track again behind the wheel of the stunt car, you'll want to turn on the closed captions. Even if you don't, Catchpole's barely audible exclamations and facial expressions make it clear which car he'd rather take home, and which he'd leave for the "misogynist alcoholic womanizer of a secret spy with really pretty unresolved violence issues." If all goes well, we'll see both in action — plus two more — when "No Time to Die" hits theaters in November. Related Video:

Aston Martin to replace Rapide with DBX crossover, Lagonda sedan

Aston Martin is known best for two-door coupes and convertibles, but it has a history with other body styles. And it looks like Aston's future includes more versatile door configurations. Speaking with Car and Driver at the New York Auto Show, the company's new CEO Andy Palmer reveals a two-pronged plan to replace the four-door Rapide. One will be a new Lagonda sedan; the other a production version of the DBX crossover concept. Detailing the overall strategy for the British automaker, Palmer said, "First is replacing the entire sports car range; second is the DBX, and that appeals to a different set of audiences; and the third is the sports sedan, which will carry [the Lagonda] badge." The Lagonda, Palmer revealed, will not be the Taraf we've already seen. Although sales of that model are expanding beyond its initial Middle Eastern market, it won't be coming to North America due to US crash-testing requirements and the vehicle's short production run. The next Lagonda sedan, however, is more likely to reach these shores. The DBX meanwhile is slated to switch to four doors from the coupe-like profile of the concept, but keep similar overall dimensions and that sleek roofline – albeit modified to make it more accommodating. The crossover will also replace the concept's electric powertrain with a more conventional engine. And while we wouldn't rule out the name carrying over, we wouldn't be surprised to see the DBX adopt another handle on the road to production.

Aston Martin says DBX is an obvious candidate for the AMR treatment

The 2021 Aston Martin DBX made its debut at the Los Angeles auto show with a Mercedes-Benz-sourced V8 engine under the hood. While that's the only engine that will be available at launch, the British company's chief executive confirmed there are several other options on the table. Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer told Road & Track the twin-turbocharged, 5.2-liter V12 found in models such as the DB11 AMR and the DBS Superleggera fits in the DBX's engine bay. On its own, that's not a guarantee that a V12-powered model will arrive; just because there's space to install a 12-cylinder engine doesn't mean it makes sense to drop it in. Palmer didn't confirm or deny that the DBX will gain four additional cylinders, but he stressed that Aston hasn't mined the DBX's full potential yet. "We'll probably do other engine derivatives, we'll do other spec derivatives. As you do with any lifecycle management," he explained without going into more details about what's next. The twin-turbocharged, 4.0-liter V8 delivers 542 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque when bolted between the DBX's fenders, which means there's already room for improvement. The same engine makes 603 horses in the GLS 63 and GLE 63 S that Mercedes-AMG unveiled in Los Angeles, and its output checks in at 630 horsepower when it's under the GT 63 S's long hood. Swapping the V8 for a V12 would also bring the DBX's output above 600 horsepower — the DBS Superleggera's 5.2-liter packs a 715-horse punch — but it would put a Lagonda-sized dent in the vehicle's fuel economy. Aston Martin, like its peers, is under intense scrutiny in the emissions department. Time will tell which direction Palmer's team takes the model, but it's safe to bet we'll see a sportier variant. "We're committed to doing an AMR in every one of our range, so that would be an obvious candidate," Palmer told Road & Track. When it arrives, there's a good chance it will face serious competition from the long-rumored Urus Performante that Lamborghini is allegedly working on.