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Spectre shreds $37 million in cars

Much as you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs, you apparently can't film a James Bond movie without trashing a few cars. And by "a few cars," we actually mean $37 million worth. That's how much the producers of the all-new 007 flick, Spectre, trashed in the process of filming. And yes, that's a record. "We set the record for smashing up cars on Spectre," stunt coordinator Gary Powell told The Daily Mail (with what we can only imagine was a very boastful grin). "In Rome, we wrecked millions of pounds worth. They were going into the Vatican at top speeds of 110 [miles per hour]. We shot one entire night for four seconds of film." But because this was Bond, producers didn't just destroy $37 million worth of budget hatchbacks. Instead, seven out of ten specially produced Aston Martin DB10s were sacrificed in the name of cinema, including a major crash sequence featuring Rome's Colosseum, River Tiber, and the Vatican. American filmgoers will be waiting until November 6 to see if the destruction of all those Aston Martins was worthwhile. Somehow, we don't think anyone is going to be disappointed. Related Video: News Source: Daily Mail via Vanity FairImage Credit: Angelo Carconi / AP TV/Movies Aston Martin Coupe Luxury Performance spectre aston martin db10

Aston Martin working on a limited-edition DBR1-inspired speedster?

The Supercar Blog has heard from its supercar-privy sources that Aston Martin might be working on a new speedster. The putative roofless model could be inspired by the most important and most valuable racer in Aston Martin's history, the DBR1 that took overall honors at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1959. Thought to be limited to just 88 units, TSB said the carmaker might have held a VIP preview event during Monterey Car Week last month. If the English luxury maker is developing such a model, we can probably declare the speedster era officially open for business after the limited-edition Ferrari SP1 and SP2 Monzas, Porsche 911 Speedster, and the Ultimate Series speedster that McLaren recently admitted is on the way. As with the Aston Martin, all of the other high-bucks open-sky models take inspiration from racers of yesteryear.  Furthermore, if Aston Martin really has such plans, the carmaker would be re-opening a six-year-old chapter in company history. In 2013, Aston Martin unveiled the CC100 Speedster (pictured) at the 2013 Nurburgring 24-Hour race, created in just six months to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford deciding to build vehicles together. The CC100 was built on the VH platform utilized by the brand's production cars, and used a 6.0-liter V12 with 565 horsepower to do 0-60 mph in four seconds and reach a top speed of 180 mph. The carmaker built two of them, sold to collectors very close to the brand. Today's DBS Superleggera platform and its 5.2-liter, 715-hp V12 could make a suitable base, and who knows, Aston Martin — unlike Ferrari or McLaren — could go all the way and swap the DBS' eight-speed automatic for a manual transmission. Another site said the speedster impetus comes from "the high interest demonstrated by multiple collectors." No one has any insight on the symbolism of 88 units, though. Aston Martin did release a series of Dragon 88 models in 2012 for the Asian market, named for the auspicious omens associated with the number 8 in Chinese culture, and the Interush International team entered a #88 Vantage GT3 race car in the 2015 GT Asia Series, but that seems a gossamer thin connection. The Aston Martin One-77, after all, had a lot of sevens in its spec sheet, but was half named for its production volume. If there is a vintage-themed speedster on the way, we'll know more when Aston Martin decides to admit it.

Bathurst 12-hour gallery is GT3 heaven [w/video]

The 2015 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12-Hour race was run this weekend at the Mt. Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, Australia. Race photographer Joel Strickland sent us a huge batch of photos, all of which make us salivate for the switch to GT3 rules in the United SportsCar Championship; the top seven finishers at Bathurst were of seven different makes: Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3, Audi R8-LMS Ultra, Aston Martin Vantage GT3, Bentley Continental GT3, Mercedes SLS AMG GT3, Ferrari F458 Italia and Lamborghini Gallardo. It was a sweet victory for the No. 35 car driven by the NISMO Athlete Global Team after it crashed in Saturday qualifying, and then was only in third place on the penultimate lap. The three-man driving team included two GT Academy winners, one of whom, Florian Strauss, has only been a professional race car driver for 18 months. It's the first time the GT-R has won at Panorama since the original R32 "Godzilla" took back-to-back wins in 1991 and 1992. Second place went to the No. 15 Phoenix Racing Audi R8-LMS Ultra, 2.4 seconds behind the winners, third to the Craft Bamboo Racing Aston Martin Vantage not even half a second behind the Audi. The Bentley Motorsport team, in its first Bathurst 12-Hour with two cars, had its No. 10 Continental GT3 in the lead until the penultimate lap and in second place until the final corner, but crossed the line in fourth after some rubbin'-is-racin' action from chasers. And if pictures aren't enough, as of writing you can still watch the live stream of the entire race at the Bathurst 12-Hour site. Or, if you don't have the time, at least be sure to check out the last five minutes, below. Enjoy. Featured Gallery 2015 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12-Hour View 118 Photos Image Credit: Copyright 2015 Joel Strickland / AOL Motorsports Aston Martin Audi Bentley Nissan Coupe Racing Vehicles Videos aston martin vantage gt3