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Aston Martin reportedly cancels electric RapidE amid money troubles

Aston Martin's first production-bound electric car won't be based on the Rapide after all, according to a recent report. The British firm allegedly canceled the RapidE project after several costly delays. British magazine Autocar learned from a source close to Aston Martin that it has consigned the sedan to the automotive attic to focus on ramping up production of the DBX, its first SUV. It's a hugely important model that will make or break the company's 2020 balance sheet. Other seemingly random projects like the ACH130 helicopter co-developed with Airbus are much less distracting because there's little substance to them; it's essentially just a nice interior and an eye-catching paint job. The RapidE, however, was a new car under a familiar body. Presented as "a truly historic step" that would pelt Aston into the world of electrification, it snubbed the Rapide's 6.0-liter V12 and instead offered drivers an electric powertrain with 610 horsepower and a 65-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. The firm quoted a 200-mile driving range, which is on par with the Porsche Taycan's EPA rating, and a 4-second sprint to 60 mph, which is about as quick as a gasoline-burning Rapide. Development work began in 2015 with the help of LeEco, a Chinese tech giant-turned-electric car manufacturer founded by Jia Yueting, the man behind Faraday Future. Aston Martin chose to finish funding the project on its own after money trouble forced LeEco out. Williams Advanced Engineering provided its expertise, but Aston Martin had to foot the bill on its own, so the RapidE went from a low-volume model to a limited-edition sedan. Aston Martin planned to make 155 examples of the RapidE in a new facility located in St. Athan, Wales. Each one carried a price tag reading "on application," which is automaker-speak for "really expensive," and one was spoken for by James Bond. We reached out to the company to verify Autocar's report, but were told they couldn't comment on future product speculation. There's no word yet on what this means for the other electric cars Aston has in the pipeline, including two luxury sedans previewed by concepts and intended to revive the dormant Lagonda name in the early 2020s. Featured Gallery Aston Martin Rapide E:Auto Shanghai 2019 View 11 Photos Green Aston Martin Electric Sedan

James Bond's ‘GoldenEye’ Aston Martin DB5 sells for $2.6 million

Last month, we wrote about the "GoldenEye" Aston Martin DB5 coming up for auction at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and reported that it was estimated to bring in $1.6 million to $2.14 million. The Aston did a lot better, as it ended up selling for a comfortable $2.6 million. The cinematic Aston's buyer turned out to be the newly founded NYC spy museum Spyscape, which is already displaying the DB5 deal on its website. As a matter of fact, Spyscape will even be offering rides in the DB5 — not a lot of people have ridden in any DB5, let alone one that has been driven by James Bond. As Hemmings notes, the DB5 in question was found for filming by Aston Martin itself along with a couple other examples. After filming wrapped up, it was restored — reportedly to address damage accumulated during the shoot — and put on a promotional tour. Stirling Moss himself drove the car onstage at the Los Angeles Auto Show, when the spiritual successor for the DB5, the DB7, was presented. It's worth noting that the car sold in 2001 for $200,000, and that it was the most expensive piece of Bond-related stuff sold at the time. Last weekend's auction price puts a zero at the end of that price, and then some. Meanwhile, if you can't afford a $2.6 million James Bond car, how about the just-out Lego kit costing $149.99? Related Video: TV/Movies Aston Martin Auctions Luxury Classics aston martin db5 db5

Aston Martin DBS Superleggera Concorde Edition celebrates airspeed

This year is the 100th birthday of British Airways, as well as the 50th anniversary of the first flight for the Aerospatiale/BAC Concorde supersonic passenger jet. Today marks the 16th anniversary of the Concorde's final hop, when Concorde 216 registered as G-BOAF flew from Heathrow to Bristol, England, with 100 BA employees on board, to roll into a display space at the Aerospace Bristol museum. That same plane was the last Concorde built, coming off the line in 1978 at BAC Filton Bristol. To celebrate the plane and BA and its aerospace neighbor, Aston Martin Bristol commissioned 10 special editions called the DBS Superleggera Concorde. Pieced together with the expertise of Q by Aston Martin, the coupe is the latest in Aston Martin's aviation-inspired Wings Series specials, following the Vanquish S Red Arrows Edition, Vantage Blades Edition, and V12 Vantage S Spitfire 80. Dressed in white, the coupe gets ornament in British Airways livery colors on the front splitter, roof strake, rear spoiler, rear diffuser, and inside the Aston Martin wings badge. A Concorde graphic decorates the black, carbon fiber roof, and a Concorde-shaped chunk of solid aluminum streaks through the side strakes. The British Airways "Speedmarque" logo is on the front fender above the black enamel Q by Aston Martin badge, the rear fenders wearing registration G-BOAF.    Printed Alcantara on the Superleggera's cockpit headliner displays a sonic boom graphic, the front visors get mach meter graphics, the front seats show off Concorde and Speedmarque logos. Pieces of titanium compressor blades from the supersonic bird have been turned into paddle shifters, and embossed solid aluminum seatbelt buckles shine the Concorde again. The floor mats adopt a design by Sir Terence Conran, he being one of three designers commissioned to upgrade the Concorde's interior not long before the jet went out of service. The 5.2-liter V12 engine holds steady at 710 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque, plenty of thrust for booming travel on the ground. Aston Martin Bristol says it will donate part of the proceeds from each sale to the Air League Trust, a nonprofit that teaches underprivileged children how to fly and helps open doors for them into engineering professions.