2015 Aston Martin Vantage S on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Here's Aston Martin's DP-100 racer for Gran Turismo in all its virtual glory [w/video]

After a little bit of teasing, Aston Martin is finally unveiling its Design Prototype 100 Vision Gran Turismo Concept at the Goodwood Festival of Speed that makes it into Gran Turismo 6 in July. With the DP-100, the company's designers have gotten a chance to shrug off the shackles of realism and create the first-ever Aston Martin "road car" with the engine mounted behind the driver. Designed and engineered over the course of six months by the Aston Martin Design team, the crew started from a clean sheet of paper and were allowed to design whatever they liked with no concerns about production feasibility. At the front, there's the brand's classic grille shape, but otherwise the concept is completely original. The shape of the DP-100 is beautifully simple, looking like a collection of intersecting arches in profile. Of course, in Gran Turismo 6, gamers are going to want to race the car more than look at it. The DP-100 employs Aston Martin's famous V12 engine coupled with two turbochargers to produce 800 horsepower. Active aerodynamic aids keep it planted during cornering, as well. Aston Martin previously hinted that it might show off a physical version of the concept at this year's Goodwood Festival. Although, we haven't seen it yet, the concept would fit perfectly next to Nissan's own Vision Gran Turismo design at the celebration of all things automotive. Scroll down to watch a video of the DP-100's designers talking about the car and read the official release. ASTON MARTIN UNVEILS VIRTUAL DP-100 RACER FOR GRAN TURISMO®6 Design Prototype 100 joins stable of Vision Gran Turismo racers in popular racing game for PlayStation®3 Designed and engineered over six months by Aston Martin Design team Downloadable for in-game play in July 2014 Aston Martin is unveiling an exceptional new addition to the hugely popular PlayStation®3 exclusive racing game Gran Turismo®6 (GT6™) in the shape of the stunning Design Prototype 100 – DP-100 Vision Gran Turismo. Developed in-house by the Design team at Aston Martin, led by Design Director Marek Reichman, DP-100 Vision Gran Turismo is a new, virtual-only GT racer that will be available for Gran Turismo®6 (GT6™) owners to download in July 2014, following the global launch at Goodwood Festival of Speed. Starting with nothing but the traditional 'blank sheet of paper' the design team and design engineers worked for six months to create the new addition to the Vision Gran Turismo stable of race cars.

Aston Martin working on mid-engine Valkyrie ‘brother’ to rival McLaren P1

We know about the Aston Martin Valkyrie and the Valkyrie AMR Pro (pictured). And we know Aston Martin is planning a mid-engine rival for the Ferrari 488 and McLaren 720S. Now Autocar reports that the English luxury maker is working on yet another mid-engine model, a hypercar to outdo the McLaren P1 and Ferrari LaFerrari and stand up to the coming McLaren BP23. The newest addition to the small carmaker's grand plans is said to be known internally as "brother of the Valkyrie," and came about because of the sellout success of both the Valkyrie and Valkyrie AMR Pro. Both "brother of Valkyrie" and the 488 competitor are expected to use a carbon monococque with aluminum subframes. Both will use lessons from Aston Martin's tie-up with the Red Bull Formula 1 team, especially in packaging. Both are due to hit the market around 2021. And both will be products of the carmaker's Performance Design and Engineering Centre, a base of 130 engineers set up at Red Bull F1's Milton Keyes headquarters. However, the former car will fight in the GBP1M-plus price bracket ($1.4M-plus) where various manufacturers have made amazing hay with warp-speed daily drivers, and will be a limited edition "in order to add to its desirability." We remain in the dark on powertrains for both cars, but outsiders expect both to use a V8. When it comes to the "brother" car, Aston Martin's working relationship with Mercedes-AMG means it could tap the 4.0-liter V8 used by the DB11 and the Vantage. Apparently that engine can be wrung out to 800 horsepower with help from an ultimate EQ Boost setup. That still wouldn't be enough to compete in the segment, though, so the "brother" could become a demonstrator for Aston Martin's electric know-how — a rolling showcase that could turn its halo light on a potential electric sports car. Or perhaps there's another option that turns to Cosworth, the company helping develop the 1,000-hp 6.5-liter V12 in the Valkyrie. Aston Martin boss Andy Palmer wouldn't say much more about the junior supercar powertrain than, "In our portfolio today, we don't have an engine capable of giving us the output we require.

Aston Martin considers manufacturing cars in America

Aston Martin is getting closer to determining where it will built its new assembly plant. An initial shortlist included 19 possible locations, and now the company has reportedly narrowed it down to just four – two in the UK, one in the Middle East, and one here in the United States. The decision, however, may be dictated as much by outside factors as it is by the automaker's own preferences. The new plant is earmarked to handle production of the forthcoming new DBX. If Aston decides to build the crossover based on Mercedes underpinnings, it could opt to locate its assembly plant in the Southern United States to be close to the Alabama plant where Benz builds the GLE- and GLS-Class models. If Aston elects to build the DBX on its own chassis, it could open up a number of other options. According to Reuters, that could include two potential sites in the United Kingdom and another in the Middle East. The British automaker was previously reported to be closely considering a former Royal Air Force base in Wales to build its plant with considerable government incentives. Jaguar's former Browns Lane plant in Coventry was also said to be in contention. But Reuters reports that an 80-acre plot just to the north of Coventry in the Sutton Coldfield area is also on the table. Few details are known as to the potential Middle Eastern site, however the company is part owned by several Gulf-region shareholders. Although the largest portion of 39 percent is held by Italian holding company Investindustrial and 5 percent by Daimler, much of the remaining 56 percent is held by Kuwaiti investment companies. We don't doubt, then, that the oil-rich Persian Gulf state is in contention as well.