2023 Aston Martin Vantage F1 Edition on 2040-cars

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Bonham's will auction Paul McCartney's old Aston Martin DB5

At the company's Bond Street, London auction, Bonham's will offer a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 that is possibly one the most British cars around. Not only is it an example of a classic British sports car known for being driven by James Bond, this exact car was purchased new by Sir Paul McCartney. And as an added bonus, it was also previously owned by former Top Gear host Chris Evans. According to Bonham's, McCartney ordered the car after The Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and after finishing the Hard Day's Night movie. It was originally finished in blue with a black leather interior, which you can see here. It came with a couple of nice touches for a musician, as well. It had a Philips Auto-Mignon automotive record player installed, one of which remains with the car. The auction company also mentions a rumor that the leather had stitched-in musical notes. McCartney kept the car for about six years after buying it in 1964, and he seemed to have driven it a fair bit. When the clutch was replaced in 1970, the odometer read a bit over 40,000 miles, which is impressive considering how much traveling McCartney was surely doing with The Beatles. The car changed hands a number of times in subsequent years. In 2002, it was restored and once again finished in blue with a black interior. It wasn't until its second restoration that started around 2012 and 2013 that the color scheme changed to silver with a dark red interior. That restoration wrapped up this year and included updates to the engine that increased displacement from 4.0 liters to 4.2 liters and upped compression. The results are an engine that jumped from 282 horsepower to 315 horsepower and from 280 pound-feet of torque to 305. The car will be auctioned on December 2 at the Bond Street auction in London. Bonham's predicts the car will go for between $1.6 million and $2 million. Interestingly, that's only a little above Hagerty Insurance's estimate of $1.4 million for a concours-quality DB5. It's also substantially more than the roughly $500,000 this exact car sold for back in 2012. Related Video: Featured Gallery 1964 Aston Martin DB5 owned by Paul McCartney View 13 Photos Image Credit: Bonhams Aston Martin Auctions Coupe Classics bonhams chris evans aston martin db5

Aston Martin launches AMR line with ultra-exclusive Vantage and Rapide

Aston Martin has taken to Geneva to launch a new line it calls AMR. According to the British automaker, this brand is designed to connect the company's racecars and road cars. In this quest, the models will feature performance and design upgrades to provide some of the look and feel of those racecars. Every model in the Aston family will get an AMR iteration, but the company will start with the Rapide AMR and the Vantage AMR Pro. The milder of the two, unsurprisingly, is the Rapide AMR. As with all future AMRs, the car was developed by the main branch of Aston, while the AMR Pro cars will be developed by the Aston Martin Advanced Operations department. Among the Rapide's updates is a massaged 6.0-liter V12 with a new exhaust that produces 592 horsepower. That engine will propel the car to a top speed of 210 mph. The car also features a new front bumper with a very tall grille. This look is shared with the Vantage AMR Pro, and it makes both cars look as though they've been told something astonishing, but it works. And, to be fair, the standard Rapide already had a tall grille. The nose is accompanied by 21-inch wheels, a new front splitter, side skirts, rear spoiler, and rear diffuser. Inside there is plenty of dark gray Alcantara with gray and lime green highlights throughout. These match the Stirling Green and lime green paint scheme on the outside of both cars. The cabin also has carbon fiber seats, center stack, and center console. View 20 Photos The Vantage AMR Pro kicks everything up a few notches. It's a track-only car, powered by a version of the V8 found in the Aston Martin Vantage GT4 race car. In the AMR Pro, it produces 500 horsepower. The engine sits beneath a hood that is the same as what Aston uses on the World Endurance Championship cars. The rear wing is also taken from those racers. Other body modifications include a new splitter, fenders, side skirts, and rear diffuser. The car has additional performance upgrades in the form of an adjustable suspension, and center-lock wheels with Michelin Pilot Cup 2 tires. Inside, the car has most of the same upgrades as the Rapide, but it also gets a roll cage. Aston didn't release pricing, but it did say how many of each car will be built. Not surprisingly, there won't be many of each. The company will build 210 Rapide AMRs, but just 7 Vantage AMR Pros. So if you want one, you'd better act fast. Otherwise you'll have to wait for AMR versions of other Astons. Related Video:

The 2016 Pebble Beach Concept Lawn was nuts as always

The Concept Lawn at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is like the smallest, most expensive car show you can imagine. A bunch of unobtanium concepts and almost-production models line an irregularly shaped putting green for people to stare at while on their way to see other, older insane cars. This year's crop was a particularly good one. We'll walk through the gallery above in order: That's a new Ford GT. Not quite a concept, but it's not in production yet, so we'll let it slide. Then there's the one-of-a-kind Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo that was recently bought by a Saudi Prince along with a matching Chiron. Next up is the Lamborghini Centenario Roadster, which was unveiled last week and is already sold out. This orange automobile is BMW's 2002 Hommage with its latest livery, a Jagermeister-themed affair called Turbomeister. This silver Infiniti, the Q80 Inspiration Concept, is an oldie but a goodie. It first appeared in Paris in 2014. The extremely long automobile after that is the Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6, which was unveiled in Monterey this year. The 6 in the name is because it's 6 meters, or about 18 feet, long. Most of that's the hood. Next we have the one-of-99 Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato coupe, which continues to be beautiful. After that is a Fisker Karma with a V8, the VLF Destino. Thank you, Bob Lutz. The black sedan you see after that is the Cadillac Escala Concept, which also made its debut in Monterey this year. Then we have a Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Badge. Not a concept, but exclusive enough to join the others. Next is the McLaren 570GT customized by MSO that arrived for Pebble 2016. It has special design touches plus an electrochromic panel to replace the normal glass roof. The light blue car is the Genesis New York concept. The name didn't change even though it was in Monterey. Then we have the large and in charge Lincoln Navigator concept, taking up two regulation concept spots. The red car with suicide doors is Acura's Precision Concept, which we first saw at the Detroit show this year. Another non-concept, the Lexus LC 500h at least looks futuristic enough to be a show-specific car. And here's a 2017 Maserati Quattroporte, which is definitely not a concept. A Bentley Mulsanne EWB, because why not? It's not available in the US, so that almost qualifies for concept status. Then there's a reproduction Lister Knobbly, which we could stare at all day.