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Aston Martin DB5 Vantage trio for sale, and they're as rare as rare gets

Among classic Aston Martins, there are perhaps none better, from pre-war antiques to modern supercars, than the DB5. And among DB5s, the Vantage specifications are the most prized among car collectors. With only 70 of the high-performance examples built out of an already small pool of about 1,023 regular-flavor DB5s, they are a rare breed. If that's your bag, there's currently a once-in-a-lifetime sale of three different body styles of DB5 Vantages as one lot. The sale, facilitated by Aston Martin dealers Nicholas Mee & Co Ltd., will offer a Vantage in every DB5 body style built. The Vantages looked like normal DB5s, but had 322 horsepower, a 40-horse gain, thanks to a higher cam profile and some Weber carbs to replace the S.U. units.  On the coupe, at least, that translated to a 0-60 time in the mid-6's, quite impressive for a 1960s car. The Vantage sale trio is one coupe, one convertible, and one shooting brake. It'd be impossible to get that last one anywhere else, as there was only one factory Vantage shooting brake ever built, and this is it. In total, only 12 DB5 shooting brakes were made, with the first being a one-off for Aston Martin's chairman at the time, David Brown. He used it for the most rich-British-guy activities you can imagine — hauling gun dogs and polo equipment. Eventually, 11 were ordered by customers, but this California Sage specimen is the sole Vantage-spec car. The next rarest is the Caribbean Pearl Blue convertible. Only 123 DB5 convertibles were ever built, and only 5 to 12 (depending on who you ask) were fitted with the Vantage engine. While rarity or open-top cruising might be reasons to desire this car, we want it simply because it's one of the few we've seen that doesn't come in some dour shade of gray or British racing green. Lastly, for all the 007 cosplayers, is the Silver Birch coupe, looking exactly like the one made famous by James Bond. It has been a staple of the film franchise ever since 1964's "Goldfinger," quite possibly the first car to benefit from a movie fame halo long before the "Back to the Future" DeLorean or the "Fast and the Furious" Supra. All three cars come with a dossier of build details, ownership and maintenance records, and British Motor Industry Heritage Trust certificates guaranteeing their provenance. The asking price is $5,643,000, which may seem steep considering a DB5 Vantage coupe is worth a little over $1 million.

2015 Aston Martin Vanquish [UPDATE]

There's something really special about an Aston Martin Vanquish. It's not my favorite model in the British automaker's range – I'm more of a Vantage guy, if I'm being choosy. But every time I drive one, I feel like I'm piloting something fit for royalty, $300,000 price tag and all. It's stunning to look at, even in the rather drab shade of gray pictured here. It makes an absolutely killer noise, the free-breathing V12 firing from beneath the hood and out the back with a truly intoxicating sound. And from behind the wheel, it feels like a truly proper grand tourer. Well, almost. The one major hiccup with the Vanquish I drove last year was its six-speed automatic transmission. In a word, it was awful. Really jarring shifts, delayed manual control through the paddles, and really, just a hugely misaligned piece of an otherwise excellent puzzle. So I was happy to hear that for 2015, Aston Martin had fitted a new, ZF-sourced, eight-speed unit – you know, the transmission being used by automakers like BMW, Jaguar, Audi, and many more. I normally have zero issues with this silky gearbox. But in the Vanquish, it wasn't smooth sailing like I expected – it feels like it still needs some final calibrations. But that doesn't make this car any less special. Drive Notes I love this engine. The 5.9-liter, naturally aspirated V12 makes 569 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque, and it absolutely loves to rev. That's a good thing, since the siren song of the Vanquish's V12 is most pronounced at higher engine speeds. In fact, it's not really all that audible right from the get-go. You have to work it up past 2,500-3,000 rpm before this thing really starts to sing. But when it's turned up to 11, it's one of the best-sounding engines I've ever heard. That said, getting the Vanquish going is kind of an awkward process. There's a surprising momentary lack of power delivery right at throttle tip-in, and then the Vanquish suddenly jolts forward. It's alarming – I found myself raising an eyebrow and yelling "GO!," especially when trying to quickly merge into the traffic flow. But it'll go, when it's ready, and hitting 60 miles per hour takes just 3.6 seconds. The transmission is still an issue here. When left to its own devices, it doesn't have a problem finding the right gear for the occasion, but the actual shifts don't fire off with the smoothness and quickness that I've come to expect from this tranny in other models.

Aston Martin updates Vanquish, Rapide S for 2015 [w/videos]

For such a small company, Aston Martin certainly keeps busy. Having already previewed its new V12 Vantage S Roadster ahead of its Pebble Beach unveiling, the British marque recently confirmed the arrival of a new Lagonda super sedan. But now it's turning its attention to its two flagship production models with a series of upgrades. The enhancements to the 2015 Vanquish (both coupe and Volante convertible) and Rapide S sedan center around the inclusion of the new Touchtronic III eight-speed automatic gearbox that brings with it enhanced performance, efficiency and comfort. Along with reprogrammed Bosch electronics, the new transmission and updates net a 3-horsepower boost in Vanquish (bringing output up to 568 hp) and 2-hp boost in Rapide S to 552. Torque rises to 465 pound-feet in both, along with revised stability control and steering systems. Upgraded dampers on the Vanquish are 15-percent stiffer up front and 35-percent firmer in the rear, while the Rapide S gets larger front brakes. The result of this suite of minor updates results in a rather substantial performance boost. According to Aston, the upfittings cut a good half-second off the 0-60 sprint for both models: the Vanquish drops from 4.1 seconds to 3.6, and the Rapide S from 4.7 seconds to 4.2. Additional visual enhancements to differentiate the new models are limited to new wheels, paint options and interior trim, the details of which you can scope out in the press release and pair of videos below. DYNAMIC ENHANCEMENTS FOR ASTON MARTIN VANQUISH AND RAPIDE S - Acceleration, top speed, emissions and economy improve significantly - Debut of state-of-the-art eight-speed Touchtronic III automatic gearbox - New engine management system, enhanced trim and specification options 6 August 2014 - Aston Martin is today revealing details of a raft of important enhancements to two of the brand's most popular and successful sports cars: the Vanquish ultimate GT and Rapide S four-door, four-seat, sports car. With the arrival of 15 Model Year (15MY) cars in markets around the world over the next few months, the luxury British brand is offering not only considerably enhanced performance and much-improved fuel economy and emissions, but also an even more honed, precise and responsive driving experience.