2001 Aston Martin Db7 6speed Manual 1 Ca Owner Fully Documented Stunnung Car on 2040-cars

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New Bond car nets Xcar Aston Martin retrospective

Well, there's something to be said for timing. With the announcement that MI6 Agent James Bond would take the wheel of the all-new Aston Martin DB10 in his next film, Spectre, Xcar has taken a look back at 007's most iconic vehicle – the DB5. There's also something about some such special edition Vanquish, but it all kind of pales in the glory of the iconic DB5. Okay, so it's not just some special edition Vanquish. It's the gorgeous Centenary Edition, a limited run of just 100 cars – one for each of Aston Martin's history – that's been adorned inside and out with a number of premium touches. In the other corner, though, there's the real subject of Xcar's latest video. This stunning example of the DB5 only gets puttered around a parking garage, but that doesn't make it any less beautiful. Take a look.

Aston Martin to replace Rapide with DBX crossover, Lagonda sedan

Aston Martin is known best for two-door coupes and convertibles, but it has a history with other body styles. And it looks like Aston's future includes more versatile door configurations. Speaking with Car and Driver at the New York Auto Show, the company's new CEO Andy Palmer reveals a two-pronged plan to replace the four-door Rapide. One will be a new Lagonda sedan; the other a production version of the DBX crossover concept. Detailing the overall strategy for the British automaker, Palmer said, "First is replacing the entire sports car range; second is the DBX, and that appeals to a different set of audiences; and the third is the sports sedan, which will carry [the Lagonda] badge." The Lagonda, Palmer revealed, will not be the Taraf we've already seen. Although sales of that model are expanding beyond its initial Middle Eastern market, it won't be coming to North America due to US crash-testing requirements and the vehicle's short production run. The next Lagonda sedan, however, is more likely to reach these shores. The DBX meanwhile is slated to switch to four doors from the coupe-like profile of the concept, but keep similar overall dimensions and that sleek roofline – albeit modified to make it more accommodating. The crossover will also replace the concept's electric powertrain with a more conventional engine. And while we wouldn't rule out the name carrying over, we wouldn't be surprised to see the DBX adopt another handle on the road to production.

All-new Aston Martin Vantage turns up the volume

The Aston Martin Vantage is the storied British marque's volume car. And with the unveiling today of an all-new model, that volume just got turned up. "The new car starts where V12 Vantage, not V8, left off," says Miles Nurnberger, Aston's head of exterior design, as he walks us around the production car in an intimate advance viewing at the brand's rural UK headquarters. He is referring to the top-of-the-line, end-of-the-run, 12-cylinder, stick-shifted, spoiler-bedecked analog anachronism that was a limited-edition sendoff for the outgoing car, which had been on sale for more than a dozen model years. (To say that the previous Vantage was long in the tooth is a reckless overestimation of the lifespan of teeth.) From a purely visual perspective, we cannot argue with him. The new Vantage is immediately recognizable as an Aston Martin — with the signature hill-climb grille, sensuously crisp hood, mesomorphic flanks, squinting greenhouse and tucked tail. But the car can almost be heard, seething, with one's eyes. First off, the hue the brand has selected as a launch color, Lime Essence, looks like ionized absinthe. Additionally, the car is rimmed along its ground-hugging nether regions, from chin to rear, in a be-pronged sinew of starkly contrasting polished carbon-fiber aero effects. It sneers menacingly through narrowly horizontal, selachian eyes. It flashes a triangular carbon burgonet on each cheek, armor potent enough to ward off a Napoleonic cuirassier. And its rear is a war of stark bladelike protrusions, like the final battle sequence in a chop-socky movie. "If the DB11 is a gentleman," Nurnberger explains, "the Vantage is a hunter." Its nose is to the ground, scanning the distance for something to trounce." "It's the color of a predator in nature," explains Aston's straight-talking CEO, Andy Palmer. "Look at a wasp. Its colors warn, stay away." Not drawing the ire of other motorists is, in our opinion, one of the chief advantages of driving an Aston, especially versus some of its flashier (Italian) competitors. Apparently, Aston is aware of this and also offers the new Vantage in a more subdued palette and trim. We'd spec ours in a more traditional color, like grayish Hardly Green, with satin titanium trim and body-color zygomatic implants.