2003 Aston Martin Db7 Vantage Convertible 2-door; Balintyre Blue; 12,162 Miles on 2040-cars

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Kahn and Evanta team up for hot-rod Defender, custom Barchetta

If you're familiar with the work of Afzal Kahn, it's probably for his tuned Range Rovers. And if you live in London, you may have seen his Bugatti Veyron with the F1 license plate. But the British tuner and self-styled "automotive fashion designer" is now embarking on a far more ambitious project. Kahn is teaming up with Ant Anstead of Evanta fame – responsible for rebodying Aston Martin DB7s to look like DB4 GTs and that full-scale DBR1/2 model kit – on a new outfit called Ant-Kahn. Far more than a tuning endeavor, Ant-Kahm is setting about creating truly unique (and uniquely British) automobiles. Their first project is called the Flying Huntsman, a long-nose Land Rover Defender that we imagine will emerge as something like a British take on the 1998 Jeepster concept crossed with something Icon might concoct. It'll pack a 6.2-liter GM LS3 V8 producing 550 horsepower, mated to a push-button six-speed automatic transmission, mounted close to the bulkhead with over 15 inches of extra bodywork and set to be unveiled within the coming months. Their second collaboration is set to yield the Evanta Barchetta previewed by rendering above. "Inspired by the design language of 1950s motorsport," the Barchetta pays homage to classic British and Italian roadsters. It's being built around a tubular frame with handcrafted composite Kevlar bodywork and powered by that same LS3 tuned to 450 hp but in a much lighter form than the Flying Hunstman. Only 20 examples will be made after its debut at the Goodwood Revival come September. An Aston Martin project codenamed WB12 is also in the works, painting a picture of an ambitious startup backed by two experienced operators whose projects we're looking forward to seeing come to fruition. Ant-Kahn – The birth of a groundbreaking collaboration between two leading figures in the UK automotive industry. Ant-Kahn is a collaborative partnership between Afzal Kahn - innovative automotive fashion designer and founder of the Kahn group of companies, and Ant Anstead, founder of expert vehicle manufacturer Evanta, and star of Channel 4's "For The Love of Cars". Working together under the Ant-Kahn banner, they will lead a resurgence in British specialist vehicle manufacture, with a number of projects already underway. Their focus is on luxury and quality, using modern prototyping and manufacturing technology, while maintaining the attention to details associated with traditional coach building.

Mercedes to offer SL, GL platforms to Aston Martin?

The agonizingly slow courtship between Aston Martin and Mercedes-Benz has been a regular topic of conversation ever since the 2009 Lagonda Concept debuted, riding on a Mercedes GL chassis. Beyond that one polarizing concept, though, nearly every other attempt to pair the two brands up in a major way has fallen through. Only the technical partnership between Mercedes and Aston for certain components from AMG, which was negotiated back in July, has held up so far.
That may finally be set to change, according to an excellent profile of the two brands' relationship from Automobile, which claims that two platforms will unite the Germans and Brits. The first tie up is, not surprisingly, a sports car.
As Aston Martin's VH platform - which underpins every car that comes out of Gaydon - continues to age, the pressure will well and truly be on Aston to find a next-gen replacement to underpin the successors to the Vantage, Vanquish, DB9 and Rapide. Automobile claims Mercedes has just such an architecture, in the form its new modular sports car platform. This new platform is slated for the next-generation SLK and SL and is still in its design infancy.

British firm helps Aston Martin, Zagato re-create commemorative Vantage

In early 2012, Aston Martin honored its decades-old partnership with Italian coachbuilder Zagato by introducing the aptly-named limited-edition V12 Zagato at the Geneva Motor Show. Fast forward to 2020, and a British firm with Swiss roots named R-Reforged has obtained permission to build 38 additional cars it will sell as pairs. These are continuation cars like the ones made by Alvis, Bentley, and Shelby, among others, but the gap they bridge is much smaller than we're used to. R-Reforged starts with a V12 Vantage platform and keeps the naturally aspirated, 5.9-liter V12 engine. It's tuned to deliver 600 horsepower, a 90-horse increase over the original's rating. Enthusiasts can choose between an automatic transmission and a seven-speed manual. Rear-wheel drive is the only configuration available regardless of pedal count in the driver's footwell. R-Reforged is bringing back the coupe and convertible variants of the Zagato-bodied Aston, and both make extensive use of carbon fiber to keep weight in check. They also gain center-locking 19-inch alloy wheels and a deployable rear wing for added stability. It replaces the much bigger wing fitted to the 101 examples of the car manufactured in the early 2010s. The sky is the limit when it comes to customization; R-Reforged can turn any color sample into a paint color. Customers will have the opportunity to watch their car being built, too. R-Reforged will only sell the 19 coupes and 19 convertibles in pairs, so plan on freeing up two spaces in your garage before reserving a pair of build slots. Act fast, too, because a majority of the production is spoken for, according to the company. Pricing has been set at $2.2 million for the pair. To add context, Aston Martin originally charged GBP330,000 for the V12 Zagato, a figure that converts to approximately $400,000.