2012 Aston Martin Db9 Volante Sport Edition Convertible 2-door 6.0l on 2040-cars

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Aston Martin find unique way to recycle scraps of leather

Ever wonder what happens to the scraps of leather left over after skilled craftsmen are done upholstering the interior of a luxury automobile? There's a lot of hide left over, as we've seen first-hand from visiting the upholstery workshops at various factories, but much of the waste is made up of tiny cutoffs. Some of those pieces might be used for repair kits, some scraps for smaller pieces of merchandise, while others might be sold to nearby craftsmen. Aston Martin found a different use for some of its leftovers. The British automaker put down a canvas in the VIP atrium at its headquarters in Gaydon, UK, and equipped a team of artisans with a whole pile of leather samples. What they did with it is perhaps the most compelling example of recycling we've seen to date. The end result, as you can see from this latest video, is an artistic representation of the Vanquish, made entirely out of leather – as if the interior of the luxurious sports car isn't already clad in enough of the stuff. Of course, it doesn't have the Vanquish's 6.0-liter V12 and its 568 horsepower, so unlike most Astons, it won't be going anywhere in a hurry. Perhaps it could be hung in the upholstery workshop for future workers to admire. Related Video:

Aston Martin posts deep quarterly loss as coronavirus pandemic dents sales

LONDON — Aston Martin posted a deep first-quarter loss after sales dropped by nearly a third due to the impact of the coronavirus crisis, though the luxury car maker said production of a crucial sport utility vehicle was on track. Aston Martin, popular for being James Bond's carmaker of choice, suffered a torrid time since it floated in October 2018, seeing its share price tumble from 19 pounds to around 40 pence. Dire conditions forced the company to bring in Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll to invest in the firm, while Aston said it will continue to review future funding and refinancing options to boost liquidity. The pandemic hit demand and forced factories around the world to suspend production. However, Aston resumed operations as its Welsh plant last week but not at its other site located in southern England as yet. "We were obviously fairly significantly hit by COVID-19, starting with China in January but more clearly in what we saw as it came across towards Europe and the United States," Chief Executive Andy Palmer told Reuters. The company posted a pre-tax loss of 119 million pounds ($145 million), compared with a loss of 17 million pounds ($21 million) last year, and said it could no longer provide an annual outlook. Its full-year loss in 2019 came in at 104 million pounds. Shares were down 5% at 36 pence, as of 07:35 GMT on Wednesday. The carmaker said production of its DBX SUV, which is key to boost volumes and appeal to new buyers including more women, was on track and had a strong order book. The luxury brand, which has seen core retail sales slump by an annual 31%, has furloughed staff, introduced additional safety measures and cut the pay of its senior management as part of measures to handle the crisis caused by the pandemic. Stroll, who hopes to pursue a turnaround partly by sharing Formula One technology with the firm's range of road cars, leads a consortium that took a 25% stake in the company earlier this year as part of a capital raise worth 536 million pounds. "Given the ongoing uncertainties, as is prudent, the company continues to review all future funding and refinancing options to increase liquidity," the company said on Wednesday.   (Reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by James Davey and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

Aston Martin trademarks DB10 through DB14

What comes after DB9? That's the big question currently surrounding Aston Martin as the British purveyor of luxury GTs prepares to replace its long-serving core model. And now we may have a clue at what the answer will be. Reports coming in from the UK indicate that Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd. has applied for trademarks on a succession of model names, starting with DB10 and extending all the way up to DB14. That doesn't mean that the DB9's successor will necessarily adopt one of those, however, as word has it that some elements within the company would rather stick with the name DB9 rather than move forward, as the company has traditionally done over the years. Whatever it's ultimately called, the DB9's replacement is expected to be built on Aston's upcoming new platform that will replace the aging VH architecture. We're anticipating that it will also pack the new AMG-sourced turbo V8, and if it does, it could end up replacing both the DB9 and the V8 Vantage. The old DB7 that put the brand back on the map in 1994 and lasted until 2004 was offered with both a 3.2-liter inline-six and the brand's ubiquitous 6.0-liter V12.