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Aston Martin drops Fisker lawsuit, Thunderbolt will not be produced

If you were perhaps looking forward to getting your hands on one of Henrik Fisker's Project Thunderbolt cars, you're out of luck. In order to quickly resolve a lawsuit from Aston Martin, Fisker has agreed to not produce his one-off take on the Vanquish coupe. Fisker made a splash at this year's Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance when he showed Project Thunderbolt. It was Henrik's own take on the already pretty Aston Martin Vanquish coupe, and apparently, the guys and gals in Gaydon didn't take too kindly to Fisker's creation, issuing a lawsuit that "centres on Henrik Fisker's creation and promotion of automobiles that Aston Martin contends infringes Aston Martin's rights, by an improper and unauthorised attempt to exploit and free-ride off them," according to a statement obtained by Autoblog last month. In a new statement issued Wednesday, the two parties have agreed to resolve their differences. Aston Martin has agreed to drop the lawsuit so long as Fisker does not produce his Project Thunderbolt coupe. So, sorry, Fisker fans. The official statement is pasted below. On March 26, 2015, Aston Martin filed a lawsuit against Henrik Fisker and other parties alleging various infringements by "Project Thunderbolt" of Aston Martin's intellectual property rights. The parties are pleased to report that they have been able to swiftly and amicably resolve their differences. The terms of the resolution are confidential except that the Parties wish to confirm 3 points: 1. Henrik Fisker has decided that "Project Thunderbolt" will not be produced; 2. Aston Martin will withdraw the lawsuit; and 3. In view of some apparent misunderstandings surrounding reports of the case, the Parties wish to expressly confirm that the contentions made by AML were those, and only those, made in the lawsuit. The Parties confirm that that they have amicably resolved those matters, as well as any attendant misunderstandings. The Parties will not be commenting further.

Aston Martin launches Evolution Academy driver training program

No longer content with simply recruiting new talent when they're ready, young driver training programs are becoming increasingly vital to a racing team's success and continuity. But while most of those programs are run by Formula One teams like Red Bull and Ferrari, this time it's Aston Martin that's set up a network of its own. The British automaker, as any endurance racing fan will tell you, has a robust motorsports program, including works entries in the FIA World Endurance Championship, at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Nurburgring 24 Hours, to say nothing of the privateer teams it supports in other series around the world. And to feed it with new talent, it has launched the Evolution Academy. Designed for up-and-coming drivers between the ages of 17 and 25, the Aston Martin Evolution Academy will be limited to ten participants each season. Each trainee will be assigned a veteran professional racing driver from the Aston Martin Racing roster, get seat-time in Aston's simulator, and will be coached in everything from fitness and nutrition to marketing and sponsor recruitment. At the end of the program, the top of the class will be offered a contract to race full-time with the company, which would be a pretty plum assignment for any sports racing driver. The announcement was made at the Autosport International show in Birmingham, where Aston is showcasing its various Vantage-based racers. ASTON MARTIN RACING LAUNCHES LANDMARK EVOLUTION ACADEMY 7 January 2015, Gaydon: Aston Martin Racing is launching a young driver programme, the Evolution Academy, which offers a coveted 2016 Aston Martin Racing works driver contract to the most successful participant of the season. The academy, being launched at the Autosport International Show, is open to applications from drivers aged 17-25 competing in an Aston Martin racing car this season. It has been devised by the Banbury-based team to help support and develop young talent, as well as creating a breeding ground for Aston Martin Racing works drivers of the future. Successful applicants, limited to a maximum of ten, will be assigned a professional mentor from Aston Martin Racing's team of top GT drivers. In addition, they will be given fitness and nutrition assessments and advice; PR, marketing and sponsorship support; training sessions in an Aston Martin Base Performance Simulator; and Evolution Academy-branded apparel including a race suit and team kit.

The Aston Martin DB11 leads this month's list of discounts

We've got something of a broken record to report this month. The 2020 Acura NSX and 2020 Aston Martin DB11 have swapped places atop the discounts leaderboard for a fourth month in a row. For the month of March 2011, it's the British entry again in the lead. The DB11 earns top billing with an average discount of $24,614 off its sticker price, meaning buyers are paying an average transaction price of $177,206. That still a large suitcase full of bills, but at least it means buyers get to stare at a drop-dead beautiful coupe in their driveways with as much as 630 horsepower underhood. And if you love Aston Martin's svelte sense of style but don't want to spend quite so much money, you could always choose the 2020 Vantage that's selling for around $143,000. That's nearly $13,600 off that car's sticker, which is enough to land in seventh spot overall. Up next, as we've come to expect, is the Acura NSX. The hybrid-powered supercar from Japan is selling for $137,663 on average this month, which represents a $22,340 discount and seems like an exceptional deal for a 573-horsepower technological marvel that can scoot from 0-60 in just 2.9 seconds. That also represents the largest percentage of savings off the sticker this month. In third place for the month is the Audi R8, making March the second straight month that this trio of supercars has led the list of discounts. Buyers are saving $18,331 off the R8's sticker, which equals an average transaction price of $175,508. That's awfully close to the selling price of the DB11, for those lucky enough to be deciding between the two. Related Video: Driving Iron Man's Favorite Supercar, The Acura NSX | Translogic 215