2011 Aston Martin Dbs Volante Silver Black Sport Satellite on 2040-cars

Auto blog

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.

Aston Martin and Brough Superior go two-up on a range of motorcycles

With several auto and motorcycle shows yet to come before the end of the year, the back of the Tokyo Motor Show doesn't mean the end of teasers. Aston Martin has released the merest line drawing of its next collaboration, a project with the resurrected English bike maker Brough Superior Motorcycles (pronounced "bruff"). The tie-up will debut Nov. 5 at the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan, Italy, and Aston Martin says it "will showcase the integration of beautiful design and exquisite engineering in strictly limited-edition motorcycles." This will be the first time the carmaker's wings will appear on a motorbike. It'll be interesting to see how the partners merge what look like two divergent design philosophies. When Englishman Mark Upham brought Brough back to life in 2012, he asked Frenchman Thierry Henriette of Boxer Design to pen a new bike visually tied to the original Broughs from the 1920s. The SS100, re-creating Brough's most popular model, is compelling but not pretty nor sleek, hung throughout with weighty, overtly constructed metallic forms. The Anniversary and Pendine Sand Racer models are lighter, but just as art deco and cyberpunkish in ways that Aston Martin design is not. On the other hand, Brough was — and is — also known for using excellent materials, build quality and performance, and they aren't inexpensive. Plenty of overlap with the Gaydon car company there. Somehow out of all that will come, we are told, "the perfect balance between performance and design." Mercedes-AMG partnered with Ducati for a few years in the MotoGP racing series and on some AMG-themed bikes, then traded for a partnership with MV Agusta on the AMG-themed Solar Beam. However, those were basically paint jobs on bikes Ducati was already making. It sounds like Brough and Aston Martin intend a more involved venture — and "motorcycles," plural — between carmaker and bike builder than we've seen recently. We'll have more answers in two weeks.

Paris Motor Show and a Subaru luxury brand? | Autoblog Podcast #556

On this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Green Editor John Beltz Snyder. They kick off this episode with driving impressions of the new 2019 Aston Martin V8 Vantage and 2019 Volkswagen Jetta. Then they recap the 2019 Paris Motor Show, and talk about their favorite cars from the event. They answer some reader mail and try to answer the question: Should Subaru have its own luxury brand?Autoblog Podcast #556 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving: Aston Martin V8 Vantage and VW Jetta Our favorite cars from the 2019 Paris Motor Show Spend Subaru's Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: Green Podcasts Paris Motor Show Aston Martin Automakers Subaru Volkswagen Coupe Electric Luxury Performance Sedan aston martin v8 vantage