12 Aston Martin Vantage 4k Miles 6-spd Carbon Fiber Exterior Trim Rear Camera on 2040-cars

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Inside the Aston Martin Heritage Trust, the company's secret museum

The Aston Martin Heritage Trust Museum has been in existence since 2002. It houses the official archives of the Aston Martin Lagonda Company, as well as those of the Aston Martin Owners Club, at the behest of which the Museum was founded back in 1998. It also houses a rotating collection of distinctive and historically significant Aston Martin vehicles, cherry picked from a century of the automaker's exquisite existence. Unfortunately for those besotted with the brand, as I am, the AHMT is located on the periphery of the exurbs of nowhere, in a restored 14th century barn on a dirt road, blocks off the river in the wee Midlands village of Drayton St. Leonard. An address is not published. The only indication that you might be in the right place is an almost intentionally innocuous government tourism placard, placed somewhat near the turnoff. "We used to maybe get a hundred visitors a year before they put up the sign," says AMHT Curator Donna Bannister, an American of equally mysterious provenance. "Now we get almost a hundred per month." Lucky are the souls who find the AMHT (my cabby wasn't among them; I had to walk a bit), because it houses, in its cramped Middle Aged quarters, some real treasures. Greeting me when I entered was a bare-metal-nosed 1921 A3, the oldest existing Aston Martin in the world, which was bought at auction in 2000 and restored to driving condition via the generous underwriting of Sheik Nasser of Kuwait, who is apparently a huge AM collector. "It won Kop Hill in 1923," Bannister says. "We recently took it back there, and to the Windsor Concours d'Elegance. Of course the Royals are big fans of the Aston brand." There's also a 1934 Ulster BLB 684, the only remaining one in a 2+2 configuration. This car is a driver as well. "Club members can hire it out," Bannister says. "Though because it's quite difficult to drive – it has the clutch in the center, and the gas and brake on either side – only a few do." There is a passel of more recent notables, like the 2000 V12 Vanquish cutaway, an auto show maquette meant to demonstrate the fruits of Ford's huge investment in the brand at the start of this century. There's a pre-production, gloss white 2013 Vanquish Volante, which was used for photos and promotion as well, but never registered due to some inconsistencies in the paint. There are display engines from the DB4GT, the Lagonda V8, and the twin-supercharged Vantage (swoon!).

'Top Gear' takes us inside the Aston Martin Project 003

"Top Gear" magazine's Jack Rix might be the ideal lad to lock in a room with a cool car and a camera. After taking us on tours of the Mercedes-AMG One and Honda Urban EV concept, he's wandered into another anteroom with the Aston Martin Project 003 and Vanquish. When we saw the mid-engined coupes at the Geneva Motor Show, it looked like Aston Martin programmed the Valkyrie family's design language to "softer" on the RMB-003 and "softest" for the Vanquish. We wanted more details. Cue Mr. Rix. The deputy editor fills us in on trivia like the combined weight of the Project 003 headlights and taillights being less than the weight of a single DB11 headlight. He also shows us how the NASA-aided FlexFoil wing works, and where the potential rear-view cameras would be mounted. Then he gets inside an interior that's "a bit more civilized" than that on the Valkyrie for not putting hip level beneath knee level. However, notice that here, too, the seat is built into the carbon fiber tub — the end of the seat bolster is flush with the footwell. And check out those vents that triple as speakers and ambient lighting. Rix can only walk around the Vanquish, since that car's not due until 2022, a year after the Project 003. Nevertheless, there are plenty of Easter eggs to share, like how design elements from front-engined Aston Martins have been integrated throughout the mid-engined bodywork. As a bonus feature, Aston Martin has taken a separate look at Valkyrie development through the eyes of high-performance test driver Chris Goodwin. The racer explains how he's using the Red Bull Formula 1 team's simulator to tune the Valkyrie road car's handling, active suspension, and aerodynamic systems. Goodwin was McLaren Automotive's test driver and worked on the Speedtail, so it could mean something when he says of the Valkyrie, "It's going to be a substantial gap between this car and what's currently available on the market."

Alfa Romeo Tonale Jeep-derived crossover reportedly delayed by new CEO

Alfa Romeo's long-awaited Tonale crossover might not make its global debut in 2021 after all. Its launch has reportedly been delayed because the firm's boss wasn't satisfied with the proposed plug-in hybrid drivetrain. Anonymous sources familiar with the company's product plan told industry trade journal Automotive News that the Tonale won't begin arriving in showrooms until the first part of 2022 at the earliest, a delay of at least three months. It was tentatively scheduled to enter production on the outskirts of Naples, Italy, in October 2021. While setbacks aren't uncommon, the same sources claim the soft-roader's postponement was ordered by Jean-Philippe Imparato, who was appointed Alfa Romeo's chief executive in January 2021 when FCA merged with PSA to form Stellantis. Formerly at the head of Peugeot, Imparato demanded better performance from the hybrid powertrain that will be offered on some variants after seeing the Tonale for the first time in January 2021. Whether he wants additional electric range, more horsepower, or both remains to be seen. Alfa Romeo hasn't released technical details, but Automotive News reported the crossover will be closely related to the Jeep Compass, so it could get its American cousin's gasoline-electric plug-in technology. It consists of a 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine and an electric motor mounted over the rear axle. The system's total output checks in at 190 horsepower and 199 pound-feet of torque, though a 240-horse variant of the drivetrain is available on more upscale trim levels. Electric range is rated at 31 miles at up to 81 mph, and hitting 60 mph from a stop takes 7.5 seconds, a respectable figure for the segment. Another point that's unclear is how engineers will improve the Tonale's numbers. Making tweaks to Jeep's 4xe powertrain is an option; borrowing components from the Peugeot-Citroen parts bin is another, though the latter solution is more difficult to implement than the former. Less than a year away from production, even with the delay taken into account, the Tonale is mostly locked in. Photos taken during a design clinic (pictured) suggest it has changed significantly since we discovered it as a concept in 2019. Redesigning the engine bay to accommodate a different four-cylinder or reengineering the structure to fit a bigger battery could cost millions of development dollars.