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Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Shooting Brake finishes a quartet Q would envy

From A to Z in four steps - that being Aston Martin and Zagato, connected by carbon fiber links known as the Vanquish Zagato Coupe, Volante, Speedster, and the now-official Shooting Brake. When the automaker revealed the Zagato Speedster at Pebble Beach in August, the Shooting Brake remained a sketch. Today we get honest, photographic proof of what 99 future owners will soon park in their climate-controlled display spaces. Were it not for the objet d'art reverence paid to a Zagato and the bitsy production run, we'd expect to see the shooting brake frolicking through expensive enclaves just as often as a Ferrari GT4 Lusso. Aston Martin's 580-horsepower V12 provides useful intent up front, a "luxuriously trimmed rear cabin area with tailored luggage" carries its weight in back. In between, driver and passenger revel in a herringbone carbon fiber fascia, anodized bronze dials, quilted leather, and glass-inlay for the double-bubble roof inviting lots of light. The Shooting Brake goes into production next year, alongside the Speedster. As with the first three bijoux, every Shooting Brake has already found a home. When Aston Martin hands the last set of keys to the final buyer, these 325 special editions will mark the close of another chapter in an Anglo-Italian cooperation begun with the 1960 DB4 Zagato. Related Video:

Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff takes a stake in Aston Martin

LONDON — Mercedes Formula One boss Toto Wolff has taken a stake in British sportscar maker Aston Martin, whose executive chairman Lawrence Stroll runs the Racing Point F1 team, according to company filings. A Mercedes F1 spokesman said Wolff's move was purely an investment on the Austrian's part and would be diluted by a rights issue on Monday from 4.77% to less than 1%. "Fully diluted following the pending rights issue, this investment will represent a 0.95% stake in the company," he added. "It is a financial investment and Toto's partnership and executive role with Mercedes are unaffected by the transaction." Swiss billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli has also bought a 3.38% stake which will be similarly diluted. Wolff previously had a 16% shareholding in former champions Williams but sold that after he joined the Mercedes team, where he serves as principal and owns 30%. Canadian billionaire Stroll, whose son Lance drives for Racing Point alongside Mexican Sergio Perez, is close to Wolff. The Silverstone-based team — to be renamed Aston Martin next year — use Mercedes engines and gearboxes. Mercedes-Benz's parent Daimler also has a small stake in Aston Martin. "It's clear that Aston are now Mercedes' B team," the Daily Mail quoted one Formula One insider as saying. Wolff's future at Mercedes has been the subject of some media speculation, with the 48-year-old linked variously to senior management roles with Liberty Media-owned Formula One and at Aston Martin. His Aston Martin shares were bought from Yew Tree Overseas Limited, a vehicle controlled by Stroll who acquired a roughly 25% percent holding in Aston Martin with a consortium of investors. Mercedes have won the past six Formula One drivers' and constructors' titles but have six times world champion Lewis Hamilton out of contract at the end of the 2020 season, which has yet to start due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hamilton, who has also been linked to Ferrari, had told reporters before the global crisis changed the sporting and financial landscape that his decision would depend on Wolff's plans. The Briton is now expected to stay at Mercedes, with a radical overhaul of Formula One's sporting and technical regulations postponed to 2022. Related Video: Motorsports Aston Martin Mercedes-Benz

Aston Martin boss says DBX is about securing the future

The Aston Martin DBX was a revelation when it debuted at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show. Not only did the concept evolve the British brand's traditional shape into a high-riding crossover coupe, there were electric motors to power each wheel. Just a few weeks ago, we learned that the company secured $306 million in funding to actually bring the DBX to production. Now, CEO Andy Palmer is talking about just how important the model is for the future. With the DBX moving into such a radically different segment than the rest of the lineup, the model gives Aston Martin the opportunity to go after a new group of customers. "You can't create enough working capital with just 7,000 cars a year whichever way you look at it. You've got to extend the portfolio somewhere, and I'd rather do this than sell caps and t-shirts," Palmer said to Auto Express, taking a slight dig at Ferrari. While Aston calls the DBX a crossover, its coupe-like lines don't look like any other vehicle in the segment, especially other high-style CUV attempts like the BMW X6 and Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class Coupe. Apparently, that differentiation is entirely on purpose. "We think there is a different space to the traditional SUV. Why? Because we make beautiful cars, and it's hard to make a beautiful SUV. It's hard to make a box beautiful," Palmer said to Auto Express. The production DBX will gain two more doors for the start of production in 2019, according to Auto Express. The high-performance electric powertrain will remain, though, and Aston will aim for a range of over 300 miles. Earlier reports also suggested that the CUV could be produced at a new factory in the US. Aston Martin isn't abandoning its performance legacy entirely, though. The DBX is just one part of Palmer's Second Century plan, and the other major pillar is replacing every model in the brand's lineup by the end of the decade. One of them has already been spotted testing. Related Video: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience.