2012 Aston Martin V12 Vantage Special Paint-nice Example! on 2040-cars

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Aston Martin Valkyrie gets a track package, moves closer to production-ready

Aston Martin continues to trickle out news for the upcoming Valkyrie hypercar, and today it's telling us about an AMR Performance Track Pack that will be on offer. We've previously told you about the Valkyrie AMR Pro, which is a track-only version of the car Aston intends to build. This new package will be on offer to the 150 lucky folks who will be buying the road-going version of the Valkyrie. The Track Pack consists of a new front clam producing greater downforce, a second set of exterior body panels, a track-focused suspension lowered by 2 inches, titanium braking components and magnesium wheels with carbon fiber discs covering them. All this results in lap times that are supposed to be 8 percent quicker than the standard car — an impressive improvement over a car with bonkers performance to begin with. The only catch you might ask? With the Track Pack accessories fitted, the Valkyrie loses its road-legal status like the AMR Pro. You'll need to hand the car over to Aston for them to put it back to street-spec after your track day is done. Aston Martin also announced some customization options that will be available for the car. The only limit here is your pocketbook, folks, as Aston's personalization program, Q by Aston Martin, will be helping buyers make the cars exactly the way they'd like. Four designer spec themes will be offered to those not interested in total custom work. Wherever you see paint or trim, carbon fiber is most likely possible. Colors and material choices on the interior will be up to your imagination, as well. The wildest option available appears to be the Gold Pack, wherein 24-carat gold livery is laid under the paint. Check out all the pictures of custom examples Aston has come up with on its simulator up above — this is going to be one sweet car, not to mention the 1,000 horsepower 6.5-liter Cosworth V12 that revs to 11,100 rpm. Related video:

Aston Martin's front-engined sports cars getting big upgrades for 2023

On an investor call in March 2021 to go over financial results for the year 2020, Aston Martin CEO Tobias Moers told listeners that the automaker's range of front-engined cars were going under various knives to get a "full refresh." At last, thanks to voluminous commentary provided at the launch of Aston Martin's AMR22 Formula 1 car, we have some idea of what Moers' meant. When Autocar spoke to carmaker CEO Lawrence Stroll, he told the outlet the DB11, DBS, and Vantage were going to be like "all-new cars" after receiving upgraded powertrains, suspensions, and infotainment systems. It sounds like there could be design tweaks in store as well, the honcho claiming, "There's no similarity at all to the current cars" save for "some carry-over" in the rear quarters. Autocar believes the AMG-sourced M177 twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 in the DB11 and Vantage will get more power, both of those coupes furnished with 503 horses from that mill at the moment. Meanwhile, the AMG GT 63 S four-door coupe is getting 630 horses from the same engine, more than the 600 hp Aston Martin elicits from its in-house, 5.2-liter V12. It will be interesting to see if the V12 is pushed further in order to retain the same daylight between it and the V8. Alongside this, Stoll told Bloomberg the next 18 to 24 months will bring us electrified versions of the entire model portfolio. The DBX will likely come first, in the next 18 months, with performance that will match or exceed the recently launched DBX707. The hybridized "front-engine program" will follow on its quad pipes. The interiors will take a luxurious step up thanks to the arrival of touchscreens. Before the English firm's tie-up with AMG, it used Volvo-sourced infotainment screens, a necessary cost-saving measure but one that wasn't up to the standards of the brand. Moving to the Mercedes-based system improved the perception, but Aston Martin had to agree to using three-year-old Mercedes technology, another move that didn't fit the standards of the brand. As Stroll asked rhetorically yet rightly, "How can you have an Aston Martin that sells for GBP150,000 with three-year-old technology?" To be clear, we're still taking about underlying Mercedes tech, but the up-to-date stuff that, furthermore, will issue directives with "a proper English accent." The results of the upgrade program are anticipated to reach dealer in 2023, perhaps as 2024 models.

Maybach and Aston Martin alliance talks fall apart

If you have, like us, been salivating at the notion of a new generation of Maybach and Lagonda ultra-luxury crafts built by Aston Martin, we've got some bad news: According to reports emanating from Germany, talks between AML and Daimler have broken down.
The proposal under negotiation would have seen Daimler outsourcing production of the next family of Maybach models to Aston Martin, which in return would benefit from Mercedes-Benz platforms and engines - not only for its svelte GTs, but also for its own future Lagonda line of limousines and luxury SUVs. That, and a boatload of money - or at least that's what AML was reportedly seeking, an issue that served as the stumbling block over which the deal reportedly collapsed.
That's not to say the two parties couldn't still reach some sort of a compromise, but short of that, Daimler may opt to either shut down Maybach altogether, find another partner, or take another stab at building new models internally.