Low Miles Flawless Titanium Silver With Obsidian Black Alantara Leather Roadster on 2040-cars

Auto blog

'Q by Aston Martin' bringing unique creations to Monterey

Want an Aston Martin unlike any other on the road? You'll need to look to Q, and no, we're not talking about the inimitable Desmond Llewelyn. No, we're referring to Aston's in-house customization shop, a one-stop destination that can set your Vantage or Vanquish even further apart from every other vehicle on the road. Aston Martin is bringing four new Q-customized cars to next week's festivities in scenic Monterey, CA, covering the gamut of the brand's portfolio. At the lead is the Aston Martin flagship, the hardtop Vanquish. Finished in an eye-catching – and decidedly un-Aston-like – Abor Orange, the Vanquish boasts unique carbon fiber work, with a twill that's twice the size of your average CF. Inside, a new print has been emblazoned on the Obsidian Black leather, which Aston says is styled after the helix of a carbon molecule. For those who want to stand out and experience the wind in their hair, Q is also bringing out a pair of Aston Martin's Volante variants. The Vanquish Volante wears Frosted Silver paint, 10-spoke alloys and a Chestnut Tan interior. The DB9 Volante, meanwhile, sports perhaps the oddest style of this quartet, with Ashen Blonde exterior paint and, um, a pink interior. It's actually called Blush Pearl, and it's complemented by Piano Ice Mocha on the center stack. Finally, Q has turned its eye on the V12 Vantage S, decking it out in amethyst paint with a Monterey Pearl grille. The cabin sports the same Obsidian Black leather found on the Q-fettled Vanquish, but rather than the helix design, the Vantage S sports bold, Vivid Purple leather accents. The contrasting bits include the seat stripe, headliner, portions of the steering wheel finish and glove box liners. Take a look both up top and below for galleries of all four customized Astons, and then scroll down for the full press release from Aston Martin.

Sir David Brown's 1964 Aston Martin DB5 C is for sale

In 1946, David Brown answered a classified ad in the London Times selling a "High Class Motor Business" for GBP30,000. That business turned out to be Aston Martin, which Brown bought a year later for GBP20,500. According to the Bank of England, he paid nearly GBP600,000 in today's dollars, about $736,000 U.S. He didn't do a bad job with it, attaching his name to the DB series of sports cars from DB1 to DB6 and DBS that won Le Mans and became the preferred choice of real royalty and a fictional secret agent, buying Lagonda to get the straight-six engine for Aston Martin that had been designed by W.O. Bentley, and setting up the coachworks at Newport Pagnell, still considered the historic home of hand-built Astons. All of this, along with wartime contributions on the tractor side, helped make him Sir David Brown, and one of his cars is for sale.  Brown's daily driver was allegedly a Jaguar XJ because of its friendlier running costs compared to his company's products, so there won't be too many ex-David Brown Aston Martins around. He ordered this DB5 Convertible in Caribbean Pearl with a Navy Blue interior and matching top a year after the model hit the market, when Aston Martin began selling it with the new five-speed ZF transmission. The droptop also got a Motorola radio, chrome wire wheels, and the 3.77:1 Power Lock rear differential. He held onto chassis DB5C/1273/R for three years before passing it on to an Aston Martin garage proprietor, who took excellent care of it. A full overhaul in 2014 rebuilt all of the mechanicals, retrimmed the interior, and applied a new paint job from the metal up.  Just over 99,000 miles have accrued on the chassis to now. UK specialist shop Nicholas Mee sold this car in 1994, and is doing so again with an asking price of GBP1,150,000 ($1.4 million U.S.). That sum includes a fresh service, registration, a 12-month warranty, and original accessories like the tool roll, mallet, jack, and owner's manual. Related video:

Buy Sir Stirling Moss's '54 Aston Martin DB3S for just $10m

Bonhams estimates this rare 1954 Aston Martin DB3S will fetch as much as $10 million when it hits the auction block late next month. The fifth of 31 examples (and only 11 works racers) built, this particular DB3S was originally built for the private use of the company's owner David Brown. But after three other examples were destroyed at Le Mans in 1954, Brown handed his car over to the racing department, which replaced the fiberglass bodywork with aluminum and put it to work. Drivers like Sir Stirling Moss, Peter Collins, and Roy Salvadori drove it at Spa, the Nurburgring, and the Mille Miglia. As if that provenance weren't enough, the roadster then went on to appear in the '60s comedy School for Scoundrels alongside Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas, and Janette Scott – plus an Austin-Healey 100-Six and a 1928 Bentley 4 1/2 -Litre Open Tourer dubbed the "Swiftmobile." Bonhams has chassis number DBS3S/5 consigned for its upcoming sale at the old Aston Martin Works factory in Newport Pagnell. With all that history, the auction house anticipates it will sell for GBP6,000,000-7,000,000 – equivalent to $8.5-10 million at current exchange rates. That would, according to the records at Sports Car Market, make it one of the most valuable Astons ever sold at auction, besting the DB3S that Gooding & Company sold in 2014 for $5.5 million. Related Video: THE 1954 ASTON MARTIN DB3S: CAR OF THE SILVER SCREEN RACED BY THE GREAT STIRLING MOSS, NOW OFFERED AT BONHAMS A rare Aston Martin Works team car – chassis number DB3S/5 – which was campaigned in period by such legendary racing drivers as Sir Stirling Moss, Peter Collins and Roy Salvadori, and latterly went on to co-star with Terry-Thomas in 1960s movie classic 'School for Scoundrels', will be offered at Bonhams Aston Martin Works Sale on 21 May 2016. It is estimated at GBP6,000,000-7,000,000. This historic Aston Martin began life as the personal road car of David Brown, the multi-millionaire industrialist owner of the Aston Martin marque. Under Brown's reign the legendary post-World War 2 'DB' series of Aston Martin cars were built, including the Atom, the DB2, DB3, DB4, DB5, DB6, DB7, DB9 and the DBS, all named using Brown's initials. Aston Martin also built a number of DB3S models for the Works racing team.