2dr Volante Auto Aston Martin Db9 Volante Low Miles Convertible Gasoline 6.0l V1 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

London man keys $150k Aston Martin while pushing stroller

Police are looking for a man who was caught on a dashboard camera keying a supercar last month while out for a stroll with a child in east London. The Aston Martin V8 Vantage was sitting in a parking spot in the London borough of Hackney. It was minding its own business – with its dashboard camera running – when it caught the eye of man passing by. Not unusual for a sleek sports car, but what happened next was unexpected. Instead of admiring its British design from afar he angled the pram off the curb and walked toward the car. Footage shows he then took an object out of his pocket and dragged it along the side of the Vantage's aluminum body panel. The owner of the Vantage told the BBC the damage cost over $14,000 to fix. In terms of cars to destroy, this vandal has excellent taste. The Vantage is small, light, and agile. The most affordable version, the V8 Vantage GT, comes with a full leather and Alcantara cabin, with thick contrasting stitching, combined with real carbon fiber and wood finished in piano black. It can sprint from zero to 60 mph in about 4.6 seconds. News Source: BBC Auto News Weird Car News Aston Martin Videos viral video vantage scratch

Why you should run out and buy a vintage Aston Martin Lagonda right now

Aston Martin has a reputation for crafting some of the world's finest luxury GTs, and with a little help from James Bond, it has also become a quintessential British brand. While the company's models are known for combining speed and luxury, they certainly aren't recognized for being inexpensive. However, there might be a way to get the Aston badge and potentially make a little extra money if you ever decide to divest. Bloomberg suggests looking outside the mainstream by taking a closer look at the original wedge-shaped Lagonda (above). First shown in the mid '70s, the Lagonda looks like nothing else on the road before or since. Early models feature pop-up headlights and styling so sharp the sedan appears to be slicing through the air, even while sitting still. Later revisions softened the design slightly, and even Aston Martin's modern reinterpretation (inset) doesn't go as far as its predecessor. The interior is what really makes the Lagonda famous (or infamous), though. With instruments displayed on LEDs or CRT screens, depending on model, it's like the science fiction in there. Power is provided by a 5.3-liter V8 quoted at around 280 horsepower, according to Aston Martin. Unfortunately, the Lagonda's avant-garde styling and reputation for unreliability hasn't garnered much love for the super saloon over the years. Aston Martin only made 645 of them by the time production ended in 1989. The tide appears to be turning, though, and the sedan's value is rising strongly. According to Bloomberg, citing Hagerty, prices currently average about $44,000, up 61 percent since 2010, and the later, somewhat more reliable examples are up 85 percent. Perhaps those values are soaring because those lining up for the new Lagonda (a.k.a. Taraf) are looking for a historical counterpart to display alongside their next car. Head over to Bloomberg to get the full story on why it might be time to reconsider these once unloved four-door Astons.

Aston Martin to race with solar power

Aston Martin may be more about luxury GTs than performance-obsessed supercars, but when it comes to racing, it's no holds barred. Aston Martin Racing has developed competition-spec versions of the Vantage and DB9, and even done a few LMP1 prototypes. But while some have been powered by V8s and others by V12s, the one underlying commonality is that they have all – in contrast with championship-winning diesel and hybrid prototypes – been powered exclusively by internal-combustion engines burning gasoline. That's what makes this announcement noteworthy. At Le Mans last weekend, the factory team announced a partnership with the Hanergy Global Solar Power & Applications Group that will see solar panels installed on the roof of the Vantage GTE it fields in the World Endurance Championship. Only the thin panels won't be powering the wheels, boosting the engine somehow or powering the batteries for a hybrid assist. They'll be used to power the air conditioning system. Which may seem inconsequential, but when you consider that the AC typically saps power from the engine – and it can sap quite a lot on a hot race day – that could amount to a serious performance advantage while keeping the drivers comfortable. While the system wasn't ready to use at Le Mans last weekend, temperatures at the French track don't get too high, so the air-con wouldn't likely be a big factor. The team (operated on Aston's behalf by Prodrive) does expect, however, to have the system up and running in time for next round at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, where it can get insufferably hot. Aston and Hanergy also hope to install the system on the V12 Vantage GT3 and V8 Vantage GT4 it supplies to customer teams, and install solar panels on the roof of the new facility Prodrive is building in Banbury, UK. Aston Martin Racing Joins Hanergy in Solar-Powered Project Le Mans, 13 June 2014 - Banbury, 13 June 2014 - Aston Martin Racing has signed a partnership agreement with solar technologies experts Hanergy Global Solar Power & Applications Group, in a project exploring how the sun's energy can be used to improve race car performance at the pinnacle of sportscar racing, the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), starting with the 24 Hours of Le Mans this weekend (14-15 June).