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2018 Aston Martin DB11 AMR Review | A private world of comfort and speed

There are moments when miniscule adjustments to something wonderful can yield unforeseen enhancements. The addition of a dash of Maraschino liqueur to a perfect Manhattan. The application of a few Newton-meters more pressure in a deep tissue massage. Gold-plating the wire wheels on your Commodore Blue Continental Package-equipped 1985 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Convertible. So it is with the Aston Martin DB11 AMR, a slight tweak to the Aston Martin DB11 V12 — already one of our favorite grand tourers. The non-AMR DB11 hosts the ideal combination of profligate luxury, recherche exclusivity, and muscular performance. (The V8 is also ... fine.) But Aston Martin's new AMR performance sub-brand has drizzled its speed effluent onto the DB's componentry and software. The result borders on transcendent. AMR was launched at the Geneva Motor Show in 2017 as the storied British marque's go-fast subsidiary (its M or AMG, if you will). Inspired in name, if not in mission, by the Aston Martin Racing team, it has already resulted in the AMR-ization of a half-dozen Aston vehicles including iterations of the Rapide, Vulcan, Valkyrie, and previous-generation Vantage. The $241,000 DB11 is the seventh in that series, and it will take the place of the "base" DB11 V12 when it appears in the states later this summer. Since Aston recently opened the first of its fancy-pants AMR Performance Centers adjacent to Germany's famed Nurburgring racetrack, it seemed fitting that our test drive of the new car commence there. We snagged the DB's crystal-tipped key fob and spent a couple days tearing everywhere in the Rhineland region that wasn't the "Ring," including narrow wending mountain roads, expertly paved two-lane byways, and unlimited Autobahn uber-highways. AMR's sorcery has, as noted, yielded relatively small changes on paper. The twin-turbocharged 5.2-liter 12-cylinder now makes just 5 percent more horses, for a total of 630. The dampers and springs have been stiffened by about 10 percent, the anti-roll bars front and rear by half that and half again. More rigid engine and transmission mounts have been added for greater stolidity. The transmission has been remapped for increased differentiation across the GT, Sport, and Sport Plus driving modes, selectable via a switch on the right side of the steering wheel.

Aston Martin Vanquish Carbon Edition is back in black [w/video]

Earlier this year, I spent the weekend with an Aston Martin Vanquish Volante in a particularly interesting shade of green – the same car you see photographed here, for our First Drive. When it was dropped off, I remember just staring at it, taking in all of its lines, the curves, its pronounced hips – all the details. To say the Vanquish is a gorgeous car is a vast understatement. And here at the Paris Motor Show, the already classy range-topping Aston coupe dons an even more gorgeous appearance in the form of the Carbon Edition. Aston Martin has already given similar treatments to its Vantage, DB9 and DBS (the Vanquish's predecessor), and the svelte look can be had on either the coupe or convertible models, available in black or white. The car gets black window surrounds, darker headlight trim, gloss black alloy wheels and a stylish herringbone carbon fiber trim in the cabin to go with the quilted leather upholstery. One thing that's left unchanged with the Carbon Edition is the massive, old-school powerplant underhood: Aston's 6.0-liter naturally aspirated V12 with 568 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque. Hitting 60 miles per hour takes just 3.6 seconds, on its way to a top speed of just over 200 mph. Have a look at the Carbon Aston in our live gallery above, and click below for a short video showing the sleek new Vanquish.

Aston Martin wants to be the Hermes of the car world

Aston Martin doesn't want its wealthy potential customers to perceive the brand as just another sports car maker. The company wants to transform those perceptions so that buyers see its products as luxury goods on par with high-end accessories. If this change can successfully bring in more cash, the business could consider an initial public offering in the coming years. "We seek to position ourselves as the automotive equivalent of Hermes, not as the counterpart of Ferrari." CEO Andy Palmer explained the change to Bloomberg, referencing the boutique French brand. The desire to change buyer impressions comes as Aston Martin pivots away from a focus predominantly on sports cars and more towards high-performance luxury vehicles. For example, the company already has sedans in the lineup like the Rapide and Lagonda Taraf. The future range will also reportedly include an electric Rapide and another Lagonda. The production version of the DBX crossover (concept above) will add one more segment around 2019. However, Aston Martin won't completely abandon coupes because the DB11 will arrive in 2016, and a new Vanquish and Vantage will eventually follow. For Aston Martin to have a future, Palmer believes the company needs to look in new directions, especially with models like the DBX. According to Bloomberg, execs there hope that appealing to more customers could help the business see a net profit in the next three years, which hasn't happened since 2010. To save even more money going forward, the business recently cut 15 percent of its workforce mostly from white collar employees. Featured Gallery Aston Martin DBX: Monterey 2015 View 16 Photos News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Drew Phillips / AOL Aston Martin Crossover Luxury Performance Sedan aston martin rapide aston martin lagonda aston martin dbx