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Aston Martin signs Letter of Intent for technical partnership with AMG

A little over two months ago came reports that Daimler and Aston Martin were in talks, again, about "supply and technical-cooperation agreements." The next step has been taken with Aston Martin announcing that it has signed a Letter of Intent that looks "towards a technical partnership" with Mercedes-AMG GmbH, and the two companies aiming to have definitive agreements done by year's end.
While it will get to use certain electric and electronic components from AMG, the true golden egg for the maker of the Vanquish will be the ability to develop a new line of "bespoke V8 powertrains" that will be fitted to "a new generation of models." In return for opening up the larder, Daimler will get a non-voting stake of up to five percent of Aston Martin.
Nothing else is being said about the tie-up for the moment, but there's a press release below with a few more details.

Aston Martin Rapide AMR spied testing at the 'Ring

At last year's Geneva Motor Show, Aston Martin launched its AMR line of limited-edition, high-performance models. The first two models presented were a Vantage AMR Pro designed only for the track, and a Rapide AMR that's was a slightly hopped up version of the Aston sedan. Though they were fully revealed back then, it seems Aston Martin has still been doing a bit of testing, since one of our spy photographers caught the Rapide AMR at the Nurburgring. The car is most certainly a test vehicle, since the hood and front bumper are unpainted. It's also missing its florescent green stripe down the middle. But it looks like there haven't been any visual changes to the bodywork compared to the show car. It is also missing four massive exhaust tips at the back. Still, it should have the same 592-horsepower V12 under the hood with a louder exhaust system and plenty of carbon fiber bits inside and outside of the car. This may be one of the only times we ever see one of these cars at the famous German race track, or any race track for that matter. Only 210 Rapide AMR cars will be built, meaning collectors will probably be squirreling them away into garages and only bringing them out for the occasional car show or Sunday drive. Hopefully Aston will also record and announce a lap time for the big-engine sedan, since we doubt anyone else will try to set a record time. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2019 Aston Martin Rapide AMR spy shots View 13 Photos Image Credit: CarPix Spy Photos Aston Martin Luxury Performance Sedan aston martin rapide aston martin racing aston martin amr

Kahn and Evanta team up for hot-rod Defender, custom Barchetta

If you're familiar with the work of Afzal Kahn, it's probably for his tuned Range Rovers. And if you live in London, you may have seen his Bugatti Veyron with the F1 license plate. But the British tuner and self-styled "automotive fashion designer" is now embarking on a far more ambitious project. Kahn is teaming up with Ant Anstead of Evanta fame – responsible for rebodying Aston Martin DB7s to look like DB4 GTs and that full-scale DBR1/2 model kit – on a new outfit called Ant-Kahn. Far more than a tuning endeavor, Ant-Kahm is setting about creating truly unique (and uniquely British) automobiles. Their first project is called the Flying Huntsman, a long-nose Land Rover Defender that we imagine will emerge as something like a British take on the 1998 Jeepster concept crossed with something Icon might concoct. It'll pack a 6.2-liter GM LS3 V8 producing 550 horsepower, mated to a push-button six-speed automatic transmission, mounted close to the bulkhead with over 15 inches of extra bodywork and set to be unveiled within the coming months. Their second collaboration is set to yield the Evanta Barchetta previewed by rendering above. "Inspired by the design language of 1950s motorsport," the Barchetta pays homage to classic British and Italian roadsters. It's being built around a tubular frame with handcrafted composite Kevlar bodywork and powered by that same LS3 tuned to 450 hp but in a much lighter form than the Flying Hunstman. Only 20 examples will be made after its debut at the Goodwood Revival come September. An Aston Martin project codenamed WB12 is also in the works, painting a picture of an ambitious startup backed by two experienced operators whose projects we're looking forward to seeing come to fruition. Ant-Kahn – The birth of a groundbreaking collaboration between two leading figures in the UK automotive industry. Ant-Kahn is a collaborative partnership between Afzal Kahn - innovative automotive fashion designer and founder of the Kahn group of companies, and Ant Anstead, founder of expert vehicle manufacturer Evanta, and star of Channel 4's "For The Love of Cars". Working together under the Ant-Kahn banner, they will lead a resurgence in British specialist vehicle manufacture, with a number of projects already underway. Their focus is on luxury and quality, using modern prototyping and manufacturing technology, while maintaining the attention to details associated with traditional coach building.