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James Bond going electric in next film with Aston Martin Rapide E

England's The Sun newspaper, in a piece fabulously titled "The Spy Who Plugged Me ... In," reports that James Bond will drive an Aston Martin Rapide E in the next franchise installment. Quoting "an insider," it's said director Cary Joji Fukunaga is a "total tree-hugger" and pushed to include a more environmentally friendly set of wheels. Long-time producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson went along with it, Fukunaga's apparently working with Aston Martin on the show car. Nothing will be lost in the switch from horsepower to e-power, the Rapide E fitted with "all the high-tech gadgets" and starring in "the centre of an incredible action sequence in the movie." The Rapide E's appearance doesn't exclude a role for another Aston Martin, though. Bond drove a DB5 and DBS in " Casino Royale," then doubled up again in " Spectre" with a DB10 and DB5. We'd expect more than one Warwickshire product, in fact, since Bond cars don't tend to survive any "incredible action sequence." Since we can expect a raft of puns from the car's inclusion, let's go ahead and give a shout-out to Motoring Research who asked the question, " Do you expect me to torque?" Aston Martin plans to build 155 Rapide E sedans for any real-life tree-hugging spies. With Williams Advanced Engineering assisting development, the silent sedan contains a 64-kWh battery and 800-volt electrical architecture, powering a two e-motors with a combined output of 603 horsepower and 700 pound-feet of torque. The 0-60 gallop takes less than four seconds, top speed is 155 miles per hour, and range should crest 200 miles on the WLTP cycle. Fukunaga's directorial resume includes the Netflix film " Beasts of No Nation" and the first season of the HBO series " True Detective." He replaced director Danny Boyle at the helm after creative differences arose between Boyle and producers. Shooting should start next month at Pinewood Studios on what's known as Bond 25 for now, and reports say Oscar winner Rami Malek is a near-lock to play the villain. The Rapide E should be in showrooms at the end of this year, the film's release date slated for April 2020.

2020 Virtual Geneva Motor Show Editors' Picks

There may not have been an actual Geneva Motor Show this year, but there were still loads of car reveals that happened the week that the show would have happened. So we still wanted to highlight what our favorites of the would-be show. Our list of cars seemed to match the theme of the reveals, too, highlighting over-the-top supercars and forward thinking electric vehicles. Scroll down to see our favorites. Fifth Place: Aston Martin V12 Speedster - 21 points Managing Editor, Greg Rasa: Astons are works of art, and this one's ready for the Louvre. The design nods to Aston history are nifty. It looks like a jet fighter, except those have canopies. Not sure what 186 mph would be like in this, but don't try it in summer when there are bugs. Contributing Editor, Joe Lorio: Admittedly, this one is a little silly. A $950,000 sports car with no roof? A 700-hp two-seater with no windshield? But the offerings at the Geneva auto show have always tilted toward absurdity, and Aston’s V12 Speedster is endearingly outrageous as a fighter plane for the street. Third Place (Tie): Volkswagen ID.4 - 26 points Senior Producer, Chris McGraw: I don't have much to say about this other than I am a huge fan of more EVs coming to the market, which is why two-thirds of my picks are electric, including the ID.4. Producer, Alex Malberg: Any new fully-electric crossover is a vote for me. The fact it doesn't look terrible and VW will be including AWD later are bonuses.  Third Place (Tie): Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio GTA - 26 points Road Test Editor, Zac Palmer: Hard to argue with the logic of this one. The Giulia Quadrifoglio is already the best driver in this class of hot sedans, so why not extend the lead with a special model. That wing is Type R levels of high, and I completely approve. Associate Editor, Byron Hurd: Love this car. Love it, love it, love it. It's beautiful, aggressive and fast. I'd take it over an M3 or C63 any day. As cool as the GTAm is, though, I'd rather stick to the four-seat GTA. Something about a four-door car with two seats just doesn't really work for me. I haven't alienated ALL of my friends quite yet. Second Place: Hyundai Prophecy - 35 points Senior Editor, Green, John Snyder: I get whiffs of the Genesis Coupe from this sleek concept. I like the focus on form, with interesting details to discover if you look for them. West Coast Editor, James Riswick: Does it look like a Porsche? Sure, but Porsches look neat.

Aston Martin DBX Bowmore Edition is distilled luxury with a whisky theme

Aston Martin, one of the best-known British carmakers, is joining forces with Bowmore, one of the best-known Scotch whisky distillers, to create a limited-edition version of the DBX. Designed by the company's Q division, the Bowmore Edition is a cocktail of modern luxury and old-school craftmanship for car and whisky enthusiasts alike. It takes a well-trained eye to tell the Bowmore Edition apart from the regular DBX in traffic. It's painted in a relatively subtle color named Bowmore Blue, though buyers can alternatively order Xenon Grey. Black brake calipers and black wheels come standard, but our favorite exterior feature is on the side strakes. They gain copper inlays cut out of the original Bowmore still. Q by Aston Martin badges round out the list of visual tweaks. Buyers can choose between a single- and a two-tone interior. Both feature copper and blue tweed inserts created by the Islay Woollen Mill that's located on the same island as the Bowmore distillery. More still-sourced copper accents are found on the bottom of the front cupholders and on the sill plates, and each car comes with an array of edition-specific accessories, including a tweed picnic basket and a leather holdall bag. Aston made no mechanical modifications to the DBX Bowmore Edition, so please don't pour single malt in its fuel tank. Power comes from a twin-turbocharged, 4.0-liter V8 engine borrowed from Mercedes-Benz and tuned to develop 542 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. It spins the four wheels via a nine-speed automatic transmission. The DBX posts a 4.2-second sprint to 60 mph and it can tow up to 6,000 pounds when properly equipped, which represents about 2,000 bottles of whisky — or a few hundred less if you factor in the trailer. Q by Aston Martin will build 18 units of the DBX Bowmore Edition. Deliveries will take place in the fourth quarter of 2021, but customers won't simply be handed the keys before being sent home. They'll first travel to Edinburgh, Scotland, where they'll pick up their SUV. They'll then take a 170-mile road trip through the fairy tale-like Scottish countryside before boarding a ferry for Islay for a three-night stay. Participants will eat, sight-see, visit the Bowmore Distillery, and hand-fill their own bottle of 39-year-old whisky straight from the cask, which is not bad as far as souvenirs go. Pricing hasn't been released yet, but the standard DBX starts at about $190,000. Related video: