2 Owner Aston Martin Vantage Coupe With 6 Speed. Only 10,000 Miles. on 2040-cars

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Pre-Race notes from the 2015 Nurburgring 24-Hours

Autoblog has come to the German countryside to watch the Nurburgring 24-Hour race, and just one day in, we have to say it's outstanding. Le Mans has been the highlight of our summer racing schedule for the past few years, the 'Ring 24-Hour event being the appetizer we always skipped. Earlier this year, however, while visiting Miami to check out the Cigarette Racing 50 Marauder GT S, we met Scott Preacher. He oversees digital marketing for both Cigarette and AMG during the week, then comes to Germany to compete in the VLN race series on the weekends, driving an Aston Martin Vantage GT4 for Team Mathol. If Le Mans is the Oscars of endurance racing, the Nurburgring 24-Hour race is the Screen Actors Guild award – the one voted on by the actors, for the actors. In this case it's the race by the teams and fans, for the teams and fans, even though the increasing manufacturer presence has altered the team equation. We were told that it wasn't so long ago that true privateers could win the overall, but that's not really the case anymore. Front-running teams have heavy factory involvement – Audi Sport Team Phoenix, for instance, which finished in first and third last year, has its own 'Ring race center and is running the 2016 R8; Aston Martin is represented by Aston Martin Racing and Aston Martin Test Center, and Bentley has a Bentley Motors team and uses HPT to run another team. The fan component hasn't changed, though, and you can't talk about the race for more than 60 seconds before someone brings up the battalions of spectators. Every driver we spoke to cited them as the most incredible part of this race after the track itself. It feels to us like a giant German Sebring, with thousands of people camped out in the ginormous, forested infield, many of whom have been here since Monday erecting their ornate camping compounds. There will be parties everywhere Saturday night, and so much bratwurst on the grill that the drivers can smell it when as they're blasting full speed through Wehrseifen. Even when we drove a Mercedes S63 AMG Coupe on a lap before the race, the fans waved like it was a competition. Scott Preacher's Australian co-driver Robert Thompson said, "You come around a corner and it's like you're driving full speed through the middle of a carnival." The race field itself could also be called a carnival, with an officially invited field of more than 170 cars. Even on a track that's 24.4-km long, that's like racing on the 405 at midday.

James Bond's Aston Martin DB10 sells for $3.5 million

We expect the person that just paid 2,434,500 pounds ($3.48 million at current exchange rates) for James Bond's Aston Martin DB10 from Spectre enjoyed a stiff martini after writing the check to Christies. The sale price shattered the original estimate of at least $1.4 million. The proceeds from the coupe's auction went to Medecins sans Frontieres, and the movie's memorabilia brought a total of 2,785,500 pounds ($3.98 million) for charities. Aston Martin made just 10 examples of the DB10 to shoot Spectre, but the crew modified most of them to film the movie's stunts. This was one of two that the production left untouched. It's also the first DB10 available for sale to the public, and actor Daniel Craig signed the car. The DB10 features a carbon-fiber body that's perfect for the world's best known secret agent, and underneath the beautiful design, these cars have the platform, 4.7-liter V8, and six-speed manual gearbox from a V8 Vantage. Even though they use production-based parts, Aston Martin doesn't certify the DB10s for public roads. However, we presume the new owner has a sprawling estate to enjoy his or her purchase. Related Video:

Aston Martin to unveil lighter, faster Vantage called GT8

After the Vantage GT12's (pictured above) success last year, Aston Martin will reportedly build a new race-inspired version of the coupe called the GT8. According to Autocar, the British sports car brand sent select customers invitations to an unveiling later this week. The note included a sketch of the car, including a road-scraping front splitter, big rear wing, and large diffuser. The GT8 will boast carbon fiber body panels like the GT12, and according to Autocar the new edition could be the lightest road legal Vantage ever. Inside, look for a race-inspired interior, which makes any trip feel a little more like being on the track. There's no official word on the powerplant yet, but the name likely gives away the secret. Where the GT12 has a 592-horsepower 6.0-liter V12, expect the GT8 to use a hotter version of the brand's V8. Customers would choose between a seven-speed manual or Aston's SSII automatic, Autocar claims. Aston Martin will build just 150 units of the GT8 – 50 more than the GT12. Going forward, the company plans to introduce two limited edition vehicles each year. The GT8 would be the first one for 2016, so there's still another exciting model to expect from the company. Related Video: