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Aston Martin Brough Superior AMB 001 starts testing, shows off new color

Aston Martin announced last fall it would be dipping a toe into the motorcycle world with the help of bike builder Brough Superior. The first bike is the AMB 001, and it's finally undergoing track testing and development. The turbocharged 180-horsepower motorcycle is shown on video powering around a race track. It offers a good look at the bike's double-wishbone girder-style front end in action, a signature of Brough Superior bikes. Aston Martin Brough Superior AMB 001 View 5 Photos Besides a look at the bike on track, the two companies showed a version of the bike with dark red tinted carbon fiber panels. It also has some spiffy red brake disc spokes. We also get a close look at the instrument display, which actually appears to be on a smartphone that fits in a slot on the tank. Not many other details have been revealed. The companies announced they would only build 100 examples of the AMB 001. Each one will cost 108,000 Euros — or just shy of $120,000 — and they'll be delivered at the end of the year. Related Video:

2020 Aston Martin DBS GT Zagato revealed with 'fluttering' grille, no rear window

The 2020 Aston Martin DBS GT Zagato has finally been revealed in new renderings of the production vehicle from the British sports car builder. This is the car that's only being sold in pairs with the continuation DB4 GT Zagato, and only 19 pairs of the two models will be built. It also looks a whole lot like its predecessor, the Vanquish Zagato. It has the rocket booster taillights, exaggerated rear fenders, double-bubble roof and enormous front grille, but there are differences, some of which are particularly unique. Take the front grille, for example: Besides lacking the dual round fog lights of the Vanquish example, the DBS grille is active. According to Aston Martin, the grille is made up of 108 individual pieces of carbon fiber, and when the car is shut off, they all move to make the grille solid and flush with the body. Then when the car fires up, they all move to allow air through. The company describes it as the car appearing to "flutter" to life. Then there's the roof, which is one piece of carbon fiber that stretches from the windshield to the edge of the trunk lid. It's a gorgeous piece that adds a two-tone look and highlights the double-bubble design. It also lacks any molded-in louvers to allow rear visibility. To get around that, Aston Martin has added a rear-view camera that displays images in a screen where the mirror would go, just like GM's mirror screen. Those are the most unique design tweaks, but there are more subtle ones, too. The whole car looks lower and longer than the Vanquish, in part thanks to the DBS' leaner body. The side vents are longer. The rear taillights are smaller and incorporated into a black finish panel. There also aren't deep side skirts. Instead, the rocker panels are rounded and tucked in like on a '60s sports car. Final specifications for the DBS GT Zagato are still unclear, but the company has said that the car will be based on the DBS Superleggera. That means it will have a twin-turbo 5.2-liter V12 making at least 715 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque. That's significantly more than the Vanquish Zagato's 576 horsepower. Production begins in 2020, and pricing for this and its DB4 continuation partner is $7.9 million.

Aston Martin Vantage might get a Mercedes inline-six

Aston Martin has turned its eye to the inline six-cylinder engine Mercedes-Benz installs in the CLS 53. The British carmaker uses an AMG-sourced 4.0-liter V8 for the DB11 and the Vantage, which produces 503 horsepower and 505 pound-feet of torque in the latter coupe. Aston Martin hasn't said anything about whether or when it would use the inline-six, nor mentioned a product to slot the engine into. If the six does migrate from Germany to England, the move brings several benefits for Aston Martin, and it would create the first six-pot Aston Martin since the 1999 DB7. The 3.0-liter, AMG-built six-cylinder uses an electric turbocharger to put out 430 hp and 383 lb-ft of torque, and gets help from a 48-volt EQ Boost micro-hybrid system throwing in 21 hp and 184 lb-ft. After driving it at a Mercedes-Benz test track, Aston Martin's chief engineer Matt Becker called the powerplant "very complicated and clever," and said, "it's a very impressive engine" that he could envision serving the brand. The 2019 Vantage engine bay can already fit the company's in-house, 5.2-liter V12, so a straight-six shouldn't be hard to swallow. As for how it would fit into the lineup, there's a chance a six-cylinder Vantage supplants the V8. However, since Becker said his engineering team "would not necessarily play" with the AMG's power curves, that option would probably have to wait until AMG upped the three-liters' output. We'd be surprised if Vantage buyers would accept giving up two cylinders and 73 hp. More likely, a six-cylinder Vantage could give Aston Martin a new entry-level model to undercut the $153,081 Vantage V8, but with plenty of ponies to thrill. A V6 coupe could also help the carmaker's emissions scores, and serve specific markets such as China where engine displacements greater than three liters get hit with heavy taxes. Related Video: