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Jay Leno, Ex-Stig test Aston Martin's latest cars

Aston Martin is on a roll right now. From unveiling its latest V12-powered hypercar codenamed the AM-RB 001 to building one-off convertibles of hardcore track toys, the automaker has really hit its stride. With cars like the DB11 and V12 Vantage S, Aston is also working on reinventing its road cars. Jay Leno, because he's Jay Leno, was lucky enough to test both cars at Willow Springs, and he invited former Stig Ben Collins to have some fun. In this clip from Jay Leno's Garage, the comedian gets a design overview of the DB 11 and then talks to Collins about his racing career, working on Top Gear, and doing Hollywood stunt driving. The pair plays a little James Bond chase on the track, with Collins in the V12 Vantage S and Leno in the DB11. Jay isn't exactly working all of the 600 hp from the twin-turbocharged, 5.2-liter V12, as it's a prototype. Meanwhile, Collins is hot-dogging the V12 Vantage S, with its anachronistic naturally aspirated 5.9-liter V12 and seven-speed manual transmission, behind him. Although the driving pace isn't quite matched, when two remarkable cars get together, everyone wins. Related Video:

Aston Martin DB5 hood used to make Atelier Jalaper watches

There are more than a few famous movie cars, like Eleanor, Doc's DMC-12, the Bandit's Trans-Am, and Bullitt's Mustang, for instance. There are hardly any movie cars that are famous, beautiful, and lustworthy, and that 60 years later are still having a moment. Consider that Aston Martin produced the DB5 from 1963 to 1965, sending only a touch more than 1,020 units into the world, but it seems like every six months we get a new take on either the car itself or something having to do with the car. Atelier Jalaper is the latest to make an entry in the latter category. Two gents got the idea to produce a watch using something from a historic car. After putting the Jaguar E-Type, AC Cobra, Ferrari F40, and Aston Martin DB5 donor cars up for vote on Instagram, the people chose Bond, and the results are the AJ-001 and AJ-002 watches. The journey started with a successful Kickstarter campaign, which was the easy part. With money in hand, it took the two men behind the company a year to find an authentic hood from an original DB5. To ensure provenance, Atelier Jalaper had Aston Martin Works verify the hood, a two-hour process that produced a 20-page report on the Silver Birch unit. The men then visited Switzerland to find the engineers and watch maker who could turn the metal into a timepiece. The engineering involved tasks like flattening the hood and removing the nine layers of paint while leaving the metalworking marks and patina of the raw steel, and a 58-minute-long process of lasering texture into the dial. The actual watch bits include a Miyota automatic movement visible though the clear back, numerals that resemble the odometer figures in the DB5, and a choice of two complications. The AJ-001 features the date, the AJ-002 features the day and date. Both are available in a polished steel case or a matte black PVD case. The series is limited to 600 units, each serial engraved into a button on the left side, and customers can choose a serial number if it hasn't been taken already. Prices start at ˆ800 ($814 U.S.) for the AJ-001 in stainless steel and go to ˆ1,150 ($1,170 U.S.) for the AJ-002 in black PVD.     Related video:

Aston Martin says its fleet will go all-hybrid

British luxury carmaker Aston Martin says it plans to convert its entire six-car lineup to hybrid powertrains, with CEO Dr. Andy Palmer telling the Financial Times (subscription required), "We will be 100 per cent hybrid by the middle of the 2020s" and that 25 percent of all Aston Martins will be fully electric "by the end of the next decade." In June, the company announced it will produce the RapidE, its first all-electric car, in 2019, with a limited production run of 155 cars. The Rapide S, the model it's ostensibly based on, starts around $204,000. "RapidE represents a sustainable future in which Aston Martin's values of seductive style and supreme performance don't merely co-exist alongside a new zero-emission powertrain, but are enhanced by it," Palmer said in the statement. "The internal combustion engine has been at the heart of Aston Martin for more than a century, and will continue to be for years to come. RapidE will showcase Aston Martin's vision, desire and capability to successfully embrace radical change, delivering a new breed of car that stays true to our ethos and delights our customers." Palmer also told FT that while the company plans to source battery cells from overseas, it will develop its electric systems in-house. It is working with Williams Advanced Engineering in England on EV systems integrations for the RapidE. Aston is just the latest of a long line of automakers to announce electrification plans. Notably, Volvo recently announced that it would add some form of electrification to its entire fleet by 2019. Related Video: