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Aston Martin DB5s from 'No Time to Die' sampled by Carfection

The excellent Henry Catchpole might have just made the most persuasive argument for restomods using one of the world's and pop culture's most celebrated classics. The Carfection host spent a day at Silverstone with no less than four takes on the Aston Martin DB5 — one of them the showstopping original in gleaming Silver Birch with the license plate BMT 216A, three of them stunt cars used in the next James Bond installment "No Time to Die." Catchpole starts off in the stock vintage two-door, its 4.0-liter straight-six sending about 282 horsepower and 287 pound-feet of torque to the live rear axle to move about 3,300 pounds. It's a thrill to run through apexes, but perhaps more for its pedigree than its prowess; at one point, Catchpole wonders, "How on earth he did some of those car chases with seats like this, I've got no idea." Of course, Bond only had to outrun a couple of even older Mercedes sedans in "Goldfinger." The host then slides into the shotgun seat of one of the ringers, with one-time Subaru-driving rally ace Mark Higgins behind the wheel. Higgins has been a stunt driver in four Bond films now, starting his tenure in a Land Rover Defender in "Quantum of Solace," working his way up to drifting the one-off Aston Martin DB10 at around 90 miles per hour through St. Peter's Square in The Vatican. Higgins explains a bit of what went into the DB5-looking stunt cars built for "No Time to Die," one of them built on a ladder frame chassis dressed in carbon fiber body panels, powered by a modern straight-six engine, suspended with Ohlins dampers. The directive was to get repeatability in tricky environments, and hey, more power and less weight is never a bad thing, either.  When Catchpole takes the track again behind the wheel of the stunt car, you'll want to turn on the closed captions. Even if you don't, Catchpole's barely audible exclamations and facial expressions make it clear which car he'd rather take home, and which he'd leave for the "misogynist alcoholic womanizer of a secret spy with really pretty unresolved violence issues." If all goes well, we'll see both in action — plus two more — when "No Time to Die" hits theaters in November. Related Video:

Tesla layoffs, new safety mandates, and a bumper crop of V12s! | Autoblog Podcast #830

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Byron Hurd for a gasoline-powered installment. They lead off by diving into the Tesla layoff news from this week before leaving electrification behind for a bit to talk about not one, but two production V12 unveilings. This isn't a drill, folks; Aston Martin and Ferrari are both committed. After that, they touch on the U.S. government announcement that it would mandate automatic emergency braking systems starting in 2029. They finish up the news segment with a chat about Fisker. Poor, poor Fisker. From there, it's on to the road tests. The Autoblog team has been testing out some EVs and both Byron and Greg had some thoughts to share, plus we get a final update from Byron on the long-term Subaru WRX and some notes from both drivers about the updated Range Rover Evoque.  Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #830 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown News Axing Tesla's Supercharger department raises worries as other automakers join network Fisker tells its staff that four companies are interested in buying it Ferrari confirms the 812 Superfast's successor will keep the V12 alive Aston Martin isn't done with V12s, it redesigns the engine U.S. to require automatic emergency braking on new vehicles What we've been driving 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 6 2021 Tesla Model Y 2024 Range Rover Evoque Long-term Subaru WRX Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: Government/Legal Green Podcasts Aston Martin Ferrari Hyundai Land Rover Subaru Tesla Convertible Coupe Crossover SUV Electric Performance Sedan

Aston Martin will race the Valkyrie hypercar at Le Mans in 2021

Aston Martin will challenge for outright victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours race in 2021 with its Valkyrie hypercar, the British luxury sportscar maker announced on Friday after race organizers rewrote the rules. The governing FIA, who oversee the World Endurance Championship, and race organizers Automobile Club de L'Ouest, revealed earlier that hypercar derivatives would replace prototypes as the top category starting in the 2020-21 season. Aston Martin will field two works Valkyries, powered by V12 normally-aspirated engines, as part of a multi-year commitment to a championship currently dominated by Japanese manufacturer Toyota. The announcement comes 60 years after Aston Martin's sole overall triumph at Le Mans in 1959 with Britain's Roy Salvadori and American Carroll Shelby. Le Mans winner Toyota, meanwhile, has committed to staying in the WEC after 2020 subsequent to the hypercar rules. The Japanese manufacturer said in a statement before this weekend's race at Le Mans' Sarthe circuit that it would continue in 2021 with a hybrid-powered prototype based on the GR Super Sport road car. Track testing of the new car will begin next year. Defending champions Toyota will start on pole position on Saturday after sweeping the front row in qualifying for the third year in succession. "This new era of competition is a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate our credentials not only as a race team against some of the best in the business, but also as a sportscar manufacturer," said Toyota Gazoo president Shigeki Tomoyama. The 2021 Le Mans will also be the 100th anniversary of Aston's first entry at the Circuit de la Sarthe. "I think you'd say from the brand's point of view, there's a little bit of unfinished business to be done," Group Chief Executive Andy Palmer told Reuters. Top Formula One designer Adrian Newey, who has won championships with Williams, McLaren and Red Bull, helped create the Valkyrie. The limited edition road legal version costs in the region of 2.5 million pounds ($3.17 million). "We don't under-estimate the difficulty of an outright win at Le Mans and you never under-estimate the tenacity and resources of Toyota," said Palmer. "On the other hand, we're not coming just to make up the numbers. We're coming here to give it a bloody good shot." Palmer said the new regulations would significantly reduce the costs of competing, without giving details about the likely budget, and hoped commercial rivals McLaren and Ferrari would take up the challenge.