F1 Paddle Shift V8 Vantage With Navigation, Heated Seats, Xenon Headlights on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Soundcheck: Aston Martin Valkyrie begins to scream

In July, Aston Martin published the first video of the Valkyrie on track at Britain's Silverstone Circuit during the Formula One Grand Prix weekend there. Test driver Chris Goodwin didn't push the 1,160-horsepower coupe to its limits, merely massaging the throttle for the camera a few times. The English carmaker headed back to Silverstone this month with a group of guests in tow, and this time the test driver put a little more muscle into the fly-bys. Since the track was wet, the soundtrack still can't be considered the ultimate experience, but even so, the 6.5-liter Cosworth V12 sounds exceptionally good. This new video injects a high-pitched wail that was missing in July, the kind of wicked, soaring keen that jellies one's organs and notifies the mind of blinding terrors on approach. In fact, the Valkyrie now makes all the noises Formula 1 fans wished the F1 race cars could make. That's no hyperbole, either. Compare the modern Cosworth to the 3.5-liter Honda V12 in the 1991 McLaren MP4/6, the resemblance is clear. Remove the street-legal equipment on the Aston Martin and let Goodwin uncork it, as we expect to happen in next year's World Endurance Championship, and it's clear the WEC might have the best sounding racers in all of motorsport. Deliveries are scheduled to begin before the end of the year, so Aston Martin should be wrapping up its validation testing on Verification Prototype 1 if it hasn't already. After that come competition entries into the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). And after that, someone will need to convince at least one owner to drive the Valkyrie on the street so that we can all enjoy the noise.

Aston Martin bringing Vantage GT12, Lagonda to Goodwood

Over the past 22 years, the Goodwood Festival of Speed has become one of the premier classic car events in the world. It's a place where incredibly rare vehicles are dusted off and are actually driven up the estate's famous hill. In addition to all of the wonderful things on display there this year, Aston Martin is giving the public a look at two of the brand's rarest current models – the Vantage GT12 (pictured above) and Lagonda Taraf. Goodwood is actually the first time the Vantage GT12 will be displayed on British soil, and all 100 units of it are already sold out. Aston originally debuted the stripped-out, 592-horsepower, V12 coupe at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show as the Vantage GT3, but a legal dispute with Porsche over the name forced the switch to the current moniker. Rather than just a static display, Aston CEO Andy Palmer has also decided to drive a GT12 up the hill. If race-inspired, limited-edition coupes somehow aren't your thing, Aston Martin is also putting the Lagonda Taraf on display. Once exclusively available in the Middle East, the 200 examples of the carbon-fiber sedan are now for sale only by invitation, and this outing at Goodwood actually marks its global, public debut, outside of a major auto show. Each one is assembled by hand at the same dedicated facility responsible for vehicles like the One-77. Beyond the company's latest and most limited production models, visitors to Goodwood also have the opportunity to watch the hillclimb by the #97 Vantage GTE racer from Le Mans with a mind-bending livery. Rarities like the CC100 are going to be making runs, as well. As usual, if you can make it the UK, this sounds like a must-see event. Related Video: ASTON MARTIN TO THRILL GOODWOOD WITH ITS BIGGEST-EVER PRESENCE 18 June, 2015, Gaydon: Aston Martin arrives at the 22nd Goodwood Festival of Speed next week with a superb line-up of exclusive and exciting sports cars and super saloons which, together, represent its biggest presence yet at the world-renowned celebration of motoring and motorsport. The luxury British sports car maker will treat the Goodwood patrons to a feast of 'firsts', including the UK debut of the motorsport-inspired, and now sold-out, Vantage GT12 and the global dynamic debut of the strictly-limited luxurious new Lagonda Taraf super saloon.

Maybach and Aston Martin alliance talks fall apart

If you have, like us, been salivating at the notion of a new generation of Maybach and Lagonda ultra-luxury crafts built by Aston Martin, we've got some bad news: According to reports emanating from Germany, talks between AML and Daimler have broken down.
The proposal under negotiation would have seen Daimler outsourcing production of the next family of Maybach models to Aston Martin, which in return would benefit from Mercedes-Benz platforms and engines - not only for its svelte GTs, but also for its own future Lagonda line of limousines and luxury SUVs. That, and a boatload of money - or at least that's what AML was reportedly seeking, an issue that served as the stumbling block over which the deal reportedly collapsed.
That's not to say the two parties couldn't still reach some sort of a compromise, but short of that, Daimler may opt to either shut down Maybach altogether, find another partner, or take another stab at building new models internally.