By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Aston Martin is building the most beautiful cars on the road these days, pure and simple. This V8 Vantage Coupe in Gulf livery almost killed me. More pics of the Aston booth after the jump, which includes a DBS Carbon Black Special Edition and the stunning Rapide Coupe.

Continue reading "NYIAS: Aston Martin" »

By Craig McAlpine

imotormag

When Vantage owners told Aston Martin that their car needed more ‘oomph’ Aston listened. Say hello to the new 4.7-litre 420hp V8 Vantage. From the outside there was certainly nothing wrong with the V8 Vantage—it’s a stunning-looking car, no matter which angle you look at it. I reckon it looks even better than its big brother, the DB9, too. Check out the full review with tons of pics!

By Craig McAlpine

imotormag

Owners of earlier-generation 4.3L V8 Vantage complained that it didn’t have enough grunt, so Aston made it a 4.7 and added a few tweaks. So I went up to Aston Martin to take one for a few days–and now, parked outside a stunning building in a sea of Aston development cars, is my Peugeot 306. The Vantage sounds awesome with a butterfly valve in the exhaust that engages at 4000 rpm. I’ll keep you posted on how I get on with the new Vantage, and if I actually give it back…

By Craig McAlpine

imotormag

So in the run-up to Geneva our sister publication AutoExpress was doing some photography with the V12 Vantage. I tagged along (I even wore a shirt and trousers) and managed to get some video with the beast. It was a bit unfortunate that Aston did not let us drive it before the show, but they did drive it around a bit and let us rev the engine. It sounds awesome.

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

This week’s Showroom Showdown started out close, but then the R8 really pulled ahead, winning by a 2-to-1 margin. I really like this photo of Ghost’s R8, which was part of Team Angry on last year’s Bullrun.

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Let’s say you have $120,000 burning a hole in your pocket, and you want a classy sports car. Two options that come to mind are the V8 Vantage and the R8. The Aston Martin has the motor up front while the Audi is mid-engined, but both cars have V8s that put out 420 hp, and they both weigh in right around 3,600 pounds. So, which would you choose?

What would you daily drive if you won the lottery? I don’t play the lottery much, but this is still a question I ponder quite frequently. Well, I think I finally have the answer…

This weekend, Aston Martin kindly invited me to sample their new 2009 V8 Vantage. Although the sheet metal is basically unchanged (and seriously, why mess with it?) the car had received some modest updates, and the V8 had been bumped up to 4.7 liters and a very healthy 420 hp. Hey, that’s good enough reason to invite loyal customers and a few lucky journalists to come check out the new car.

Aston Martin had seven or eight cars out on display at the country club when I got there, and three of them were brand new ’09 Vantage demo cars. The Park Place Motors guys asked me if I wanted to drive the Coupe or the Roadster. It was a perfect, sunny 80-degree day, so this was really no question for me. They only had the Roadster in the Sportshift version, but I’d never driven a car with one of these Magneti Marelli systems (the same used by Ferrari and Lamborghini), so I was curious. The particular example I got to drive was white with a dark reddish-brown interior. This wouldn’t be my first color choice, but it still looked stunning. Continue reading…

Continue reading "2009 Aston Martin V8 Vantage" »

If you’re crazy rich and are looking for a good daily driver, these cars seem like pretty good candidates. Both rides are quite exclusive, look amazing and pack potent V8s. The new GranTurismo only comes with an automatic, but you get a small back seat for the kids. And they both come in right around $110k–hey, that’s chump change! So which would you choose, the Aston Martin or the Maserati?

Ah, Friday the best day of the week. Of course, it’s even cooler when you get to leave work early, and that’s exactly what I’m doing today. Good times. Anyway, here’s the news:

• I think that bikes and cars can—and should—live together peacefully. So when cyclists do stupid things like ride across all lanes of the freeway it really pissed me off. What a great way to screw up a bunch of people’s day. Seattle Times
• The General is wading into the American Axle fiasco, and it’s bringing 200 million dollars with it. Think this development has anything to do with the strike at the Malibu plant? The cash will go mostly toward employee buy outs. Automotive News
• I’ve always loved cut-away cars, and I’ve long wanted to see somebody make a functional one. This   "clear" Subie a UK dealer made is the closest I’ve seen anyone come, and I think it looks dope. CarScoop
• A spy video of the Aston Martin Vantage V12 RS has leaked, and wow, does it look hot. The vents in the hood just make it look vicious. Leave it to Aston Martin to make my dream car even dreamier. Motor Authority

You can’t blame a guy for trying. But seriously. A "spotless driving record" and buying the owner a tank a gas probably isn’t gonna do it. Or maybe there is some Aston Martin or Bentley owner out there who would be willing to hand their car over to some random 18 year old.

Looking for a luxury/ exotic car to use one day for prom (May 3rd). Prom will be in Richwood Ohio (43344) References are available from last year. I’m a responsible 18 year old male with a spotless driving record. Ideally looking to pick up car early Saturday morning and depending on distance away return that night or the next morning. Willing to reimburse you and buy you a tank of gas for this. Could leave a deposit if you wished. Ideally looking for a C6 Z06, Porsche 911, Jaguar S typeR, Lotus, Range Rover supercharged, Aston Martin, Rolls Royce, Bentley, or ??? If you have something interesting and out of the ordinary I may be interested. Any response is greatly appreciated.

From the Columbus Craigslist.