Archive for the ‘Aston Martin’ Category

Aston Martin voted UK’s Coolest Brand

Posted: September 28, 2011 by The Car Spy in Aston Martin
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Aston Martin has been awarded the prize of the UK’s coolest brand, winning this prestigious accolade for an unprecedented fifth time in six years.

Once again, Aston Martin has topped a poll which comprises an array of leading international contemporary design-driven brands, including Apple and Bang & Olufsen, as well as other leading automotive brands. Aston Martin was also voted the top automotive brand surpassing a host of other luxury and specialist manufacturers to complete a double success.

Stephen Cheliotis, Chief Executive, The Centre for Brand Analysis and Chairman of the CoolBrands Council commented: “Smooth, sexy and sophisticated; British built, high quality and hand finished, let’s be honest, young or old, male or female, opinion former or British public, who wouldn’t aspire to own what is truly the coolest car on the road. Number one in five of the last six years, this British icon is truly the coolest of the cool.”

Since it was established in 2001, the CoolBrands initiative has been canvassing the opinions of experts and consumers to identify the coolest brand in the UK, based on factors including style, innovation, authenticity, originality and desirability.

This year’s council of 36 influencers includes music artist Jessie J, DJ and Bestival founder Rob da Bank and actress and fashion designer, Sadie Frost. After 10,000 brands are initially identified, a shortlist of 1,500 brands is established and the panel and consumers then vote to produce a top 500 of the most highly rated brands.

The past decade has seen Aston Martin transformed from a small-scale manufacturer of specialist sports cars to one of the world’s best-known luxury brands, boasting its strongest ever line-up. From the breathtaking One-77 supercar and the elegant yet brutal V12 Zagato to the Tailor-Fit luxury city car, the Cygnet, from the powerful Vantage range and new Virage to the exquisite DB9, DBS and Rapide, every Aston Martin expresses the core values of Power, Beauty and Soul. The Aston Martin range was expanded further at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show, where the company unveiled the striking new DBS Carbon Series. 

Aston Martin is globally represented with a network of 136 dealers in 42 countries, most recently opening new dealerships in Istanbul, Turkey, Las Vegas, USA and Mumbai, India. The company also has ambitious growth plans for up to four new dealer sites in China over the next 12 months, doubling the existing network.

Aston Martin remains at the forefront of contemporary manufacturing, a cultural force that embodies design and engineering excellence, and a brand with a truly special heritage. Renowned around the world, Aston Martin enters the next decade with the promise of radical innovation and change, without losing the core qualities that make this strong, independent British brand so widely revered.

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Aston Martin to premiere two new DBS Carbon Editions at Frankfurt

Posted: September 12, 2011 by The Car Spy in Aston Martin, Shows
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Following on from the success of the DBS Carbon Black, introduced in 2009, the 2011 DBS Carbon Edition will be available in two new colours including Flame Orange and Ceramic Grey together with the existing Carbon Black. Each DBS will undergo Aston Martin’s unique paint process receiving seven layers of paint together with a 25 hour hand flat-and-polish finish resulting in a glass veneer normally the reserve of jewellery production. A first for Aston Martin is the option to specify a satin lacquer paint finish, creating a silk-like texture.

The DBS Carbon Edition features 10-spoke gloss black diamond turned wheels with a reversed diamond turned or full gloss black finish as an option. Complementing the wheels, black brake callipers will be delivered as standard with yellow, orange, red or grey as an option.  Harmonising with the exterior finish is a warm black grille, carbon fibre mirror heads, carbon rear lamp in-fills and smoked rear lights creating a DBS specification like never before.

The cosseting and inviting interior of the coupe plays host to the familiar swathes of obsidian black or maranello orange semi-aniline leather. This type of leather is more natural looking and softer to touch. The interior of a DBS Carbon Edition will take in excess of 70 man hours to hand stitch and finish.

On the DBS Carbon Edition coupe, the headlining is quilted in leather providing a luxurious envelope to the cabin. Immediately distinguishing the Carbon Edition from a standard DBS is the carbon fibre facia with a carbon weave that has been positioned exactly to follow the form of the dashboard. Only by hand can the fibres be laid to create a perfectly aligned weave.

The magnesium alloy paddles that control the Touchtronic II automatic gearbox are tipped with carbon fibre bringing the Carbon Edition direct to the fingertips. A unique carbon fibre special edition sill plaque with laser etched metal inlay completes the specification.

The standard DBS has recently been updated to feature the new Aston Martin Garmin satellite navigation system possessing improved graphics and intuition to provide a sleeker user experience. Beam blade windscreen wipers are also a new feature providing reduced wind noise and a cleaner wipe, even at high speeds.

DBS Carbon Edition prices start at £186,582 (€257,912/$287,576) for the coupe and £196,581 (€272,913/$302,576) for the Volante with customer deliveries expected from quarter one 2012.

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2011 Aston Martin Rapide For Sale

Posted: September 8, 2011 by The Car Spy in Aston Martin, For Sale
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This Aston Martin Rapide V12 Touchtronic is finished in Tempest Blue with Obsidian Black Leather Interior and was registered 1.3.2011. The car has covered only 1295 miles and has the following options in addition to the high level standard specification:-

Tailors Grey Headlining, Obsidian Black Carpet, Walnut Veneer Trim, Leather Door Cappings, Electric Memory Seats and Mirrors, 1000 W Bang & Olufsen Stereo, 6 CD with MP3, Front and Rear PDC, Bluetooth, Bi-Xenons with LED, Hard Disc Sat Nav System, Tyre Pressure Monitoring System, Alarm Upgrade, Twin Screen Rear Entertainment System, DVD Player with wireless headphones and Remote Control, Cooled Front and Rear Seats. Original List Price £154000 inc VAT.

 Available to purchase today at £99000 inc VAT (£82500 ex VAT and Shipping/Delivery costs)

Please note this car is VAT Qualifying.

For further details please give us a call on ++44(0)1732 760699 or email sales@thecarspy.net.

ASTON MARTIN GT4 CHALLENGE OF GREAT BRITAIN HEADS TO BRANDS HATCH

Posted: August 26, 2011 by The Car Spy in Aston Martin, Race Events
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The seventh round of the GT4 Challenge of Great Britain will take place this weekend at the iconic Brands Hatch circuit in Kent on Saturday 27 August.

In only its second year the one-make, factory-backed Aston Martin GT4 Challenge of Great Britain has already visited some spectacular circuits and seen exhilarating action, firmly cementing itself as one of the highest calibre single-marque racing events. The cars, which are closely based on the road-going V8 Vantage and V8 Vantage S models, are an ideal first step on the GT racing ladder.

Throughout the season there has been a closely fought battle at the top between regulars Vantage Racing and Nicholas Mee Racing, however throughout the pack the competition has been strong. The final two rounds will decide which team will have achieved the most success in 2011.

The Aston Martin GT4 Challenge of Great Britain has so far visited: Silverstone, Snetterton, Donington, Spa Francorchamps, and Oulton Park The close yet fair competition, camaraderie amongst the participants and the shared passion for the Aston Martin Vantage raced by all, make the GT4 Challenge of Great Britain a truly unique experience.

Brands Hatch offers a world-class arena for teams and spectators alike.  Racing on the ‘Indy’ circuit drivers will enjoy the likes of ‘Brabham straight’ and ‘Graham Hill bend’ whilst spectators will enjoy an amphitheatre style view of almost the entire circuit.

Practice and qualifying begin at 09:40 and are due to conclude at 10:10 with the race beginning at 14:20.  For those wishing to make a day of it, Brands Hatch will also be playing host to the AMOC race meeting featuring cars from throughout Aston Martin’s illustrious history.

After this weekend, the Challenge will head to the final round at Dijon Prenois, France on the 10th and 11th of September.

About the Vantage N24/GT4

The Aston Martin Vantage road car was launched to global acclaim in 2005 and has since gone on to become the most successful Aston Martin of all time. Its handling and durability were honed on test tracks around the world, including the Nürburgring where, like all the company’s new models, it completed a 10,000km durability sign-off test prior to public launch.

As a further public demonstration of its capabilities, a small team of factory engineers and technicians prepared an almost standard Vantage for the 2006 Nürburgring 24 hour race. With Chief Executive Dr Ulrich Bez leading the driving team, the bright yellow car took a remarkable and trouble-free 24th overall from over 200 starters. Shortly afterwards, to celebrate this achievement and prompted by numerous enquiries from customers, Dr Bez announced a plan to build twenty four cars to the same racing specification for sale to customers and the Vantage N24 was born.

The initial batch of 24 cars sold out rapidly and to date over 100 cars have been built. In 2009 the car was upgraded with the company’s new 4.7 litre V8 engine replacing the 4.3 litre and the car was renamed Vantage GT4. FIA performance balancing measures ensure both versions can compete on equal terms.

In December 2010, Aston Martin Racing announced the 2011 specification Vantage GT4 featuring a new aero package inspired by the V8 Vantage S and further enhancements to the engine and ABS / traction control system.

 

ASTON MARTIN V12 ZAGATO SET FOR MOTOR SHOW DEBUT AT FRANKFURT

Posted: August 25, 2011 by The Car Spy in Aston Martin
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The new Aston Martin V12 Zagato will be appearing in September at the 64thIAA International Motor Show at Frankfurt. Along with the largest display of contemporary Aston Martins ever seen at a Motor Show, two V12 Zagatos, both having completed their engineering sign-off at the Nürburgring 24 hour race, will be shown for the first time at a mainstream event.

Hand assembled at the company’s global headquarters in Gaydon, England, the V12 Zagato is based on the highly acclaimed V12 Vantage and features a beautiful ’handcrafted‘ aluminium and carbon fibre body. Combining traditional craftsmanship and high technology, the V12 Zagato also boasts Aston Martin’s most dynamic bonded aluminium platform and the power of the company’s acclaimed 6.0-litre V12 engine producing 510 bhp (380 kW / 517 PS), and 570 Nm (420 lb ft) of torque.

Following extremely positive initial customer reaction, the V12 Zagato is being offered for sale at £330,000 GBP (excluding local taxes) and will go into strictly limited production of up to 150 cars in summer 2012. 50 years on from the introduction of the iconic DB4GT Zagato, Aston Martin and Zagato have collaborated to create this modern interpretation which remains true to the focus of craftsmanship, performance and exclusivity which underpinned the original collaboration. 

Launched successfully in late May at the famous Villa D’Este Concours on Lake Como, Italy, the V12 Zagato saw off tough competition to be awarded the coveted Design Award for the concept and prototypes class. Just a week later, the V12 Zagato made its racing debut at the 53rd ADAC ACAS H&R-Cup VLN race at the historic Nürburgring racetrack in Germany. Following other appearances in the series, both prototypes of the V12 Zagato were entered into the gruelling 39th ADAC Nürburgring 24 Hour on 25/26 June, successfully amassing a combined 230 laps and over 3,700 miles of intense durability testing – both taking the chequered flag to maintain Aston Martin’s 100% finish record in the race.

The first of the two V12 Zagatos being shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show, finished in its distinctive green livery is the full endurance race car concept specification as campaigned at the Nürburgring. The car, nicknamed ‘Zig’ by the factory team features a full aerodynamic package including front splitter, dive planes, large rear diffuser and spoiler designed to make the most of the Nürburgring’s multitude of corners and lengthy straights.

The second of the cars, nicknamed ‘Zag’, was originally shown at the Villa D’Este before being converted into the same full racing specification as the sister car. Since the 24 hour race, Zag, has been returned to its original show specification which, although showing a racing car interior, has an exterior more representative of the exclusive road car currently offered for order. In addition to this, Aston Martin today releases the first conceptual illustrations of the road car variant that will go into production from mid 2012.

The pair of V12 Zagatos will join the Aston Martin stand at Frankfurt in September alongside the stunning One-77 supercar and the recently launched Virage and Vantage S.

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