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The fifteen finalists in the Silverstone Classic’s, “Best British Sports Car of All Time” vote-in have been announced, and boy is there some choice picks. Before we get to that though, can I just point out a misnomer in using the, “of All Time” qualifier?

This assumes (prophetically?) that Britain will not be making any more sports cars in the future, whereas, “Best British Sports Car So Far” would be a far more accurate description. But enough with semantics: who are our lucky finalists? Read on….

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The fifteen finalists in the Silverstone Classic’s, “Best British Sports Car of All Time” vote-in have been announced, and boy is there some choice picks. Before we get to that though, can I just point out a misnomer in using the, “of All Time” qualifier?

This assumes (prophetically?) that Britain will not be making any more sports cars in the future, whereas, “Best British Sports Car So Far” would be a far more accurate description. But enough with semantics: who are our lucky finalists? Read on….

It’s no secret that for quite some time now, Mercedes-Benz’s parent company Daimler has just about had it with Maybach and is looking to either shut down the über luxury car brand and call it a day or partner up with British sports carmaker Aston Martin on the development of a new model.

According to a report from Autoweek, the time has come for the German carmaker to make a final decision with the fate of Maybach to be decided by July 1. At a recent press event in Stuttgart, Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche told journalist that "there is a higher likelihood to come to a positive decision" for Maybach if the company can find a partner. Up until now, the only automaker that has showed interest in working with Daimler on Maybach is Aston Martin.

Read more »

It’s no secret that for quite some time now, Mercedes-Benz’s parent company Daimler has just about had it with Maybach and is looking to either shut down the über luxury car brand and call it a day or partner up with British sports carmaker Aston Martin on the development of a new model.

According to a report from Autoweek, the time has come for the German carmaker to make a final decision with the fate of Maybach to be decided by July 1. At a recent press event in Stuttgart, Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche told journalist that "there is a higher likelihood to come to a positive decision" for Maybach if the company can find a partner. Up until now, the only automaker that has showed interest in working with Daimler on Maybach is Aston Martin.

For the past two years, Aston Martin has been manufacturing the Rapide at Magna Steyr’s facilities in Austria, but that’s about to change soon as today, the British automaker announced that it will move production of the four-door sports saloon to the company’s Gaydon headquarters in Warwickshire, UK. The company said the necessary upgrades at its Gaydon headquarters for Rapide will begin immediately with a view to begin production of the Rapide in the second half of 2012. Read more »

For the past two years, Aston Martin has been manufacturing the Rapide at Magna Steyr’s facilities in Austria, but that’s about to change soon as today, the British automaker announced that it will move production of the four-door sports saloon to the company’s Gaydon headquarters in Warwickshire, UK. The company said the necessary upgrades at its Gaydon headquarters for Rapide will begin immediately with a view to begin production of the Rapide in the second half of 2012.

In what sounds more like the plot of a The Fast and the Furious movie than real life, investigators at India’s Directorate of Revenue Intelligence office (a.k.a. India’s IRS) have uncovered a massive exotic car smuggling operation in the nation’s capital of New Dehli. It all has to do with India’s notorious 100% import tax on new luxury vehicles.

It began with one New Dehli luxury car dealer, Sumit Walia, importing brand new luxury cars on forged invoices. These invoices listed the cars as second-hand, which saved Walia – and his customers – some 40% on import tax. Some of the cars – which included Porsches, Bentleys and Aston Martins – were found to have been stolen from the streets of Britain, France, Singapore and Japan.

Read more »

In what sounds more like the plot of a The Fast and the Furious movie than real life, investigators at India’s Directorate of Revenue Intelligence office (a.k.a. India’s IRS) have uncovered a massive exotic car smuggling operation in the nation’s capital of New Dehli. It all has to do with India’s notorious 100% import tax on new luxury vehicles.

It began with one New Dehli luxury car dealer, Sumit Walia, importing brand new luxury cars on forged invoices. These invoices listed the cars as second-hand, which saved Walia – and his customers – some 40% on import tax. Some of the cars – which included Porsches, Bentleys and Aston Martins – were found to have been stolen from the streets of Britain, France, Singapore and Japan.

The imposing fleet of 50 Jaguar E-Type models isn’t the only attraction to arrive today at London’s Canary Wharf for the free-to-visit Motorexpo as Disney and its Pixar studio sent two real life characters from the upcoming Cars 2 movie, which is set to hit UK theaters in 3D on July 22. The full-size film-star cars are the Lightning McQueen racer and the Finn McMissile Aston Martin, voiced in the movie by actors Owen Wilson and Michael Caine respectively. Read more »

The imposing fleet of 50 Jaguar E-Type models isn’t the only attraction to arrive today at London’s Canary Wharf for the free-to-visit Motorexpo as Disney and its Pixar studio sent two real life characters from the upcoming Cars 2 movie, which is set to hit UK theaters in 3D on July 22. The full-size film-star cars are the Lightning McQueen racer and the Finn McMissile Aston Martin, voiced in the movie by actors Owen Wilson and Michael Caine respectively.

You can’t spell, “Cygnet” without, “cynical marketing ploy”. The Toyota iQ-derived stocking stuffer iPhone accessory subcompact has prompted a neat little op-ed piece by Bloomberg correspondent (an ex-pat Aussie) Adam Haynes that includes some fascinating dialogue from Aston Martin insiders.

Most of our readers will know by now that the Cygnet exists purely to counteract the 120 grams of CO2 per kilogram EU carbon restrictions to be introduced in 2012. With a combined CO2 g/km rating of 400, Aston Martin’s current fleet of high performance vehicles could never match this.

Read more »

You can’t spell, “Cygnet” without, “cynical marketing ploy”. The Toyota iQ-derived stocking stuffer iPhone accessory subcompact has prompted a neat little op-ed piece by Bloomberg correspondent (an ex-pat Aussie) Adam Haynes that includes some fascinating dialogue from Aston Martin insiders.

Most of our readers will know by now that the Cygnet exists purely to counteract the 120 grams of CO2 per kilogram EU carbon restrictions to be introduced in 2012. With a combined CO2 g/km rating of 400, Aston Martin’s current fleet of high performance vehicles could never match this.

Continuing the assault of promotional material for the second installment of the Cars animated movie franchise, Disney and its Pixar unit announced today that two characters from the film will jump into life at the upcoming Goodwood Festival of Speed, which will be held at the Goodwood House from 30 June until 3 July. Read more »

Continuing the assault of promotional material for the second installment of the Cars animated movie franchise, Disney and its Pixar unit announced today that two characters from the film will jump into life at the upcoming Goodwood Festival of Speed, which will be held at the Goodwood House from 30 June until 3 July.

Having brought you a first look at the winner of the design award for Concept Cars and Prototypes at this year’s edition of the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in Italy, it is now time to show you the Aston Martin V12 Zagato in the flesh and on film. The concept study is a V12 Vantage draped in an aluminum Italian suite, and it will spawn a racing model that will compete in the 24-hour Nurburgring endurance race in late June as well as a limited run production version, scheduled for launch within the next year.

Follow the jump to get a look of the supercar’s lines and a taste of the brutal sounds produced by Aston Martin’s 517-horsepower 6.0-liter V12 engine in our collection of videos.

Read more »

Having brought you a first look at the winner of the design award for Concept Cars and Prototypes at this year’s edition of the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in Italy, it is now time to show you the Aston Martin V12 Zagato in the flesh and on film. The concept study is a V12 Vantage draped in an aluminum Italian suite, and it will spawn a racing model that will compete in the 24-hour Nurburgring endurance race in late June as well as a limited run production version, scheduled for launch within the next year.

Follow the jump to get a look of the supercar’s lines and a taste of the brutal sounds produced by Aston Martin’s 517-horsepower 6.0-liter V12 engine in our collection of videos.

The world premiere of the new Aston Martin V12 Zagato, which took place at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2011 this past weekend on the shores of Lake Como in Italy, was marked by the design award for Concept Cars and Prototypes. The conceptual model, which was created to celebrate the Aston Martin and Zagato partnership in the 50th anniversary year of the famous DB4GT Zagato, won the approval of the visitors to the Concorso D’Eleganza event.

The competition in the Concept Cars and Prototypes category included BMW’s new 328 Homage Roadster, the Ferrari Superamerica 45, Audi Quattro, Mercedes CLS Shooting Brake, Infiniti Etherea, Italdesign VW GO!, Rinspeed Bamboo, Renault DeZir and the Scuderia P4/5.

Read more »

The world premiere of the new Aston Martin V12 Zagato, which took place at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2011 this past weekend on the shores of Lake Como in Italy, was marked by the design award for Concept Cars and Prototypes. The conceptual model, which was created to celebrate the Aston Martin and Zagato partnership in the 50th anniversary year of the famous DB4GT Zagato, won the approval of the visitors to the Concorso D’Eleganza event.

The competition in the Concept Cars and Prototypes category included BMW’s new 328 Homage Roadster, the Ferrari Superamerica 45, Audi Quattro, Mercedes CLS Shooting Brake, Infiniti Etherea, Italdesign VW GO!, Rinspeed Bamboo, Renault DeZir and the Scuderia P4/5.

Fifty years after the DB4GT Zagato, and following in the wheel tracks of several subsequent collaborations with the Italian design house, Aston Martin has unveiled the new V12 Zagato concept.

Its debut will be at the Villa D'Este Concours on 21st May 2011, which takes place near Lake Como in Italy. Aston Martin is going to use the occasion to ‘gauge customer interest’, despite already confirming that a strictly limited run of cars will be built.



But the V12 Zagato isn’t just going to be a road car. In the tradition of previous Aston Martin Zagatos a race programme is planned, starting off with the four hour VLN Nürburgring race on 28th May 2011, and then followed by a 24 hour event at the same venue on 25th and 26th June 2011.







Unsurprisingly for a Zagato creation, the looks are arguably more challenging than those of a series production Aston Martin.



Even Marek Reichman, Director of Design at Aston Martin, described it as ‘an elegant yet brutal design which reflects the great balance between race performance and pure Aston Martin style. The original DB4GT Zagato was a true icon, powerful and graceful; the new design is a true representation of the spirit of DB4GT Zagato. The muscular organic forms define the thoroughbred nature of the car's racing credentials.’



Regardless of whether the styling divides opinion, there’s no disputing the craftsmanship that has gone into building the car. Sitting atop the bonded aluminium structure (borrowed from the V12 Vantage) is a handmade aluminium body, assembled using traditional techniques. The front wings, for example, are each made from seven separate pieces of metal, while the roof panel alone uses five pieces.



No word on prices yet, but that probably won’t be of much concern to prospective owners.

Aston Martin V12 Zagato (Endurance Race Specification)
Body
Type	Two door, two seat coupe
Chassis	Bonded aluminium structure
Body	Hand crafted aluminium
Roll cage	FIA compliant; steel
Fuel system	120 litre endurance racing fuel tank
Suspension	All-round independent double wishbone with fully adjustable Multimatic DSSV dampers
Front brakes	Ventilated floating grooved discs with 6 piston callipers
Rear brakes	Ventilated floating grooved discs with 4 piston callipers
Engine
Type	All alloy, quad overhead cam 48-valve 5,935 cc V12
Location	Front mid-mounted
Power	510 bhp (380 kW / 517 PS)
Torque	570 Nm (420 lb/ft)
Compression ratio	10.9:1
Transmission
Drive	Rear-wheel drive; limited slip differential; magnesium alloy torque tube with carbon fibre propeller shaft
Gearbox	Six-speed automated manual gearbox with auto shift manual / select shift manual (ASM / SSM) electric hydraulic control system; rear-mid mounted
Clutch	Twin plate competition

Related posts:

Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale

Aston Martin is coolest

Alfa Romeo TZ3 Corsa

Fifty years after the DB4GT Zagato, and following in the wheel tracks of several subsequent collaborations with the Italian design house, Aston Martin has unveiled the new V12 Zagato concept.

Its debut will be at the Villa D'Este Concours on 21st May 2011, which takes place near Lake Como in Italy. Aston Martin is going to use the occasion to ‘gauge customer interest’, despite already confirming that a strictly limited run of cars will be built.



But the V12 Zagato isn’t just going to be a road car. In the tradition of previous Aston Martin Zagatos a race programme is planned, starting off with the four hour VLN Nürburgring race on 28th May 2011, and then followed by a 24 hour event at the same venue on 25th and 26th June 2011.







Unsurprisingly for a Zagato creation, the looks are arguably more challenging than those of a series production Aston Martin.



Even Marek Reichman, Director of Design at Aston Martin, described it as ‘an elegant yet brutal design which reflects the great balance between race performance and pure Aston Martin style. The original DB4GT Zagato was a true icon, powerful and graceful; the new design is a true representation of the spirit of DB4GT Zagato. The muscular organic forms define the thoroughbred nature of the car's racing credentials.’



Regardless of whether the styling divides opinion, there’s no disputing the craftsmanship that has gone into building the car. Sitting atop the bonded aluminium structure (borrowed from the V12 Vantage) is a handmade aluminium body, assembled using traditional techniques. The front wings, for example, are each made from seven separate pieces of metal, while the roof panel alone uses five pieces.



No word on prices yet, but that probably won’t be of much concern to prospective owners.

Aston Martin V12 Zagato (Endurance Race Specification)
Body
Type	Two door, two seat coupe
Chassis	Bonded aluminium structure
Body	Hand crafted aluminium
Roll cage	FIA compliant; steel
Fuel system	120 litre endurance racing fuel tank
Suspension	All-round independent double wishbone with fully adjustable Multimatic DSSV dampers
Front brakes	Ventilated floating grooved discs with 6 piston callipers
Rear brakes	Ventilated floating grooved discs with 4 piston callipers
Engine
Type	All alloy, quad overhead cam 48-valve 5,935 cc V12
Location	Front mid-mounted
Power	510 bhp (380 kW / 517 PS)
Torque	570 Nm (420 lb/ft)
Compression ratio	10.9:1
Transmission
Drive	Rear-wheel drive; limited slip differential; magnesium alloy torque tube with carbon fibre propeller shaft
Gearbox	Six-speed automated manual gearbox with auto shift manual / select shift manual (ASM / SSM) electric hydraulic control system; rear-mid mounted
Clutch	Twin plate competition

Related posts:

Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale

Aston Martin is coolest

Alfa Romeo TZ3 Corsa