 Less than a year after the release of the Aston Martin Vanquish, its open top sibling has been introduced – the Vanquish Volante. The Vanquish Volante definitely has looks worthy of the Aston Martin badge, and with a 51:49 weight distribution it should be good to drive as well. The soft top folds down in 14 seconds, which exposes even further an interior that’s quite similar to the One-77’s.  With 2012 just days away from ending, we can only hope that 2013 will have as many exciting new cars as this year did. Here is a gallery of 22 cars that made a good first impression. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  Aston Martin has taken the lid off, literally, the V12 Vantage to create the new V12 Vantage Roadster. The V12 Vantage Roadster uses the ubiquitous 6.0-litre V12 doing service in most of the Aston Martin range, and it produces 517hp at 6,500rpm and 570 Nm (420 lb ft) of torque at 5,750rpm. Acceleration from 0-62mph takes 4.5 sec, while top speed is 190mph (304km/h).  The 2012 Geneva Motor Show is anything but short of exciting new cars. There are far too many cool cars to have them all posted here, but with more than 100 photos, it's more than just a taste of what the show has to offer. Make sure you come back next week for the ultimate standouts of the show.
Mercedes Benz SL63 AMG    Mercedes Benz has splashed details on its new SL63 AMG roadster, prior to an unveiling at the Geneva Motor Show. The new SL63 AMG continues making use of a folding metal roof, but the whole car now weighs 125kg less (at 1845kg) than its predecessor, thanks in part by making use of an all-aluminium body. Another new feature is the twin-turbo 537hp (or 564hp with the AMG Performance pack) 5.5-litre V8 engine found in other hot AMGs like the E, S, CL, CLS, and M-Class.    The production version of the Aston Martin V12 Zagato is here in all of its 510hp glory.
It is powered by the same 6.0-litre V12 engine found in the Zagato race car and V12 Vantage road car, and has a six-speed manual gearbox. However, early reports suggested that the car will cost around £330,000, but will actually cost £405,000. The V12 Zagato makes use of an aluminium structure, while the body is a mix of both aluminium and carbon fibre. Aston Martin have yet to release acceleration figures for the production version, but we can expect similar performance to last year’s prototype – 0-62mph in 4.2 seconds, and a top speed of 190mph. Only 150 V12 Zagatos will be built, firmly assuring its place as a future collectible. Customer deliveries shall commence late this year.  Aston Martin Racing has given details of its next GT3 racer – the Vantage GT3. Designed for the FIA GT3 racing category, the Vantage GT3 is expected to be released in time for the 2012 racing season.
It will replace Aston Martin’s DBRS9 as their GT3-spec racer. John Gaw, Aston Martin Racing Managing Director, said: “The DBRS9 has been a very successful GT3 racing car and, despite being more than six years old, is still competitive today. However, the competition has moved on and we needed to create a new car that combines our six years’ experience in this category with the latest race technology to continue Aston Martin’s success in GT3 for many years to come.” The Vantage GT3 uses the V12 Vantage road car as a base, and will get a dry-sumped 6.0 litre V12 engine expected to produce 600hp and 700Nm (516 lb ft) of torque. It will also have a paddle-shift racing gearbox manufactured by Xtrac, the latest in ABS and traction control technology, and a target weight of 1250kg. The first Vantage GT3 will be completed in July, and will undergo extensive testing for the rest of the year. Ten customer cars are expected to be built for the 2012 season. Alex Kisiri Aston martin has released the first footage of its V8 Vantage S. In case you missed out on the specs, it comes with the same 4.7 litre V8 as the standard car, but with 10 extra hp to give a toal of 430 hp and 361 lb ft of torque. Check out the video, it sounds great.  The V8 Vantage S is the latest car to join Aston Martin’s glamorous line-up. Aston Martin says the Vantage S will bridge the gap between the standard V8 Vantage and the GT4 racer that inspired its design. It comes with the same 4.7-litre engine as the standard V8 Vantage, but with a little extra power – 10hp more to be precise. The extra grunt means a power output of 430hp at 7300rpm and 490 Nm of torque (361 lb ft) at 5000rpm. The last sedan to be made by Aston Martin was the Lagonda whose production started in the 1970s and ended in 1991. The new Rapide is now on sale, and in terms of competition it goes out against Maserati's Quattroporte, the Bentley Flying Spur, Mercedes S class, and not to forget Porsche's newest addition-the Panamera. Autocar Magazine have been lucky enough to sample Aston Martin's latest offering, watch the review below. |
