Aston Martin Rapide

Aston Martin Rapide

Aston Martin Rapide is similar to their previous model DB9 with extra set of doors. The all new Aston Martin Rapide brings up the 4-door sedan type of car to the exotic car world. Rapide is equipped with a 6.0 liter V12 engine which produces a maximum power of 470 bhp and a top

ASTON MARTIN DB9 – DESIGNED FOR NOTHING BEYOND PERFORMANCE

ASTON MARTIN DB9 – DESIGNED FOR 

The Aston Martin DB9 was released for 2005, presented in an admiring 2+2 coupe and translatable body styles. The drop-top variant is called as the Volante, which for those who missed out on the 101 means “flying.” All DB9s are motorized by a 6.0-liter V12 that churns out 450 horsepower and 412 pound-feet of extremely high torque. Either a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic transmission fitted with the newest trend paddle shifters is offered and both the transmissions are positioned at the stern transaxle for enhanced weight allocation.

NOTHING BEYOND PERFORMANCE

ASTON MARTIN ONE-77’’

ASTON MARTIN ONE-77’’

Well companies don’t just get tired from making more and more cars. And this makes it quite tricky for us to be able to remember the name of our favorite car. The same is the case in super cars where companies are making their designers as hard as possible to make them more and more concepts so that they can tease the public and make them proud after wards. Aston Martin is going through this process of marketing just right now. They are at the concept release phase of this journey. This time they have produced one of the best concepts ever given by the designers. This car is called the One-77.

Bringing with it the Aston Martin pride the One-77 surely has intentions to blind you by its greatness. Firstly of its great features is that the One-77 will feature a full carbon fiber monocoque chassis. This would not only help in cutting weight but would also help in retaining rigidity. The body will be made all by aluminum and also will be handcrafted by the engineers.

HISTORY AN IMPORTANT LESSON! ASTON MARTIN V12 VANTAGE

HISTORY  AN IMPORTANT LESSON!  

Aston Martin has been one company that has been giving us loads and loads of cars, concept and goodies too. And the good thing about that is they don’t just wish to stop. Well it’s quite sad that now all the focus of the people is on all the new cars and during this they are slightly letting down the past. Let me remind you guys that all the cars we drool upon now are just inspired from the oldies. But today we will not talk about quite an old car, rather than that we will talk about a variant of an old car. And that car springing from the Aston Martin factory is the variant of the V8 Vantage. This one is known as the V12 Vantage.

Talking about the basic design the V12 Vantage is designed to be two seats and two door coupe. The structure has been made from aluminum for strength and lightness. Apart from the old design the new V12 Vantage includes a new rear diffuser. Along with that is a new adjustable rear wing. The boot lid and trunk have both been made from carbon fiber to cut the weight a little more. The bonnet now includes spaces for air intake too or as the Europeans would say louvers.   It has a rear trunk for the storage of large luggage too.

ASTON MARTIN V12 VANTAGE

V8 VANTAGE

V8 VANTAGE

We drove the Aston Martin Vantage on the track after the SL and XK, and it was the first in this group to feel like it belonged there. Unlike the first two, you can imagine a Vantage owner booking himself a trackday, and you can feel the underlying promise for the racing versions Aston Martin has produced. It makes this year’s test because it has been substantially revised, its naturally aspirated V8 growing by 400cc to 4.7 liters and by 40bhp to 420 bhp. Ours was equipped with the Sportshift automated manual transmission and the Sports Pack suspension; stiffer spring, revised Bilstein dampers, revised rear anti-roll bar and light weight, forged 20 inch rims. With that lot, it ought to do well on a track. It looks the same as the old car, and has same disappointing view down the bonnet. The SL and XK leave you no doubt that you are about to drive the brawny, front-engined car, but in Aston Martin all you can see is a pair of artlessly arranged windscreen wipers. Yet there’s no doubting the Vantage’s credentials once you are underway. The noise is still intoxicating over 4000rpm but there is now proper supercar pace. It lapped Anglesey in 1 min 3.9 sec, just seven tenth slower than the lighter 911.

DB MK III

DB MK III

Tractor tycoon David Brown bought the ailing sports car maker Aston Martin in 1947, but had something of false start with under powered four cylinders Aston Martin DB1 of 1948. He more than redeemed himself, however, with the DB2 of 1950, a car that set the pace for all subsequent Astons. Here was a luxurious upper crust coupe with modern performance and old world charm. It used a smooth, powerful, six cylinder, twin cam 116 bhp engine courtesy of its sister the Lagando 2.6 saloon, Brown had bought Lagando as well in 1947. Clothed in handsome alloy bodywork, these cars could reach more than 120 mph (192 km/h) in high compression Vantage form. Underneath, the cruciform chassis blessed the cars with thoroughbred handling of the highest order. Coil sprung, the live rear axle was located by trailing links, with a Panhard rod for the high side loads the car capable of generating and damped by Armstrong lever arms. The front suspension was unusual: a trailing link design with the main lower locating member running across the front of the car. For the DB2/4, the fast back shape was made more potential but not so pretty, by the addition of rear seats and a side hinged rear hatchback door. By the time evolved into a mouth, and small fins had sprouted on the rear wings.

DB6

DB6

By 1965 the lithe and elegant Aston Martin DB4, via the more refined and faster DB5, had become the bigger heavier and more brutal DB6. It was a car that almost forced you to admire it instead of charming you with its refined elegance as its predecessor had been renowned for doing, but it was a distinctive vehicle and not one to be forgotten quickly. Its head lights were flared in, its chassis lengthened, and its tail chopped for better aerodynamics at high speed. Little survived of tourings’ original and much loved 1958 shape. Beneath the alloy skin the Superleggera method of construction was abandoned. From this point on, all Aston Martin would have aluminium outer panels on steel inner panels. Power came from a 4 liter twin cam straight six, and was much the same as before. It came as standard with triple Sus but the Vantage version had triple Webers and this gave it significantly better acceleration something not lost on those who were luckily enough to enjoy the visceral pleasure provided by driving the Vantage. Opinions were similar to those of the DB5 but with the addition of a slip differential and, after, 1967, power steering.

LAGONDA SALOON

LAGONDA SALOON

The lagonda saloon, which completely dominated the 1976 Earl’s Court Motor Show, could have been beamed down form another planet. Low and razor edged, it was a show stopper and just the publicity grabber that troubled Aston Martin needed. The 170 deposits that were taken at the show pulled the company back from the brink of oblivion. Buyers weren’t to know that their cars wouldn’t be ready until 1979 because of problems with the high tech electronics. Mechanically the Lagonda was well proven essentially a stretched Aston Martin V8 with a meaty four camshaft, 5.3 liter V8 engine. The suspension came from the same source too, but with self leveling for the de Dion rear end. Weighing in at almost two tons (2000 kg), this was the biggest and most opulent Lagonda since the war. Extras like air conditioning and electric seats were all included in the price. Pundits had nothing but praise for its ride and handling, superb for a large saloon, but some dared to suggest that it could have been quicker. Others raised eyebrows at the lack of rear seat legroom in such a huge car. Aston tried to answer these criticisms with a still born twin turbo version, whilst specialist firm Trickford built a trio of stretched Lagondas with twin color TVs.

VIRAGE VANTAGE

VIRAGE VANTAGE

Aston Martin finally surrendered its independence in 1987 when the giant multi national Ford bought a controlling share of the company. Despite what some loyal followers of the form thought would happen, this takeover actually had little noticeable impact on the often extremely chaotic nature of Aston’s new car development. Sadly, part of this was due to an under funded and ill coordinated development programme. Like the Lagonda, Aston’s new V8 coupe went form being ‘signed off’ to appearing at the 1988 Earl’s Court Motor Show in just two years. The styling was completed by Royal College of Art tutors Ken Greenley and John Heffernan. However, the shaping of the Virage was controversial, as the car’s tail had to be raised to reduce aerodynamic lift at speed, and Aston bosses insisted on retaining the familiar shape of the Aston radiator grille in the new model. Although the first cars were launched with a new 32 valve V8 engine, Aston released the long awaited Vantage development of the car in 1994, bolting an engine good for 550 bhp. To match the pace, the Vantage wore a huge front bumper, six small, square headlights and sported massive wheels, giving it a very aggressive and highly macho overall appearance.

DB7

DB7

The launch of the 6.0n liter V12 DB9 can be regarded as marking the ground up rebuilding of Aston Martin. In 2000 Aston martin got new chief executive in the shape of Dr Ulrich Bez, who had previously been research and development of Porsche. Bez halted work a new compact, mid engine Aston Martin and on a front engined replacement for the ageing DB7. Instead, Bez instigated a new strategy, which would see all future Aston based on the same aluminum platform. This new chassis was called the VH (vertical/ Horizontal) and was a cheaper version of the Vanquish chassis that could produced in three different lengths. The first fruit of the plan was the DB9, which was unveiled in September 2003 after a gestation of just 36 months. As part of the wider Ford ‘Premier Automotive Group’, Aston was able to tap into engineering expertise form the Ford companies. For example, Volvo was responsible for the DB9’s airbag and safety systems and the car was also crash tested at Volvo’s engineering centre. Ford also invested in a brand new brand new factory (the first in the company’s history) and HQ for the company to the land Rover engineering centre.

VANQUISH S

VANQUISH S

Ford took the complete control of Aston Martin in 1994, having helped see the Jaguar based DB& into production. However, Aston’s hand built flagship vehicle at the time was the Virage/ V8 series, which had been in production since 1989. So, in the mid 90s and with the global economy to pick up Ford decided it needed to plan a new flagship Aston Martin model. Up until then, the company’s cars had been powerful but very traditional. Ford and Aston decided that it would go down a much more high tech route and build a new car dubbed Project Vantage around an aluminum chassis. Aston Martin received a great deal of engineering help form Lotus, which had just launched the Elise roadster, whose chassis was made of aluninium extrusions and stamped sheets variously glued, welded and riveted together. The new Aston Martin followed the same recipe, though the widescreen pillars were made of carbon fiber. Ian Callum, who styled the DB7, was also responsible for the Vanquish. But unlike feline sister car, the Vanquish was dramatic and not a little brutal, though some argued this was more in keeping with the brand. The Vanquish was first shown as a concept in 1998, before being launched in 2001.

One-77

One-77

Fear not; that nomenclature is merely a working title, helping to express just how limited this car’s production will be. At the very most, only 77 examples will be lovingly crafted by Aston’s workers. We’re told the One-77, which uses a carbon-fiber chassis, will utilize an all-aluminum body that’s completely hand crafted. From the shadowy figure released by Aston’s PR office, the car looks somewhat similar to current Astons, albeit with a more muscular stature. Like the rendering, much of the car’s details also lurk in the shadows. Aston Martin says the One-77 will use a 7.0-liter V-12, which we hear may produce close to 600 hp. Rumor has it the car will achieve a 0-62 mph time in four seconds and a top speed of over 200 mph – placing the One-77 squarely in super car territory. Of course, the power and prestige comes at an expense – a price tag rumored to be over 1 million, which converts to somewhere around $1.9 million. There’s no word on if the car will come stateside, but if you’re seriously hoping it does, you may want to hit the car’s website a twww.one-of-77.com and start contacting Aston’s salespeople.

Rapide

Rapide

Aston Martin Rapide is similar to their previous model DB9 with extra set of doors. The all new Aston Martin Rapide brings up the 4-door sedan type of car to the exotic car world. Rapide is equipped with a 6.0 liter V12 engine which produces a maximum power of 470 bhp and a top speed of 180 mph. Rapide reaches 0-60 mph in less than 5 secs. The Rapide’s standard features include leather upholstery, heated front and rear seats, navigation system, wireless cell-phone link, and 1,000-watt Bang & Olufsen audio system.

The safety features of the car are as usual smilar to other Aston Martin’s which include ABS, traction control, antiskid system, curtain-side airbags, and front-side airbags. The optional features of Rapide include: dual screen DVD entertainment with wireless headsets if someone at back seats get bored, cooled front and rear seats, distinct wheels and trim. From the driver’s perspective Rapide gives almost same experience as the DB9. It feels like rather an exotic sports car than a luxury sedan. Aston Martin Rapide turns every journey into an event.  In US the price tag is $199,950. Rapide is not as sportier as Porsche Panamera in its class but its looks are far better compared to Panamera.