Autoblog

• Winners for 21st Century London bus contest include... Aston Martin?
  

  Filed under: Concept Cars, Contests, Etc., Green, Aston Martin, UK

  
  
  Click above to enlarge the winning designs for a 21st Century Routemaster bus
  
  
  The New Bus for London competition has come to an end. Two proposals were chosen from the large group of entrants by a series of judges, and the winners have just been announced by London Mayor Boris Johnson. The Freight*Bus concept we took a look is nowhere to be found, but that's just fine. The two winners are excellent, and one of them comes from a familiar but unexpected source: Aston...
  



• Spy Shots: Aston Martin Rapide almost ready
  

  Filed under: Spy Photos, Sedans/Saloons, Aston Martin

  
  
  Click above for a high-res gallery of the Aston Martin Rapide
  
  
  It's been nearly three years since we first caught a glimpse of the Aston Martin Rapide at the Detroit Auto Show. During that time, Aston has expanded its lineup to include the DBS, a refreshed DB9 and a new V8 Vantage, each of which was strictly an evolution of an existing model. However, the Rapide will be the first all-new Aston in years, and judging by these recent spy shots, a production version is right around the bend.
  
  Unlike earlier prototypes that lacked door handles and production-ready side...
  



• Economy takes a bite, Aston Martin driver delivering pizzas
  

  Filed under: Etc., Aston Martin, Humor

  
  
  It's pretty clear to even the casual observer that the economy is in the tank. We've all seen the recent unemployment figures (the highest since 1993), not to mention the potential loss of three million jobs if the Detroit 3 go under. And what about the New York bankers, Orange County real estate agents and Silicon Valley venture capitalists? Well, here's one option: strapping a Domino's sign on the roof of your DB7 and slinging pizzas. Or maybe Domino's is bringing back 30 minutes or it's free promotion and they needed speedier rides.
  
  [Source: TMZ]

  Economy takes a...
  




• Aston Martin back up for sale?
  

  Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Aston Martin, Earnings/Financials, Rumormill

  
  
  Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2009 Aston Martin V8 Vantage
  
  
  It's been a busy few years for Aston Martin. Back in May of 2007, the British sportscar company was sold by Ford to a consortium of investors, including Kuwaiti firm Investment Dar and its partner Adeem Investment Company. Ever since, the grapevine has swirled regarding the future of Mr. Bond's favorite automaker, with the rumormill hitting a fever-pitch as of late with whispers that up to 20% of Dar's stake is available for bidding.
  
  Aston Martin's future product chips all seem to...
  



• Aston Martin offers power upgrades to last-gen V8 Vantages
  

  Filed under: Sports/GTs, Aston Martin

  
  
  Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2007 Aston Martin V8 Vantage
  
  
  If you're a 2005-2008 Aston Martin V8 Vantage owner, you may have wished you'd held out for the 2009 model which benefits from an extra 0.4-liters of displacement (up from 4.3- to 4.7-liters) and gains an extra 40 hp and 45 lb-ft of torque, along with some revised suspension tuning. The crew at Gaydon feels your pain and has begun offering a new performance package for the 4.3-liter model.
  
  The kit includes a new induction system originally developed for the DBS that features a pair of toggling airbox valves that open...
  



• Rear of production Aston Martin Rapide shown
  

  Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Sports/GTs, Aston Martin, UK

  
  
  Click above for two larger renderings of the production Aston Martin Rapide
  
  
  A few weeks ago we showed you what we believed to be the first official rendering of the upcoming Aston Martin Rapide four-door sports sedan. That image showed the front three-quarter view of this British beauty. We told you at the time that there was another image allegedly out there that was waiting for a January release. Well, Christmas has come early.
  
  Today we bring you the rear three-quarter shot of this much-anticipated Porsche Panamera rival. This view shows the dramatic sweeping glass roof...
  



• Aston Martin axing 600 jobs to reduce costs
  

  Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Aston Martin

  
  
  It looks like Ford got rid of Aston Martin just in time. With sales falling just about everywhere, Aston was hardly immune, so the automaker has announced plans to cut up to 600 jobs in the near future. The company is currently working with its union to cut 300 jobs from both the permanent and temporary worker ranks. Aston Martin joins Bentley which is also making cuts in response to the now official recession that the economy has descended into. Prior to Ford selling off the brand, Aston was believed to have been the only profitable member of the former Premier Automotive Group. With German brands...
  



• Sabelt stitches together a pair of shoes for Aston Martin Racing
  

  Filed under: Aston Martin, Lifestyle

  

  Aston Martin Racing has emerged as the dominant force in sports car racing wherever they've lined up on the grid, and they haven't gotten there without copious amounts of horsepower. And as Aston knows best, all that power needs to be properly harnessed, so for the past three years they - like some of the greatest names in motorsport - have teamed up with Italian harness company Sabelt to keep their drivers in place. Unfortunately, their collaboration was something only to be enjoyed by AMR's professional pilots, but the two have now teamed up to bring the fruits of their racetrack dominance to the market in a driving...
  




• First official Aston Martin Rapide image comes online
  

  Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Aston Martin, UK

  
  
  Click above to enlarge
  
  
  It's only one image, but it's supposedly the real deal. Or so says CAR Magazine in the UK, which published this rendering of the upcoming Aston Martin Rapide today. The publication claims the computer-generated rendering comes straight from Aston and previews the final form of this über four-door coupe. They apparently have another image in hand but are saving that for the January 2009 print issue of CAR. From what we can see, it appears that the Rapide will remain very true to the concept version. CAR notes the front end has changed a bit with the...
  



• Aston Martin Racing reveals new Vantage GT4 to replace N24
  

  Filed under: Motorsports, Coupes, Sports/GTs, Aston Martin

  
  
  Click above for high-res gallery of the Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4
  
  
  At the Dubai Autodrome this week, Aston Martin revealed the car that will replace the Vantage N24, which has raced successfully in the FIA GT4 class and endurance events like the 24 Hours of Nürburgring for the past two years. Named the Vantage GT4, the new racer will employ a racing version of the production car's 4.7L V8 in place of the N24's slightly smaller 4.3L V8. Other race-bred modifications include a free-flow exhaust system, dry sump lubrication and new engine...