2013 Aston Martin Rapide S Spy Photos – Future Cars

May 24, 2011 at 6:29pm by Steve Siler

A rapide-r Rapide seems to be on the horizon.

Its 470-hp V-12 and gorgeous shape make the Aston Martin Rapide one of the most gratifying sedans on earth, but the $200,000-plus Aston is way slower—and way more expensive—than most of its loosely defined competitive set, which includes the Porsche Panamera Turbo and Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG. While we don’t expect the Rapide to get any cheaper in future iterations, we do expect it to get quicker. Some have suggested that the car seen here is merely a face-lifted car, but we believe the lightly camo’d Rapide caught in these spy photos is a prototype of an upcoming, rapide-r Rapide likely to be called Rapide S.

Keep Reading: 2013 Aston Martin Rapide S Spy Photos – Future Cars

Tags: Aston Martin, Aston Martin Rapide, British, luxury, sedan, spy photos |

View the original article here

Aston Martin V12 Zagato Spied in Race Trim

May 26, 2011 at 5:31pm by Jon Yanca

Just a handful of days have past since Aston Martin confirmed it’s building the V12 Zagato race car to compete in this June’s 24 Hours of the Nürburgring. The images of the relatively tame red car, though, pale in comparison to these shots of the fully prepped version. The car, which will lap the Nordschleife for four hours this weekend as a warm-up to the longer summer event, was caught by our spy photographers while unloading at the famed German track.

Changes from the “preview” car are a bit obvious, beginning with the bright, emerald-green paint job that’s believed to be the primary color of the final livery. In the rear, the V12 Zagato now sports a colossal spoiler and an equally serious-looking diffuser, each necessary to keep its curvaceous sheetmetal planted to the pavement at speed. Both ends of the car are now fitted with the required towing fixtures, and the passenger-side C-pillar has a quick-fill fuel valve. Lastly, the massive wheels have been replaced by a set of smaller, race-worthy rollers wearing what look to be the car’s full-tread rain rubber. The front carbon-fiber splitter is absent, presumably to preserve it from the hazards of transport.

If it sticks with the current Aston livery pattern, expect to see lipstick surrounding this racer’s pouty grille when it makes its grand debut. Until then, check out the rest of the details on this 510-hp beast here.

Tags: Aston Martin, Nürburgring, race car, Zagato |

View the original article here

Aston Martin V12 Zagato Race Car Concept No Longer Sketchy, Official Photos and Info Released

What once was a car-shaped smudge of a sketch is now real: Aston has released official images of the V12 Zagato concept, the British marque’s latest collaboration with the Italian design house. One dash beautiful and several jiggers of weird—plus a dollop of Nissan GT-R—the model previews a racer that will compete in the wild-’n'-wooly 24 Hours of the Nürburgring on June 25 and 26.

The V12 Zagato’s beauty comes from the classic proportions, borrowed from the V12 Vantage that served as this car’s starting point, and the muscular haunches. The weirdness lies in the details, like the taillights and lower rear fascia that appear as if they’re being extruded through the back end, Play-Doh–style. Thick racing pipes jut out of the carbon diffuser, with the on-track night/rain light mounted between. The roof, cantilevered like the GT-R’s, carries Zagato’s traditional double bubbles, originally intended to extend a roofline skyward to accommodate helmets and/or people with giant heads. Forward of the A-pillars is where things get especially funky. The giant fender vents, chrome spears, and multiple hood strakes look fussy, and the gaping Aston grille, which looks awesome on the firm’s DBR9 racers, makes this car look like a smoked-up carp. We do dig the way the front fender peak runs below the windowline and beyond, though, and the car looks pretty sweet on the whole.

The exterior panels are aluminum, and were hand-formed just like your grandpa did it, with an English wheel and body bucks. Achieving the car’s complex shapes required several pieces of aluminum to be formed and then combined; Aston says each front fender is comprised of seven individual pieces and the roof five. A 510-hp fusillade feeds the rear wheels from the front-mounted 5.9-liter V-12, which also thunders out 420 lb-ft of torque. Unlike the regular V12 Vantage, which is available solely with a six-speed manual transaxle, this car uses a six-speed single-clutch automated gearbox; the V12 feeds it via a carbon driveshaft within a magnesium torque tube. The clutch is uprated to a twin-plate racing piece, the suspension is adjustable, and the huge front brake rotors are pinched by six-piston calipers. (Four-piston calipers grab the smaller rear discs.) Finally, there’s a steel roll cage, a limited-slip diff, and racing-style vents in the side windows.

To check out the original sketch of the V12 Zagato and to read a primer on the history of the car to which this model pays homage, the early-’60s DB4 GT Zagato, head over to this post.

View the original article here