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The Aston Martin Valkyrie now comes with a Track Pack https://www.topgear.com/car-news/supercars/aston-martin-valkyrie-now-comes-track-pack Aston Martin will only ever build 150 road-legal versions of the Adrian Newey-designed, 1,100bhp, V12-powered, £2.5m Valkyrie. It will also produce 25 circuit-only Valkyrie AMR Pros for the truly committed track day enthusiast. If you missed out on an AMR Pro, but managed to bag a road-version, fear not - there is another way. Aston has announced that road car customers will be offered the option of a Track Performance Pack, claimed to reduce your lap times by eight per cent… assuming you have the skill to get anywhere near the car’s limits. This includes an entirely new, more aggressive and higher-downforce front clamshell panel, matched to a full second set of body panels so your Valkyrie has a suit for the weekly commute, and an entirely different body for that occasional weekend track sesh. Very much not allowed on the road, the Track Pack also adds lightweight titanium brakes, “track-focused” suspension lowered by 50mm, and the option of Chris Boardman-spec aero carbon disc wheels. And just in case other punters weren’t sure how seriously you take yourself - as you rock up at your local run-what-you-brung in a £2.5m Aston – there’s personalised “pit accessories” and a race suit to match. Aston won’t tell us the price for the Track Pack option, probably because it would blow our tiny little minds. What Aston did let us do, however, is visit them and pretend to be a customer for the day – speccing ‘our’ car, and a Track Pack from scratch. The pictures here (green/silver = road-legal, blue/blue = with Track Pack fitted) are the result. Particular highlights of ‘our’ Valkyrie include the micron-thick titanium badge on the nose, acid green decals highlighting the roof’s bomb graphic from overhead, the honeycomb wheels and an abundance of ‘Mokume’ carbon fibre on the interior – a technique where the carbon is layered up into a solid block and the component machined from that – leaving an intricate wood-grain effect. Fancy. Indulgent options, that we steered cleared of, naturally, included a gold pack – where gold leaf is laid onto the bodywork under the laquer – and woven leather on the door pockets. For Valkyrie customers that can’t make up their minds, or can’t be arsed, there are four “Designer Specifications” that steer them away from fashion faux-pas. So, what’s the verdict? Like our designs, or think you could do better?

Aston Martin DBX

We've been expecting you: full details on Aston's twin-turbo, 503bhp V8 super coupe https://www.topgear.com/car-news/big-reads/all-new-aston-martin-vantage “This is our dedicated sports car. It’s simple, pure energy, it’s a hunter. It has a flick in the tail and the lowest nose we’ve ever produced. If the DB11 is a samurai sword, this is a scalpel.” That’s design director Marek Reichman giving us a hands-on intro to the new Aston Martin Vantage. He’s fully spooled up now, arms flying everywhere, his language getting more design-speak by the second. I’ve pressed the pause button here, on his sword/scalpel analogy, not to point and laugh at some marketing guff, but because in truth it’s rather key. We are witnessing the rebirth of a company, one that’s emerging from a decade where its products overlapped and leaked into one another like layers on a sub-standard trifle. Shored up with new money and new management, there’s now an ambitious plan in place that, should it work, will deliver seven new standalone models (one every nine months) between now and 2021 – and that’s not counting derivatives and cherries like the Valkyrie and continuation DB4 GTs. The first of these seven pillars is the DB11, the Vantage is number two followed by new Vanquish, DBX, a mid-engined supercar, Lagonda 1 and Lagonda 2. In that order. Success hinges on differentiation – creating clear daylight between each pillar, and that’s precisely what’s happening here. Seen any DB11s painted in Radioactive Lime recently? Didn’t think so. And the Vantage’s official launch colour is just the beginning of the changes that make this the Aston for people who enjoy the art of driving fast. The bonded and riveted aluminium structure is, of course, descended from the DB11 – everything from the A-pillar forward is carried over untouched (new crash structures are prohibitively expensive to develop), but 70 per cent of the components are unique. A 280mm reduction in length is down to lopping out a section where the rear seats would be, while, unlike the plusher DB11, the rear axle sub-assembly ditches any rubber bushing and is solid-mounted to the chassis, sacrificing some refinement for more immediate reactions. At 1,530kg dry, it’s 170kg lighter than a DB11, but, to be fair, that’s not saying much. More telling is that it’s a few kilos heavier than a 4WD Porsche 911 Turbo (Porsche quotes 1,595kg, but that’s with all its fluids on board, which weigh well over 100kg). Expect the kerbweight to lighten up a bit in a year’s time, though: that’s when you’ll have the option of substituting the eight-speed ZF auto available from launch, with a manual. Happy days. The engine? We know it well, but that doesn’t make an AMG-sourced 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, recalibrated by Aston to produce 503bhp and 505lb ft of torque, any less titillating. Claimed performance – 0–62mph in 3.6secs and 195mph flat-out – is nudging supercar country, but then so too is the starting price of £120,900. For £20k more, you can have a Mercedes-AMG GT R. Fortunately, the Vantage’s chassis game is strong. Double-wishbone suspension at the front and multi-link at the rear is familiar stuff, as are the adjustable dampers all-round as standard and torque-vectoring by braking. But this is the first Aston to feature a new e-diff that trumps a purely mechanical LSD, Aston says, by going from fully open to 100 per cent locked in a just a few milliseconds. There’s also new bespoke Pirelli P Zeros, and three driving modes: Sport, Sport Plus and Track, that gradually ramp up the damping, throttle response, e-diff, torque-vectoring, steering weight (electromechanical, 2.4 turns lock to lock) and racket from the exhausts, while slackening off the stability control. There is much technology at work, then, but this is also the first Aston to be completely set up by their ex-Lotus ride and handling chief, Matt Becker… and it’s his kind of car. The DB11 he tidied up, filed the edges; here, he was given carte blanche and a dream package to work with. Matt, we’re expecting big things. But driving it is for another day. Now, I’m tracing Reichman’s steps as he stalks his way around the car, index finger on chin, as if he’s still finding new and exciting angles on his work. “This project was really like taking a racecar onto the road, so we needed a different language. It’s purer, it’s more elemental.” Starting from the front – the nose has Bond’s DB10 written all over it; the lights are small and aggressive with a front splitter below smuggling smooth air under the car. The front flanks are defined by ‘side gills’ riddled with bullet holes, while the back wheels are stretched to the rearmost corners where they punch through the car’s skin. Right around the back, you’ll find the real drama, with a full-width light strip, uncapped exhausts sticking out like sawn-off shotguns and a proper functioning diffuser. There’s nothing active here. No flaps or air curtains, just a flat underfloor and a ducktail spoiler, more for stability than big downforce – that’ll come later with the hardcore AMR editions. Normally, we prefer to leave the design decisions to your eyes (who are we to tell you what does and doesn’t look good?), but on this occasion, I’ll allow myself an opinion… it’s taut, exciting and exotic in a way a 911 doesn’t want to be and an F-Type can’t be. With one caveat – like the DB11 it’s very spec dependent. This car is an all-screaming, all-raving version with carbon roof, carbon sills and carbon diffuser, and it’s the one to go for. If you want subdued, go for the DB11, although we’ll understand if you want to tone down the paint. Inside, you can see the bits borrowed from Merc (screen, pointless mouse-style touchpad), but the good news is it’s a complete rethink from the DB11. Feeling fruity? You can have your centre console caked in body-coloured bits, or carbon or piano black if you’re feeling less shouty. Gone are the DB11’s haptic feedback surfaces, replaced with physical buttons because “given the more frenetic driving experience, you want an actual click to tell you a button’s been pressed,” says Reichman. The paddles have grown for the same reason. There’s a bit of a boot, too – 350 litres, to be precise… more than double what you get in a 911’s nose, but then that has back seats for your overflow. Will there be a V12 version? We hope so, but Reichman wouldn’t confirm, preferring to stir the speculation pot by reminding us that the engine bay is shared with the DB11. So we know it’ll fit and why go to the bother of developing a new twin-turbo V12 if you’re not going to spread the costs? Besides, knowing CEO Andy Palmer, the idea of a V12 hot rod will be too tempting to resist. But will it be the Vantage or the DB11 at the heart of this born-again company? It’s a question that leaves Reichman a bit stumped… “I think, maybe this does define our core more than a DB11. If DB11 is about style, this is about developing something you can take racing, and that’s what Aston stands for. When they all line up at Le Mans next year, it will be this next to Porsche, Ferrari, Ford and BMW. We want to win with this car.”

Aston Martin Debuts an All-New $300,000 DBS Superleggera Coupe The $304,995 V12 will compete against Ferrari’s 812 Superfast. Aston Martin has just debuted the DBS Superleggera on Tuesday, June 26. Based on Formula One styling, the $304,995 coupe will replace the Vanquish, a so-called super-grand touring two-door that Aston Martin has made since 2001. The new car revives two historic nameplates from the Aston Martin line: The DBS title first appeared in a line of coupes starting in 1967, while Superleggera, which means “super light” in Italian, hasn’t been used since the DB4 Superleggera stopped production in 1961. The DBS Superleggera has a bi-turbo, 5.2-liter V12 engine that will be the basis for all forthcoming V12 models as well, since it is highly modifiable and can allow the integration of improvements for various trim lines and future products. The engine made its debut in this year’s DB11 coupe. It gets 715bhp and 664 pound-feet of torque—an astounding amount, considering that even 10 years ago only the most expensive, crazy-looking hypercars crested the 700hp mark. This one looks as if it could saunter down a high-fashion runway. It will give the 789-horsepower Ferrari 812 Superfast a firm challenge for dominance within the set. (The 812 Superfast, by the way, is the only other front-engine, rear-wheel drive, luxury super GT car on the market today. The British company is targeting Ferrari in other ways too.) Zero to 62 miles per hour in the Superleggera is 3.4 seconds. Top speed is 211mph.

It was a bright and sunny day (which rained really heavily a while later) and I had my jaw drop as I pulled my car into a carpark somewhere in Holland Village when my attention was frozen by a shiny Aston Martin DB7 Vantage parked in the same carpark. Complete with its 18" Bridgestones and thoroughly polished and glimmering in the sun, I debated for what seemed to be an eternity whether I should tag it with an MCF flyer. But, alas, "no" was the eventual answer, especially after some prompt sms-based consultation with some pals, I did not, for fear of being charged with scratching the immaculate paintwork and being visited by the neighbourhood mob for my actions. And thus, I left the SDU-plate car alone which a while later left the carpark, possibly out of fear of this one clown who kept scrutinising it from every possible angle. And this is even before I recovered completely from the shock of seeing a Bentley Arnage Red Label parked outside my office on Friday. Which led me to wonder - exactly how many of such financially overly-well-endowed people are there in S'pore and whether any of them would care to help boost my personal financial standing in society. The End.

Aston Martin has recently spread its wings to Kuala Lumpur with the opening of its brand spanking new dealership located right beside the Federal Highway in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. The eight million Ringgit facility officially opened on the 16th of July 2012 and finally brings the Aston Martin experience to Malaysians who have been getting their Aston Martin kicks from grey importers. Members of the media and a select number of owners from Malaysia and even Singapore were given a brief run through of the illustrious brand. This gave attendees a glimpse into the world of Aston Martin as well as some good news to Aston Martin owners in Singapore. The good news is that Aston Martin customers from Singapore would now have peace of mind when they drive their cars into Malaysia as they can now be assured that if anything happens to their cars, there is now a proper place to get them looked at. Prior to Aston Martin Kuala Lumpur, customer cars would actually be left either at the hands of private workshops who do not have much experience working with the cars or with workshops that does not have instant access to spare parts. Prior to this those with Aston Martins would actually seek getting their cars sent back to Singapore for even minor servicing. And now Aston Martin customers need not do so. Aston Martin Kuala Lumpur is actually a collaboration between Berjaya Corporation Berhad and Aston Martin Singapor with Jelita Seleksi Sdn Bhd as its vehicle. At the launch, Aston Martin was represented by mainly Mr Andy Gawthorpe, Global Sales Director, Dr SK Djeng, Chairman of Aston Martin Singapore, Dato' Francis Lee Director of Aston Martin Singapore and Executive Director of Berjaya Corporation as well as the Executive Director of Jelita Seleksi Sdn Bhd, Mr Nazrul Mohtar. Aston Martin displayed most of their current line-up with the Aston Martin DBS in the forefront. The newly launched Aston Martin Vanquish and limited to 1000 unit Aston Martin V12 Roadster wasn't around as yet and should make an appearance in this region by the end of the year. However a notable appearance was the last of the line Singapore registered Aston Martin Vanquish S from the mid-00s (pictured below). So all in all good news to those lucky people who can afford an Aston Martin or two. A drive to the Genting Highlands can be even more trouble free than before.