2010 Aston Martin One-77 Concept Pictures

2010 Aston Martin One-77 Concept

2010 Aston Martin One-77 Concept

2010 Aston Martin One-77 Concept

2010 Aston Martin One-77 Concept

2010 Aston Martin One-77 Concept

2010 Aston Martin V12 Vantage Pictures

2010 Aston Martin V12 Vantag

2010 Aston Martin V12 Vantage

2010 Aston Martin V12 Vantage

2010 Aston Martin V12 Vantage

Next generation LMP1 car to feature Aston engine and chassis

2009 Aston Martin LMP1

2009 Aston Martin LMP1

2009 Aston Martin LMP1

2009 Aston Martin LMP1

Aston Martin boss David Richards has revealed that the company is working on an all-new LMP1 Le Mans challenger for 2011.

Aston's current Le Mans cars use a Lola-derived chassis powered by a 6.0-litre V12 originally developed for the DBR9 GT1 racer. The twelve-cylinder mill won't be eligible under 2011 Le Mans rules, however, so Aston Martin Racing needs a new powerplant.

Rather than using bought-in engine tech, however, Richards has revealed to US car mag Auto Week that Aston Martin Racing is hard at work developing an all-new bespoke racing engine - and that the chassis around it will also be a fully in-house Aston Martin design.

Aston could take the new car and engine racing next year, but the team feels that the 2010 Le Mans rules - set in stone late last month - still favour diesels over petrols, and Aston won't be producing a diesel-powered racer (thank goodness).

"We are far enough down the road with the design that we could have done it for next year if the petrol-diesel equivalence had been sensible" Team principal George Howard-Chappell told Auto Week. "That is clearly not the case."

Richards also said that he was keen for Aston Martin Racing to stop working on a year-to-year basis and concentrate instead on three-year campaigns. That could mean that there will be no works Astons at Le Mans next year, while the team concentrates on its 2011 car, although this year's Lola-Aston coupes could end up racing in private hands.

Aston Martin to develop all-new LMP1 car for 2011

Lola-Aston Martin LMP1

For its current Le Mans prototype racing program, Aston Martin has teamed up with veteran chassis builder Lola to create a car powered by a race-ready version of its production V12. But the current 6.0-liter twelve-cylinder won't be allowed under the new Automobile Club de l'Ouest prototype rules that go into effect for 2011, so a new powerplant will be required.

To that end, AutoWeek is reporting that Aston Martin chairman Dave Richards has revealed that the British firm has begun work on a successor – and this time, the work is being done in-house, with the new car slated to be powered by an all-new bespoke race engine. Details are slim, however, with Richards only confirming that the engine will be powered by gasoline.

Work on the new car has been ongoing for more than two months. However, the team opted not to run the new chassis in 2010 because the gas-diesel equivalency rules are still unfavorable. Richards has also confirmed that financing for the new car has already been lined up.

Mansory Cyrus Carbon Fiber Aston Martin

The Pepto Bismol pink Vitesse Rosé Bentley Continental GT by Mansory that we wrote about last week was a truly hideous piece of automotive madness. The exotic auto tuner rescued its reputation somewhat with the carbon fiber version of an Aston Martin it displayed at the Frankfurt Auto Show. The Cyrus as the car is called can be built from either the DB9 or DBS (James Bond's model of choice), with carbon body mods including front and rear wing extensions, side skirts, a front skirt with enlarged air intakes, and a reconfigured bonnet, plus a new rear skirt with an integrated diffuser and quadruple stainless steel exhausts. Interior upgrades include a carbon fiber dashboard and center console elements, a custom steering wheel and two-tone black and red leather upholstery.

Hoons take Aston Martin on $300,000 joyride

Hoons stole an Aston Martin Vantage worth about $300,000 and took it for a joyride around Perth.

Police fear car thieves are targeting wealthy western suburbs homes following a spate of luxury joyrides, the latest involving a $300,000 Aston Martin.

Detectives say the robbery pattern involves thieves breaking into wealthy homes, stealing the car keys and speeding off in the elite cars for a free ride around Perth.

In the latest incident, a blue 2008 Aston Martin Vantage with an estimated price tag of $300,000 was stolen from a Claremont house in the early hours of Monday morning.

But luckily for the owner, the luxury car made famous by James Bond was recovered last night in Coolbellup, with only a few scratches to show for its wild night out.

Detective Constable Fraser Mainland from Western Suburbs detectives said this was part of a recent spate of car robberies throughout the western suburbs, particularly in the Dalkeith area.

"They're mostly targeting high-value vehicles," he said.

"The vehicles have generally all been recovered in 24 hours - they're taken for the purpose of joyriding."

He said stolen luxury cars were generally recovered undamaged.

Detective Mainland urged people to mindful of home security and make sure car keys were kept in a secure place inside their houses.

Some cars have even been stolen from secure garages.

"They're targeting houses where they know have high-value vehicles," he said.

Road Test: 2010 Aston Martin DB9

Contrary to popular mythology, arrival can be just as satisfying, even ego gratifying, as the journey. That second element of satisfaction is often accomplished in isolation, but the arrival at ones favorite destination often includes spectators. As they turn to see what you've driven to the party, and meet you with broad smiles, the journey vanishes from memory. The 2010 Aston Martin DB9 can have that effect.

If the devil is in the details, he has found himself incredibly busy in the English Midlands of late; specifically in the environs of Gaydon in Warwickshire, the new home of Aston Martin. As founding father, Lionel Martin, considered manufacturing a sports car replica of his successful racecar, he announced that it would handle like a Bugatti and be finished like a Rolls Royce. Thus the performance, style and attention to detail that is Aston Martin nearly a century later, remains a legacy of the founder.

The second half of Mr. Martins edict has been raised to a level of accomplishment to embarrass the original target. The quality of leathers, alignment and location of stitching, fit and finish of interior components and panels, and invisible but certainly not least important, the structural material that supports the occupants, all illustrate the level of attention paid to time on the road. This last is worthy of comment. In some European makes, the control of the human participant becomes so restrictive that bolster bruises are a predictable result of a long drive. Interior designers at Aston Martin have created a structural foam that creates a firm support during moments of automotive entertainment while offering luxurious accommodations during the remaining 97 percent of the journey. All interior components are manufactured in the Gaydon facility. Ones hands can only come in contact with leather, wood (hand-finished single piece components, there are no veneers think fine furniture) and satin- or bright-finished aluminum. Only the crystal block officially called an ECU (Emotion Control Unit) masquerading as the starting key, is made by a fine jeweler in London. It too is what it seems to be. Even the telepathic steering wheel is carefully sheathed in matching leather and stitched together in the interior department at the works. The upholstery shop alone is worth a visit.

While the DB9s 700-watt Premium Audio System with Dolby Pro Logic II produces remarkable quality sound, for 2010 the option list will include Bang & Olufsens complex integrated acoustic system developed for the DBS. It includes B&Os proprietary Acoustic Lens Technology that produces 180 of horizontal dispersion of high frequencies and a complete interior structure created for elimination of irrelevant sound and augmentation of the electronic output. It gives the listeners an improved sense of space, staging and realism anywhere in the car. Not to overlook the relevance of that sweet V12 voice when the system is switched off.

There is nothing annoying or obnoxious about the sound of the DB9 at full song either. There is a sweetness to the output of its DOHC 6-liter V12. Its volume increases as a direct proportion to its activity, but its 470 horsepower is delivered at 6,000 rpm without irritation. And with its sudden arrival in the second of six gear ratio choices comes 60 mph in less than 5 seconds from a standing start. All six of those gears are in a mid-mounted transaxle that creates the optimum 50/50 dynamic balance and sites 85 percent of the vehicles mass between the axles. The drive train delivers its 443 lb-ft of torque to 275/35 ZR Bridgestone Potenza-mounted 9.5 x 19-inch rear wheels with anti-dive and anti-squat geometry by aluminum double wishbone suspension. At the front are more aluminum double wishbones to secure anti-dive geometry for the 8.5 x 19-inch wheels carrying 235/40 ZR Bridgestones. To rein in all that acceleration, Aston has included ventilated and grooved steel discs at all four corners, with 355mm diameter at the front and 330mm at the rear. Four-piston monobloc calipers are radial-mounted for all four discs. All of that power and grip is controlled by Servotronic; a speed-sensitive, power-assisted, rack and pinion steering system. The result of all this dynamic precision is a large, comfortable 2 + 2 with the performance and sensitivity of a super sports car.

After two successive years of GT1 victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in 2009 the Aston Martin V12 took fourth overall and effectively won the Petrol Class as the first gasoline-powered LMP1 car across the finish. In his post-Le Mans comments Dr Ulrich Bez, Chief Executive Officer of Aston Martin, reminded us, In the same month that we launch the new V12 Vantage and DBS Volante, it is fitting that the same 6.0-litre V12 heart powers our LMP1 cars to such an outstanding Le Mans debut. I am thrilled for the whole team.

Your ever-diligent scribe was offered the opportunity to drive the 2009 DB9 across France in both directions; from Le Mans to Alsace and back to the Channel ferry for an additional run into the English midlands to visit both Aston facilities; Newport Pagnell, where it all began and Gaydon, where the new age is being created. The interior appointments were exactly as they will be in the 2010 edition. After hours on the road at a varying range of speeds and conditions, the cars spacious interior was much appreciated. Even at the drivers busiest nothing interferes with elbows, foot space, or vision. And at the Auto Route limit of 120 km/h for a couple of fuel-tank-range segments, I actually bettered the suggested fuel consumption of 17 mpg on the highway. The suggested city mpg is 11 and I doubt that I could have exceeded that, because the sweet song of the V12 was too tempting to hear in higher rev ranges, even briefly.

My recent drive in California reinforced my first impressions. The Aston Martin DB9 is a remarkable touring sports car that offers breathtaking potential with a high degree of luxury and civility for the journey and the satisfying attention of beautiful design upon arrival.