Aston Martin V12 Vantage

Fitting a V12 in a Vantage was no easy feat. The effort was worth it, though – you end up with 510bhp and 420lb ft of torque compared with the 420bhp and 346lb ft in the V8 version.

As with any Vantage, the driving experience is a physical, manly sort of affair – a long-travel and heavy clutch, weighty steering, firm accelerator pedal, rock-hard ride and a gearshift that’s like manoeuvring a girder around.

It’s the sort of car you need to grab by the scruff of the neck, which is fine when you can find a clear road in the dry, but not so much fun in traffic or when the roads are wet. The near-slick tyres don’t have too much purchase on damp surfaces, either.

Still, the throttle pedal is a wonderfully delicate tool for metering out the power, and the car’s certainly quick when you get the chance to use it. Not as quick as you might think, though, in the exalted world of modern supercars – and there’s the V12 Vantage’s main problem. RS

Aston Martin Rapide in San Francisco

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Aston Martin's Rapide looking right at home in the Palace Hotel

Over the years, San Francisco’s Palace Hotel, the first grand hotel west of the Rockies, has played host to many an international luminary. The morning of the Great San Francisco earthquake of 1906, the world-renowned tenor, Enrico Caruso was shaken out of bed in the Palace. So perhaps it is fitting that the automotive world’s latest earth shattering virtuoso was hosted amid the gleaming marble, polished brass and delicately crafted wrought iron lacing the Palace Hotel’s majestic interior.

There, the all-new Aston Martin Rapide looked entirely appropriate blissfully ensconced like the piece of ultra-rare and exquisitely fine art it is. But this is fine art that rolls. Aston’s first four-door since production of the very rare Lagonda sedan ended in 1989, Rapide, at first glance, simply appears to be yet another strikingly beautiful Aston coupe. Upon closer inspection though, a second pair of Aston Martin’s signature swan wing doors reveals themselves.

Francesca Smith, Aston’s charmingly gracious representative explained, in her lovely lilting British accent, this stop in San Francisco is part of a seven-city tour around the U.S. to give potential owners an opportunity get up close and personal with a car most people have only seen in photographs – or at the Frankfurt Auto Show this past September.

“The people coming here today have either already placed deposits for the car, or are very close to making a purchase decision.” said Smith. “This gives them an opportunity to see the car in the flesh, select the color combination they’d like, and just basically reaffirm that Rapide is all they expect it to be.”

And indeed, as I stood there discussing the car with the ever-affable Smith, busy business people wafted in to admire the curvaceous flanks of the stunningly beautiful automobile. One guy announced broadly as he arrived, “ I have seven minutes, what’s the story?” Another group flew down from Western Canada in a chartered jet to bask in the glory of the vaunted automobile.

Smith continued, “ The car goes on sale in June, so this gives our customers an early preview. Right now, this is currently the only production Aston Martin Rapide in the world.”

With that quite firmly in mind, I very gingerly sat behind the substantial steering wheel and looked around.

As to be expected, Rapide is hand-finished in a manner thoroughly befitting its estimated $200,000 price tag. The interior features a combination of blue and bone colored leather complimented by Rapide's lusciously luxuriant walnut and aluminum trim. But just saying that doesn’t quite do it justice, you have to see it to feel it. The compartment looks more like that of a concept car than a production automobile.

Rear seat passengers enjoy video entertainment via monitors placed in the back of the front seats and can benefit from entirely separate programming on each monitor if they desire. Bang and Olufsen provides aural pleasure via 15 speakers placed strategically around the cabin.

A center console, on which reside controls for the climate control functions divides the rear compartment. Additionally, the rear seats are heated and cooled.

The boot (that’s trunk for those of you who are less than fluent in English) is accessed via a hatch that opens to reveal a nicely configured cargo area, one more than capable of handling soft luggage for four (yes, a set of fitted luggage is available). A partition keeps cargo separate from the passenger compartment, or it can be removed to provide even more cargo capacity. Yet another removable partition blocks the view inside the cargo area from prying eyes outside the Aston Martin. The rear seats fold for even more carrying space and Aston provides a cover that can be placed over them to prevent scratches.

Up front, underneath the bonnet (that’s hood y’all), resides the 470-horsepower 6.0-liter V12 engine that can also be found in the DB9 – Rapide’s closest relative in the current Aston Martin lineup. As I couldn’t do acceleration runs inside the Palace, I can’t speak to 0-60 times or how the car feels on the move. But given its 50-50 weight distribution, front mid-engine configuration (the engine is positioned behind the centerline of the front wheels), ultra-smooth and powerful V12, and the fact that it must exist alongside some of the most desirable sports cars in the world, there is no reason to expect the Aston Martin Rapide’s performance to be anything other than well – Rapide.

The Aston will be in Chicago from the 23rd to the 24th of November, Manhattan from the 2nd to the 5th of December, Charlotte, North Carolina from the 9th to the 10th of December, Palm Beach from the 14th to the 17th of December, and Dallas from the 21st to the 23rd of December.

Rare Aston DB4 GT for auction

The Aston Martin DB4 GT is a rare breed with only 75 units built between 1959 and 1963. Of those exclusive vehicles, a mere six are the coveted lightweight models that cut weight by using aluminum components (instead of steel) and have items like the radio, speakers, and heater removed. Understandably it's rare that one comes up for sale, but this January, RM Auctions will be offering a pristine example at their next auction.

The car going up for sale is chassis #0175/L, the last DB4 GT Lightweight built. It underwent a complete restoration in the mid-Nineties where it received upgrades like Dunlop racing tyres, Dayton wire wheels, and a four-point roll bar. The car was never competitively raced in the Sixties, but several owners have competed the car in various vintage races at tracks in the States.

Aston built outside UK

The Rapide model is also their first four-seat model since the Lagonda Rapide in 1961.

So why is the Rapide being built at a factory in Graz, Austria, instead of the firm's state-of-the-art HQ at Gaydon, Warwickshire?

When the Rapide was first planned three years ago there was no prediction of a global recession and Gaydon was working at full capacity.

New models were on the way and there was simply not enough production space at the factory to build the Rapide.

So Aston chose Magna Steyr, a specialist car plant in Graz which already builds models for BMW and Mercedes, with 240 Austrian workers preparing to build up to 2,000 Rapides a year from early 2010.

Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT4

Hang on a minute, here I am, strapped in and ready to go, but where’s the starter button? Ah, I see, it’s by a key. Hence the expression ‘turn-key’ racer.

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Nicholas Mee Racing’s Team Manager Craig Dawson soon comes to the rescue and the 430bhp, 4.7-litre Aston V8 fires up. The car, an ex-Aston Martin Asia Cup chassis, bought this year by the team for a long-standing customer and upgraded to full GT4 specification, has been transported to Goodwood and is just one of several – mainly road – cars attending a private event organised by the West London-based marque specialist.



The fabulous circuit, which was just being prepared for the Revival, is a rewarding track but has to be handled carefully. Building up the pace in the yellow Aston, you soon realise how much potential it has as a club racer, track-day car or an entry into relatively high levels of motorsport, such as the FIA/SRO GT4 Championship.

I decided on setting the traction control to ‘on’, flying in the face of regular racing practice but done out of respect to the Sussex track’s very fast, flowing sweeps and curves. In fact, after just a couple of familiarisation laps you soon understand why it’s normally bypassed, as the frequent slides are arrested by the electronics leading to a series of twitches across the Tarmac.



No, on another day it would be traction control ‘off’ – at a nice open circuit with plenty of run-off to explore the limits of the car; limits that are probably quite high but well matched to the output of the engine. For the cognoscenti, the Asia Cup cars differ slightly from those competing in European GT4 rounds by having a characteristic roof-mounted air scoop, bigger front discs and revised suspension.

Strapped into the racing seat, the view ahead is familiar V8 Vantage but with all the beautiful leather and wood trim removed. It really does start with a key and the gearlever (and ratios and final drive) is standard, too. This car is a manual, although many were raced with the Sportshift (paddle) transmission.

All the controls are similar to the road car’s so there’s no heavy clutch or too-solid brake pedal to contend with. You can just get in the V8 Vantage GT4 and drive it. Which is the whole point.



Please be careful with kerbs, though. Getting into the swing of things I allowed myself a trip across the edge of the track on the turn-in to St Mary’s. This resulted in a big hop that may have been caught by my innate car control.

Or the on-board electronics. So maybe the traction control decision was correct, after all...

Coming out of Lavant the power can be gradually poured on and by the end of the straight the Aston is really moving. Braking for Woodcote and steering back through the chicane, there’s more (controllable) slipping and sliding and, with a nod to an admiring pit crew, it’s off for another enjoyable lap.



In fact, the whole Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT4 experience is entertaining and to be recommended. Nicholas Mee can sell you a 2010-spec, 4.7-litre car, or there may still be one of the paddleshift 4.3-litre Asia Cup cars available at a considerable saving over new.

2009 Aston Martin DB9 Volante Review

2009 Aston Martin DB9 Volante
Let's say a clandestine organization asked you, for your country, to "take care of" an enemy of the state at tonight's performance of Tosca at The Met. And let's say this organization gave you the choice of any Aston Martin in which to conduct the evening. Which Aston would you choose? If you said the DBS, we hope you've arranged bail. You're getting caught. Quickly.

Despite its impressiveness, the DBS is just a little over the top. Driving it says to the world, "I'm rich (or I have rich backers), I'm sociopathic (or at least self-centered), and I kill people (or I've had them killed)." There's no denying this. Attempt to pull off your mission at the opera and you'll be fingered before the body hits the ground. "It was the guy in the suit and the DBS," the rattled, blood-spattered socialites will tell the authorities just before you're whisked off to a damp, underground bunker in a country created by the breakup of the USSR.

The better choice? The 2009 Aston Martin DB9 – even the Volante. It's got just enough gentleman to remove you from suspicion, but the faintest hint of evil to make fearsome things happen when needed. We had it for a weekend, yet despite the urge and a twitchy trigger finger we never got the chance to test out our "cleaning" abilities.

Aston Martin Rapide Makes U.S. Debut

2010 Aston Martin Rapide. Photos coutesy of Aston Martin

Aston Martin will debut it's new Rapide, the four-door sports sedan today at an exclusive party at the ultra-trendy SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills today.

At the debut, potential customers, media and Aston Martin fans will get a chance to view the Rapide up close and personal before it heads out on a seven-city tour of the United States. The Rapide concept was first shown at the 2006 Detroit Auto Show and in full production form earlier this year t the Frankfurt Auto Show. The Rapide and the Aston Martin "party machine" will travel this winter between Los Angles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Charlotte, Palm Beach and Dallas before making the return trip to England.

"Rapide is the culmination of the Aston Martin range of sports cars, a car that seals the revival of a truly admired marquee," said Ulrich Bez, Aston Martin CEO. "There is now an Aston Martin for every taste and for every use."

The Rapide is powered by Aston Martin's tried and true 6.0 liter V12 engine. Producing 470 horsepower and 443 pound feet of torque, the car will be no slouch. When mated to the six-speed Touchtronic 2 automatic gearbox, expect a 0 to 60 mph time under 5 seconds and a top speed of 180+ mph.

The Rapide is constructed on Aston Martin's VH (Vertical/Horizontal) architecture and shares the same basic underpins as the DB9. The Rapide will be the first Aston Martin built outside of the United Kingdom thanks to a partnership with Magna Steyr.

It goes without saying that the Rapide will compete directly with Porsche's Panamera and Maserati's Quattroporte. But in my humble opinion, the Rapide is certainly the best looking of the bunch. Yes, the Panamera has much more usable and spacious back seat, but is, well... hideous.

Aston Martin design director, Marek Reichman, said this about the Rapide's styling, "There is a real sense of proportion with this car, akin to a tailored suit; the new double grill gives more presence on the road while the iconic signature side strake has been lengthened through to the rear doors to enhance its lateral proportions in a subtle, yet elegant way. The car's purity makes it look right from every angle."

The Rapide will be priced around the $200,000 mark, making it expensive as well as beautiful Aston Martin says it will build between 1000 and 2000 units per year with the first deliveries expected in the spring of 2010.