Aston Martin to Bring the V12 Zagato to the Goodwood Festival of Speed
Only a few weeks after making its public debut at the Villa D’Este Concours and winning the design award for concept cars and prorotypes, Aston Martin’s new V12 Zagato raced at the Nurburgring 24-hour race. Now, the British automaker is bringing the stunning model, which was created by the two companies to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the legendary DB4GT Zagato, to the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Aston Martin’s Head of Motorsport, David King, said: “The sight and sound of the V12 Zagatos clearly thrilled the 200,000 plus spectators at the Nürburgring so we’re delighted that less than a week afterwards the car is able to appear at the Goodwood Festival and make its debut in front of our British supporters”.
The V12 Zagato will be joined at the hill climb by the Aston Martin One-77 supercar and the new Virage.
AMV12: Sabino Leerentveld’s V12-Engined Aston Martin Hypercar Concept
Take these three cars: the Jaguar XJ220, the Aston Martin DBR9 and ItalDesign’s BMW Nazca M12 Concept and amalgamate them into an Aston Martin Bulldog for the 21st century and there’s a good chance you’ll have Dutch designer Sabino Leerentveld’s AMV12 design study.
Taut, masculine lines blend seamlessly with Aston Martin’s signature styling to create something truly unique. Presumably fitted with a V12 engine, this front / mid-engined (I honestly can’t tell) design study proposes a model that would theoretically sit above the limited edition Aston Martin One-77. Check out Leerentveld's AMV12 Concept as well as his older AMV10 study in the gallery below and tell us what you think in the comments area.
Aston Martin Releases $70,550 / €48,995 Fashion-Trendy Cygnet Special
The Cygnet is on its way to becoming a true Aston Martin, but not in the sense you might think. We are referring to its price tag with the release of a new limited run special called “Cygnet & colette” that will set buyers back a whopping €48,995, equal to £43,800 and US$70,550!
That’s £18,000 or US$29,000 more than the entry-level Cygnet. This kind of money can buy you a Porsche Boxster in the UK and you would still have more than £7,000 left for spending! And all this for a car that is essentially a re-trimmed Toyota iQ… As fashionistas may have already guessed by know, the limited edition Cygnet was created in collaboration with Parisian fashion and style boutique, colette.
On the outside, it features a Lightning Silver paint job with bespoke colette blue styling details including a race collection inspired front bumper and bonnet livery, mirror caps and diamond turned road wheels.
Inside, the Cygnet special gets a “Bitter Chocolate themed interior” with hand-trimmed leather and quilted details.
Other unique elements include:
- Stainless steel hand formed and engraved door handle badges
- ‘Cygnet & colette’ branded hand enamelled boot badging manufactured by Thomas Fattorini
- Quilted Alcantara sun visors to complement the quilted leather door and seat inserts
- Hand trimmed, quilted colette blue leather occasional cushions for the rear seats
- ‘Cygnet & colette’ branding on satellite navigation start up
- A unique ‘Cygnet & colette’ key ring machined from solid aluminium with blue enamelling
“The colette car is the first of the exclusive ‘Cygnet &’ collaborations,” said Aston Martin Director of Design, Marek Reichman. “These cars will give Aston Martin a relevant platform to reach out to new customers in urban areas.”
Aston Martin plans to build only 14 examples of the ‘Cygnet & colette’ city car with first deliveries expected by the end of the year.
Aston Martin Prepares Two V12 Zagato Concepts for 24h Nurburgring Battle
The world’s toughest 24-hour race at the Nurburgring circuit this weekend will see Aston Martin entering a bevy of sports cars led by not one but two specially prepared racing examples of the freshly revealed V12 Zagato Concept. Based on the existing V12 Vantage chassis, the concept model was designed by Italian coachbuilder Zagato to celebrate its partnership with Aston Martin in the 50th anniversary year of the DB4GT Zagato. The prototype received its public debut at the Concorso D’Eleganza at Villa D’Este in May this year, winning the Design award for Concepts and Prototypes.
The show car was then turned into the number 3 race car, nicknamed by the company ‘Zag’ (red), which will be piloted in the 24 hour race by Aston Martin CEO, Dr. Ulrich Bez, the company’s Nürburgring Test Centre Director, Wolfgang Schuhbauer and automotive journalists Horst von Saurma and Matthew Marsh.
The second V12 Zagato concept racer is car number 5 nicknamed ‘Zig’, and it is finished in a green hue. It will be driven by One-77 Chief Engineer Chris Porritt, sports car driver Oliver Mathai, automotive journalist Richard Meaden and amateur racer Peter Cate.
The V12 Zagato(s), which is destined to spawn a limited run production version within the next year, will be joined by a V8 Vantage GT4 nicknamed ‘Smurf’ and three customer team V8 Vantages bringing the Aston Martin presence in the race to a total of six cars.
Aston Martin Cuts Back Production of Rapide Due to Poor Sales
Seems like the recession isn’t hitting just common people, but is also affecting the market for $200,000-plus supercars. One such example is the Rapide, Aston Martin’s sports sedan, whose sales are falling way off initial expectations. According to media reports, the British carmaker is cutting back production of the Rapide to 25 cars per week, which translates to 1,250 per year, or 750 less than initial estimates.
Take into consideration that Aston Martin’s total annual production hovers around the 8,000 mark, and you can easily understand how the Rapide’s poor sales are affecting the British manufacturer.
Maybe that’s why, earlier this year, Aston Martin announced that it is moving production of the Rapide from the Magna Steyer facility to its own plant in Gaydon, where most of its models are manufactured.
Perhaps the rumored Rapide S will help the model achieve its goals –or it may just be that even four-door supercar buyers are content with much cheaper alternatives such as the Porsche Panamera, the Mercedes-Benz CLS and Maserati’s Quattroporte.
Mercedes-Benz’s Parent Company Nearing a Decision on the Fate of Maybach
It’s no secret that for quite some time now, Mercedes-Benz’s parent company Daimler has just about had it with Maybach and is looking to either shut down the über luxury car brand and call it a day or partner up with British sports carmaker Aston Martin on the development of a new model. According to a report from Autoweek, the time has come for the German carmaker to make a final decision with the fate of Maybach to be decided by July 1. At a recent press event in Stuttgart, Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche told journalist that "there is a higher likelihood to come to a positive decision" for Maybach if the company can find a partner. Up until now, the only automaker that has showed interest in working with Daimler on Maybach is Aston Martin.
A potential tie-up could lead to the two companies sharing certain development costs and possibly utilize Aston Martin’s production facilities in Gaydon, England. The British carmaker could in turn gain access to Mercedes-Benz and AMG’s parts bin for its cars.
Daimler revived the Maybach nameplate in 2002 with the company aiming to sell around 1,500 cars annually. However, sales were disappointing with Maybach delivering a mere 200 cars worldwide in 2009 and only around 160 last year.
Aston Martin to Move Production of Rapide from Austria to the UK
For the past two years, Aston Martin has been manufacturing the Rapide at Magna Steyr’s facilities in Austria, but that’s about to change soon as today, the British automaker announced that it will move production of the four-door sports saloon to the company’s Gaydon headquarters in Warwickshire, UK. The company said the necessary upgrades at its Gaydon headquarters for Rapide will begin immediately with a view to begin production of the Rapide in the second half of 2012. Aston Martin had appointed Magna Steyr as a partner to build the Rapide at its factory in Austria in 2008 with the first pre-production models rolling off the assembly line in the fourth quarter of 2009 before the luxury saloon reached full production in 2010.
“In 2008 we had facility restrictions at Gaydon which indicated that production of Rapide at Gaydon would likely compromise production of our other cars,” said Aston Martin Chief Executive, Dr Ulrich Bez. “We were not prepared to do this.”
“Now, three years on things are very different – Gaydon is more established, more flexible and more efficient. While our overall volume has not changed significantly, we now produce a far richer model mix – eight model lines (plus five variants) compared to three model lines (plus two variants) in 2008 – so Rapide production is now possible,” Bez concluded.
Bloomberg’s Adam Haynes on the Aston Martin Cygnet
You can’t spell, “Cygnet” without, “cynical marketing ploy”. The Toyota iQ-derived
Most of our readers will know by now that the Cygnet exists purely to counteract the 120 grams of CO2 per kilogram EU carbon restrictions to be introduced in 2012. With a combined CO2 g/km rating of 400, Aston Martin’s current fleet of high performance vehicles could never match this.Company Design Director Marek Reichman justifies the Cygnet thusly:
“In cities, there’s less and less space on the road; less and less space to park. And the world is a changing world and I think as a brand if you don’t start to change and move with the times then there’s a fear that you get left behind and you become static.”
A statement that jokingly makes me worry that Aston Martin’s next move will be to start rebadging the Toyota Avensis as a Lagonda… Cygnet Brand Manager Andy Haslam is a little less pessimistic:
“We can continue to build sports cars and we continue to improve them. What Cygnet allows us to do is not have to compromise how we want to build our sports cars.”
The £30,995 1.3 L hatch, which sells for more than twice the price of a range-topping Toyota iQ, will be limited to 1,500 units a year. Some 400 advanced orders have been placed at the time of writing. Unconfirmed rumors (mainly spread by yours truly) of a Ferrari-badged Fiat 500 or Maybach-badged Smart ForTwo continue unabated.
You can check out Bloomberg’s video below and leave your thoughts in the comments section.
Aston Martin V12 Zagato is the Winner of this Year’s Concorso d’Eleganza Design Award
The world premiere of the new Aston Martin V12 Zagato, which took place at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2011 this past weekend on the shores of Lake Como in Italy, was marked by the design award for Concept Cars and Prototypes. The conceptual model, which was created to celebrate the Aston Martin and Zagato partnership in the 50th anniversary year of the famous DB4GT Zagato, won the approval of the visitors to the Concorso D’Eleganza event.
The competition in the Concept Cars and Prototypes category included BMW’s new 328 Homage Roadster, the Ferrari Superamerica 45, Audi Quattro, Mercedes CLS Shooting Brake, Infiniti Etherea, Italdesign VW GO!, Rinspeed Bamboo, Renault DeZir and the Scuderia P4/5. The concept model’s next appearance will be on the tarmac at the Nürburgring 24 hour race in June where Aston Martin CEO, Dr. Ulrich Bez will lead a team of drivers that will compete in two specially developed examples of the V12 Zagato. A production version of the car is also in the cards.
“Based on the reactions of our customers to this race car, we hope to offer a road-homologated V12 Zagato in a small, limited number as soon as possible,” said Dr. Ulrich Bez.
The other winners of the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2011 were a 1968 Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale, which was awarded the Trofeo BMW Group, and with it “best of show” honors, while the Coppa d’Oro prize decided by public referendum went to an Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS from 1942. For the first time ever, the organizers also gave an award for the best motorcycle that went to an American Pierce Four from 1910.
Aston Martin V12 Zagato: Italian Elegance Meets British Brute Force
Some companies really know how to celebrate. Take AstonMartin and Zagato, for example. The iconic British sports car maker and the legendary Italian coachbuilder will mark the 50th anniversary of their first collaboration with a brand new study.
To honor their first joint project, the 1961 DB4GT Zagato, the two companies developed the Aston Martin V12 Zagato, a race car study that will be unveiled on May 21 at the Villa D'Este Concorsod'Eleganza in Italy, where it will compete against the Ferrari Superamerica 45. But this elegant and dramatic coupe was not built for classy Concours d'Elegance events alone, as it will actually race at the Nurburgring 24 Hour event on June 25-26.The car's design draws inspiration from older classics such as the DB4GT Zagato, V8 Vantage Zagato and DB7 Zagato. Based on the high-performance V12 Vantage, the V12 Zagato features an impressively sculpted bodywork, combining Italian elegance with British force.
"The V12 Zagato is an elegant yet brutal design which reflects the great balance between race performance and pure Aston Martin style,” said Aston Martin director of design Marek Reichmann. “The original DB4GT Zagato was a true icon, powerful and graceful; the new design is a true representation of the spirit of DB4GT Zagato," he added.
Work on the project started in 2010, with the aluminum body being hand-crafted, in true coachbuilder's style. Each front wing alone contains seven separate pieces of aluminum, combined and hand-finished to obtain one flowing form. Elements like the traditional Zagato double bubble inclined roof, the dramatic air scoops in the front fenders, the recessed taillights and the sweptback rear end give the V12 Zagato an aggressive yet very distinctive look.
The endurance race car features a 6.0-liter V12 engine that produces 517 horsepower and 570 Nm (420 lb-ft) of torque, just like the V12 Vantage it's based on. However, weight reduction measures make it faster than the roadgoing version. It should sprint from 0 to 100 km/h (96 mph) in under 4 seconds. Aston Martin will field two cars at the Nurburgring 24 hour race but the really good news is the company will build a limited edition version for the road as well.
“Matching the technology of the age with the traditional skills vital to deliver such a bespoke and exclusive sports car will lead to a strictly limited run of road going V12 Zagatos,” said Ulrich Bez, Aston Martin CEO.
Aston Martin to Auction Ulrich Bez’s Rapide for Japan
In a goodwill gesture towards the people of Japan, Aston Martin boss Dr. Ulrich Bez will auction his company Rapide sports sedan at this year’s annual Bonhams event at Newport Pagnell, with all proceeds from the sale to benefit charities providing aid to the victims of the recent earthquakes and Tsunami. The Bonhams auction house said that in support of this initiative, it would waive its commission the Rapide sale that will take place in Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, on Saturday May 21. Commenting on the decision, the British firm’s CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez said:
“Nobody could have failed to be moved by the recent events in Japan and we at Aston Martin are no exception. After many years presence in the market and closer ties being forged with the Japanese automotive business in recent projects, we have many friends in the region and we wanted to do something to help.”
“I hope this superb car will raise a substantial amount to help make a difference,” Bez added.
The Rapide with the chassis number ‘F00039’ is a UK specification, right hand drive model built in late 2009 for the exclusive business use of Dr Ulrich Bez, who was became CEO of Aston Martin in 2000. The sports saloon comes in a Concours Blue exterior hue, while the interior is dressed in Obsidian Black leather stitched in Falcon Grey. Other features include the heated and cooled front and rear seats, an integrated garage door opener and a rear seat entertainment system incorporating a twin-screen DVD system and infrared headphones.Aston Martin Enters Indian Market, Opens its First Dealership in Mumbai
British sports car-maker Aston Martin announced its first foray into India’s booming luxury market on Friday with the opening of its first dealership in the country located in the city of Mumbai. India’s car market posted sales of 1.87 million units in 2010 recording an impressive 25 percent increase over the previous year. More importantly for brands like Aston Martin, the premium car sector grew by a staggering 70 percent last year. Aston Martin’s Chief Commercial Officer, Michael van der Sande said, “India represents a new opportunity for us and as part of our programme of growing the reach of the global Aston Martin dealership network; this expansion brings our brand to a different audience in a new market.”
The open its first showroom and after-sales facilities in India, Aston Martin tied up with Performance Cars (a division of Infinity Cars Pvt. Ltd.). The company also plans to open a second dealership in New Delhi in the near future.
Deep-pocketed customers in India will be able to view and test-drive selected models from the entire range of V8 Vantage Coupe and Roadster, V12 Vantage, DB9 Coupe and Volante, DBS Coupe and Volante and the Rapide four-door sports saloon. These models will be joined by the recently launched V8 Vantage S and the new Virage.
With the opening of the Aston Martin Mumbai showroom, the British company’s global dealership network reaches a total of 134 dealers in 42 countries. Aston Martin recently entered into Brazil, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Taiwan and Turkey, while it continues to seek growth in new and emerging markets including China and the Middle East.
Earlier this month, Maserati also announced plans to open its first Indian showroom in Mumbai later this year, which will be followed by a second dealership in New Delhi in early 2012, and five more showrooms throughout the country by 2015.
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