Duo completes 10,000-mile safety-themed trek in Aston Martin
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The two Brits who embarked on a journey to cross the entire Asian Highway road network in an Aston Martin V-8 Vantage completed their trip yesterday, having crossed 10,000 miles between Tokyo and London. The object of the epic drive was to raise awareness for road safety, pointing to shocking statistics regarding deaths and injuries on the world's roads.
Beginning June 25, Richard Meredith and Phil Colley left Japan on the 49-day trip that saw them pass through 18 different countries, including Kazakhstan, Georgia, Turkey, Serbia, Croatia, and Germany. The Aston Martin was a development model on loan from the factory that had already surpassed the 100,000 mile mark, but despite the heavy miles, proved more than up to the task. Aston Martin CEO, Dr. Ulrich Bez (pictured at center with the Meredith and Colley), has announced the car will be auctioned shortly, with proceeds benefiting the UNICEF China fund.
It is estimated that 150,000 deaths occurred on the world's roads in the time it took the duo to complete their trip. The UN and World Bank estimate that at least 440,000 are killed and 30 million are injured on Asian roads each year, and that by 2020, two-thirds of the world's road deaths may occur on Asian roads due to the growth of the automotive industry.
An approximate 1.2 million people are killed on roads across the world each year, amounting to over 3,000 deaths per day. More information on road safety can be found at www.makeroadssafe.org.
Aston Martin to unveil production DBS at Pebble
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Few places serve as a better backdrop for the launch of a new supercar than the famous Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, so it should come as no surprise that Aston Martin will launch the DBS this weekend in Monterey.
The 6.0-liter V-12-powered DBS boasts 510 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque neatly wrapped in a 3637-pound package that sprints from 0-62 in just 4.3 seconds with a top speed of 191 mph. It's scheduled to go on sale in the early months of 2008.
We drove a preproduction DBS earlier this year and although the numbers have changed slightly -- weight is up, power is down -- the spirit of the car remains the same. Aston CEO Ulrich Bez summed the DBS up as "brutal, but dressed in a black tie."
Aston Martin bringing special edition models to Frankfurt
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In addition to its much-anticipated DBS, Aston Martin will be unveiling a pair of special edition models next week at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The vehicles celebrate the automaker's recent on-track success at LeMans and the Nurburging.
First up is a tarted-up DB9 called the DB9 LM -- LM standing simply for Le Mans. Produced as a commemoration of Aston Martin's victory in the GT1 class in June at the 24 hours of Le Mans, the DB9 LM is offered in coupe form with Aston's "Touchtronic" automatic transmission the only gearbox choice.
Mechanically, the DB9 LM is unchanged from the standard model, but features a number of unique cosmetic touches including the Sarthe Silver finish accented by Magnum Silver meshes and rear crossbar and red brake calipers. Inside is black leather upholstery with perforated leather inserts, "Tertre Rouge" facia trim, and a numbered sill plaque. The DB9 LM also comes standard with the DB9 Sport Pack and features color keyed, diamond turned alloy wheels.
Second is the V8 Vantage N400, which celebrates the automaker's achievements in the ADAC 24 hours held at the Nurburgring with the V8 Vantage N24 production car. The Vantage N400 features a massaged version of the 4.3-liter V-8 that now makes -- you guessed it -- 400 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque that reportedly has the car breaking the eight minute mark around the famous Nurburgring Norschleife circuit. A new Sport Pack adds lightweight aluminum wheels, stiffer springs and dampers, and a new sway bar for the coupe. It can be had with both a manual and automatic transmission in both coupe and roadster body styles.
The N400 is available in three exterior colors -- Bergwerk Black, Ligthning Silver, and Karussell Orange -- and features revised side sills, Magnum silver hood and gill meshes, clear taillight lenses, and a bright finish grille. Inside there is black upholstery and alloy trim that can be had with the same wide range of options available on the Vantage, including navigation, HID headlights, premium audio system, cruise control, and heated seats.
Pricing for both cars will be announced next week at the show. Stay tuned to MotorTrend.com all next week for the latest from Frankfurt.
Aston Martin's Crashin' Statement
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This alarming photo is apropos of nothing, but it's such a mind blower, I had to share it with you. It's the very same Aston Martin DBS mule that James Bond balled up so effectively in his last film, "Casino Royale."
Aston has returned as 007 car supplier of choice in Pierce Brosnan's final Bond flick, "Die Another Day," and reupped "Casino." This is one of Aston Martin chief Ulrich Bez's personal pet projects, and I suspect the company will provide cars for Bond 22 when it begins filming in January, although that has yet to be announced or confirmed.
This car, after performing some impressive rolls while trying avoid the damsel in distress (who was hogtied and left in the middle of the road, presumably for Bond to run over while chasing the bad guys), ended up a pretty twisted piece. And it wasn't all done in the computer: I'm told it was a no-longer-needed development mule that was tossed away in the name of this scene.
Bez and several other Astonites thought the leftover hulk was an art statement in its own right -- I agree -- so they mounted the car on a plinth and actually displayed it in the lobby of a museum during an upper-crust event. Naturally, it was the subject of much conversation...and a living-room piece any one of us would probably love to have. If we had the living room for it.
Live and Let Drive: 2008 Aston Martin DBS
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Now that Bond has had his fun with the car, I have driven the new Aston Martin DBS -- and it is good. Of course, it had better be: The DBS will go for about $265,000 when it hits our shores in March.
That said, I didn't come back from rural France -- where Aston unveiled the car -- in love. Perhaps my expectations, fueled by months of hype and, of course, "Casino Royale," were too high. Maybe my mind was fogged by jet-lag. But while I fully expected to lust after the DBS, now that I've driven it I'm unmoved.
For sure, the DBS -- the most potent Aston Martin production car ever -- is a compelling piece. Imagine, if you will, a La Perla negligee that goes 191 mph. Sex revealed in aluminum and carbon fiber. That's the DBS in a nutshell. I'd like the look at lot more, though, if the sticker were, say, under $150K. For close to 300 large the DBS seems almost too distinguished, too Prince Charles in tailored Turnbull & Asser shirt. It needs a little Mick Jagger swagger. Even the stately Rolls Phantom looks like it knows how to party like Austin Powers now and then. The DBS seems sniffy and remote in comparison.
The big 5935cc V-12 is, no question, simply awesome. Stomp on the throttle and the exhaust note detonates, a bi-valve front airbox cracks wide, cams whine; before you can say "hang on!" you're into the rev limiter. The engine is 510 stallions strong but light switch-responsive and turbine smooth. Aston claims 0 to 62 mph in 4.3 seconds (and I wouldn't be surprised if our hot shoes can improve on that number). Monster torque (420 pound-feet) makes for effortless stoplight getaways; the six-speed manual box rows smoothly. Keeping the wild rush in check are gigantic Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes, six-piston calipers in front and four-piston in back, which, Aston says, improve stopping distances by 10 percent over the DB9 upon which the DBS is based.
Despite a carbon-fiber hood, decklid, and front fenders (the rest of the body is crafted in aluminum), the DBS checks in at 3750 pounds (though that's about 140 pounds less than the DB9). This is a big, heavy coupe; on the winding roads around Cahors, France, the DBS felt more "GT" than "sports car." Yet with shocks and springs 50 percent stiffer than the DB9's, the ride borders on too firm for relaxed long-distance touring. And that's in comfort mode. Switch to sport, and the adaptive Bilsteins -- which automatically switch between five different settings -- remain in their stiffest position as often as the chassis computer's ride/handling algorithm allows. In compensation, grip level is quite high. In most turns, you'll run out of nerve before the P Zeroes have even begun to speak up.
You have to wonder about the little things: The test car's nav display flickered like an old Philco, and the elaborate steel-and-sapphire "Emotion Control Unit" (a.k.a., the key), which glides into the dash accompanied by a theatrical red glow, seems tailor-made for troubles. Or how about this, 007: Optional is a limited-edition Jaeger LeCoultre AMVOX2 chronograph watch with a built-in electronic transponder; it locks and unlocks the car without a key (when in range). Very nice, Q, but the price is a tad steep: $35,000.
No doubt Aston will quickly move every one of the 500-700 DBS examples it builds this model year (about a third are headed to the U.S.). After all, there's much to like about this newest, fastest Aston Martin coupe. If I were spending $250-$300K on a sporting car, though, I'd unhesitatingly opt for the Ferrari 599 GTB -- which is far quicker, handles better, and radiates that all-important "sizzle" the buttoned-down DBS seems to lack.
Decisions, decisions. Too bad we don't all have such troubles.
