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Tag: Aston Martin

  • Aston Martin’s New V12 Vantage

    Aston Martin’s New V12 Vantage

    Aston Martin, purveyors of the auto I’d most like to have sex with, have decided to take their oh-so-delicious Vantage and add 4 more cylinders. The New 6.0 V12 pumps out 510 horsepower and 420ft/lbs of torque and utilizes a Carbon Fiber Driveshaft mounted to a 6-speed manual gearbox.

    With all that grunt from the new motor, Aston didn’t slack and gave the new Vantage some real stopping power. This sex kitten on four wheels gets 6-piston calipers clamping down onto a massive 398mm carbon ceramic disk for the front, and 4-piston calipers gripping onto 360mm rotors in the rear.

    The wheels are something serious here and are staggered like crazy. The front wheels measure 19×9 inches, wrapped in 255/35 Pirelli P Zero Corsas and the rears are a wide 19×11 with 295/30’s putting it to the ground.

    Continuing with the exterior, the 6 liter monster gets all new front and rear bumpers, front splitter, sills, rear diffuser, hood and trunklid as to not be confused with its lower powered sibling.

    Inside, Carbon-kevlar seats, personalized sill plates, premium 700w audio system, and carbon fiber door pulls are optional. Carbon fiber is used in the hood vents and diffuser to try to reduce some of the load of the new motor.

    Aston Martin hasn’t released pricing info yet, but expect a pretty hefty sum. Grab ’em quick, because they only plan on Producing 1000 of these V12 powered monsters. I’ve always had a soft spot for these machines, and this one only makes that stronger.

  • National Speed's Favorite Bond Cars

    You know the name, you know the number. In what is cinema’s longest running and arguably most loved franchise, James Bond has become synonymous with high-octane adventure, gorgeous women, and exotic cars. Ever since Sean Connery ripped up the road with his modified 1963 Aston Martin DB5 in Goldfinger, automotive enthusiasts have been foaming at the mouth to see what the British super spy will be driving next. In anticipation of the upcoming awkwardly titled Bond adventure, Quantum of Solace, National Speed has compiled a list of its favorite Bond cars for your eyes only.

    5) 1971 Ford Mustang Mach-1 from Diamonds are Forever. Driven by Sean Connery in a chase through the Vegas Strip, the Mach-1 was the first vehicle to ever be filmed doing the “driving on only two wheels” stunt. Now everybody drives their cars like that (my mom goes to the grocery store on two wheels just for kicks) but remember Bond did it first, and nobody does it better.

    4) 2002 Aston Martin Vanquish from Die Another Day. While it may be featured in the worst Bond movie since Moonraker, the Aston Martin Vanquish is an amazing car deserving of a better Bond than Pierce Brosnan. Capable of turning invisible, flipping upside down, and launching rockets (in the movie of course), the Vanquish was a fitting automobile to celebrate Bond’s 20th cinematic outing.

    3) 1977 Lotus Espirit from The Spy Who Loved Me. Why stick to the roads when you can drive underwater? In one of the best chase sequences in Bond history, Roger Moore outruns a group of really bad guys by driving his white Lotus Espirit into the water, which then turns into a heavily armed submarine. What I wouldn’t give to be able to do that during Hurricane evacuation traffic in Wilmington.

    2) 1979 Gondola from Moonraker. Anybody can drive a car, but it takes a highly trained super spy to drive a Gondola. Featured in Roger Moore’s embarrassing Moonraker, Bond rampages through the streets of some exotic country I’m too lazy to wiki in a seemingly innocuous Gondola. However, this is James Bond we’re talking about, so of course the seemingly innocuous Gondola transforms into a hovercraft. Ridiculous? Of course. Would we want to drive one? Absolutely.

    1) 1963 Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger. Sure, it’s the obvious choice, but that’s because it’s the only choice. Anyone that doesn’t think this is one of the most beautiful cars on the planet obviously left their brain in their other pants (I’m not sure what that means but it sounded good). Not only does the DB5 come stock with 282 bhp, you also have the option of installing an oil slick, tire shredders, dual front mounted machine guns, and the infamous ejector seat. Quite possibly the coolest car ever made.