Supercar Sightings: Aston Martin Rapide

As a bonafide “automotive journalist”, I often find myself dreaming about luxury cars I would love to have parked up in my garage. From 2011 models only, these currently include the Fezza 458 Italia, Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera and the 2011 Ariel Atom for a nifty track day.
But for an outing with the lads or a nice cruise through the English countryside, there is no vehicle I would like to drive more than the Aston Martin Rapide. So I was naturally excited to see my first Rapide in the flesh on a busy day in Central London.

Make no mistake, this thing is a piece of art. With a hand-crafted engine from Gaydon, this AM comes equipped with an all alloy quad overhead cam 48 valve 5935cc V12 engine. That’s certainly a mouthful to say to any car novice but needless to say the setup produces 470 horsepower at a lofty 6000 rpm with a noise that is sure to excite any passer-by. So there is literally no need to get messy, the Rapide has as standard a “Touchtronic 2″ six-speed gearbox with an electronic shift-by-wire control system. Again, that’s too much information, but all you need to know is that flicking the magnesium paddle shifters will help you achieve the ridiculous speeds this 4-door car shouldn’t be capable of.

According to Chief Executive Ulrich Bez, there now exists an Aston Martin for every different segment of the (extremely wealthy) market and this Rapide fills the gap for the typical 2+2 modern family. Except from what we’ve heard, the rear seats really are reserved for the plus 2′s as headroom and leg space is limited. But no worry, with side angle looks like the image above (which is a little blurry I apologise) you will always be riding in style and ready to turn heads no matter where you are.

What I did find quite amazing was the fact that when I first strolled up to the car from the front, I knew it was a different AM from those seen earlier in my life, but it still seemed to have the normal Martin dimensions. At an extremely quick glance I might have mistaken it for a DBS with the menacing grille and air intakes on top of the hood. Walking round the car you do notice the two extra doors, but you also realise how beautifully they have been added to the overall design – this car truly is something and I can’t wait to see my next one. Maybe I’ll even be able to get inside.

A Study Of Opposites At A Stoplight

I pulled up to the 4-way intersection as I headed towards the highway, and I noticed something. A strange sense of something interesting. I looked over to my left, and realized the silver compact hatchback in the turning lane was actually a Chevy Volt, not a Saturn Astra or a VW Golf like you might think at first glance.

It’s the first time I’ve seen a Volt in person, and I was pleasantly surprised. In real life, it’s a hunkered-down low slung looking thing, without the normal reek of hybrid dullness about it. Great looking car. And considering the relative importance of the Volt in the scheme of things, that would be a good enough spotting for me for one day. But let’s zoom the frame out a bit here.

Hmm… A highway on-ramp, a Toyota Minivan for the local Toyota dealer, a stoplight, a… wait. A Cateram 7?

Now that’s not something you see every day! I don’t know if this is a Cateram, Doonkervort, Birkin, Dax, or any of the other 14 million different Lotus 7 clones, but regardless, seeing a Seven on the streets in Raleigh NC (of all places!) is pretty damn strange. Seeing one at the same light as a Chevy Volt is even stranger. Really, how different can two cars get?

On the one hand, you’ve got the Volt, which is so packed full of batteries and computers and electric motors and pistons and seat heaters and computer screens and plugs and gas tanks and probably one of those nefarious “black boxes.” On the other side, you’ve got a 7. Which has… an engine! Some wheels! Slabs of metal to keep water from the front tires off your face! A roof you can put up, if you really feel like it! I feel like two cars can’t get much more different than a Volt and a 7. And to see both of them… at one stoplight… in Raleigh. Unusual to say the least.

Which would I rather have? The 7, of course. This is CarThrottle, not Gizmodo. Sevens stand for everything that is righteous and awesome about sports cars, a design so good it’s been in production basically unchanged since the late 50′s. Light is still the easiest way to go fast. And I’d imagine that by the time the Volt is out of date and out of production, they’ll still be making 7′s, because people will still want them.

(Ed’s note: sorry for the low resolution and general crappiness of these photos. Still, Camera Phones are getting better!)

The Sound Of A Spinning Dorito

Everything I know about rotary engines can be summed up in one sarcastic sentence: “Hey, communism worked in theory too.” That might be oversimplifying things: we can also add “boost goes in, apex seals come out” to the list while we’re at it. It’s safe to say that Felix Wankel’s invention never really achieved the widespread popularity some originally thought it would, but it can’t be said that the rotary doesn’t have it’s loyalists. Rotarys may be torqueless, thirsty, failure-prone, and oil-slurping emissions monsters, but they do sort of dominate on the racetrack.

This post isn’t going to be a “how the hell does a Rotary work, anyway” post -- there’s Wikipedia for that. (Although ask and you shall receive, if there’s any interest in such an article.) One of the greatest things about these engines is the sound an uncorked Rotary makes when it’s being wrung out. So sit back and enjoy the dulcet tones of the Dorito Spinner, one of the oddest engines ever to find it’s way into a production car.

This first video is an RX-7 so far from stock, it should probably be called an RX-10.5. It’s actually got a 3 rotor engine (the 12a/13b were 2-rotors) made up of RX4/5 parts as well as a big T04B boosting at 20psi. This one looks extremely rapid.

Another triple-rotor RX-7 here, this one a third-generation (FD3S) with a Eunos Cosmo 20b 3-rotor boosted to kingdom come. The sound this car makes on boost is just nuts. Notice the welded differential in the back, too? Hardcore.

A 13b (2-rotor) 3rd gen RX7 drag racing in Trinidad(!) The legend of the spinning Dorito has reached far beyond Hiroshima, it seems. This thing takes off like it just got rear-ended by a dump truck. Insane.

I have to assume that when the apocalypse comes, it’s going to sound a little like this. Oh lord. 7 second drag rotary is an impressive sight indeed. This one’s another triple-rotor 20B in an FD chassis RX-7. How much power? Probably a gazillion.

Rotaries are so light and can make so much power they manage to find their way into all sorts of race cars they were never intended to. For instance, how about this 9-second Datsun 510 Wagon?

Ahh, a humble VW Beetle. Little air-cooled flat four, 50 horsepower, the People’s Car… wait, no, drag monster with a turbo 13b in the back, pulling a wheelie on the bars halfway down the track. That’s more like it.

The Datsun 1200: Datsun’s competitor for the Toyota Corolla back in the 70′s. A cute little coupe with a 1200cc pushrod 4, the original couldn’t really punch its way through a wet paper bag. This one’s been augmented with… yup, a turbo 13b rotary engine. It’s starting to seem like everything is better with a little rotary under the hood.

If 2 rotors is good (13b), and 3 rotors is better (20b), then a naturally-aspirated 4-rotor in an RX8 sucking in air through 4 individual throttle bodies is the best. Right? Right.

I’m not the first person to point this out, but a Japanese car has only won LeMans once, and it was powered by a rotary. The 787B’s 4-rotor 26B engine put out 930 horsepower (naturally aspirated!) in qualifying trim, and 700 or so in competition trim. If that’s not a rotary sound to end a post on, I don’t know what is. What else would you suggest?

Porsche Does The Electric Slide

Hybrids. Blech. Sick of hearin’ about em. I don’t know if you are too. Electric motors, like CVT’s, don’t do a whole lot for me. I like gasoline engines, the sound of a working valvetrain, the ticking of injectors, the blare of quad exhaust pipes on the back of a Carrera S as it pulls off of a stoplight. I doubt Porsche really likes hybrids either, which is why it’s been doing them it’s own way. In the past few days, details have snuck out regarding two Porsches with electric motors, and both are interesting from an enthusiast perspective.

First up is the Boxster E. Oh, lord – an Electric Boxster? That’s just what we need. Take the flat six out of the world’s most balanced, neutral automotive chassis and shove in a DC Brushless and some batteries, then let me go take a nap. Actually, don’t hang yourself yet! First of all, there are only three of them, and they’re prototypes, not production vehicles. Porsche is using these Boxster E prototypes to evaluate an all-electric powertrain, and they’ll be rolling around Stuttgart accumulating miles and data. Not a whole lot has been said about the technical specifications, besides the fact they use two electric motors that combine to make 180kW (241bhp) and are powered by a 29KwH battery pack, which is pretty strong. Performance should be similar on the low end to a regular Boxster, but all they’ve given us is a German-language press release and a picture of this vinyl-slathered Boxster, so stay tuned.

More important to consumers who want to buy a car, is the new Panamera S Hybrid. While on paper this combines two of my least favorite things (the Panamera, and Hybrids), the technical specifications are pretty impressive. Under the hood is Audi’s 3.0L supercharged V6 (used in the S4, A6, Q7, etc as well as the Cayenne Hybrid) with 333bhp. This is mated to an electric motor producing 47bhp, for a total of 380bhp. The electric range is about 2km on electric power only, at speeds up to 53mph, although the Panamera S hybrid can be propelled by either or both. The electric motor also acts as the starter for the gas engine as well as a generator (instead of an alternator) for the electrical system.

All that power is sent to the rear wheels through an 8-speed automatic transmission, and both performance and fuel economy figures are eye-opening. The Panamera S Hybrid will hit 60mph in 5.8 seconds, with a top speed of 168 – hardly a Prius. Fuel-economy figures depend on whether or not the car is fitted with the optional Michelin low-rolling-resistance tires (which seems like an awful idea, honestly) – an average of 33.1mpg on the US with standard tires, or 34.6 with the Michelins. Coincidentally, that makes it the most efficient Porsche ever made – which is like saying you’re the sexiest spelling-bee champion ever, but alright.

Are having crappy, squalling tires on your Porsche worth 1.5mpg? Probably not. Especially when you consider the Panamera’s pricetag: in Europe, where it goes on sale in June of this year, you can pick one up from €106,185. When it goes on sale in the US, it’ll be priced right around $95,000 minus destination fees. The S Hybrid will include adaptive air suspension with PASM, as well as a hybrid-specific display that will monitor system states. Consider though, that the Lexus LS600hL is about $20k more expensive than the Panamera Hybrid S, is significantly more complicated (5.0L V8, complex gear-based CVT, AWD) and doesn’t return nearly as good gas mileage. And let’s not even talk about Mercedes’ oddly-position S400 Hybrid, which is a bit of a snail (0-60 in 7.2 seconds) and can easily top $100k with options. Will the S Hybrid be a big seller? Time will tell. In the mean time, look out for more details and pictures as we approach the Geneva show, where Porsche will be debuting the big hybrid sedan.

Not Your Usual Civic Hatchback

Ahh, the 90′s Civic hatchback: dime a dozen, get ‘em while they’re hot. I know you wanted to pick a flavor, but I hope you like vanilla, ’cause that’s what you’ll get. Right? Now, normally when you look under the hood of an EG-chassis Civic (92-95), you see one these: a D15.

Boring. On a good day, a single-cam D15 16v PGM-FI motor will make 110 or so horsepower. Which is perfectly adequate for a 2,400lb commuter car, and it’ll deliver 40+ MPG on the highway all day long. But if you want to go fast in your Civic Hatch, you’re going to need a bigger motor. How about one that doesn’t even fit under the hood?

Wait, WHAT? No, this photo isn’t photoshopped. That’s an Acura TL engine poking out of an EG Hatch’s hood. What?

I ran into the gentleman that owns this Franken-Honda at my local gas station while I was filling up my car, and I had a moment of cognitive dissonance when I saw the cam covers poking out of the hood. I went up to talk to the owner, who was an older gentleman named Marsh about the car.

The swap was done using a billet-aluminum motor mount kit from noted Honda tuners Hasport, who makes “swap kits” for putting most any sideways Honda motor into most any other sideways-engined Honda. But this has gotta take the cake for plug-and-play insanity. A stock TL engine makes 270 horsepower, or about double what a stock VTEC-equipped D-series I4 does. He pointed to the front tires, which were down to bare cords, and said “it’s a bit hard on the tires, though.” Well, I’d imagine so.

The Franken-Honda continues inside, where this EG sports an entire gauge cluster from a 3.2 CL Type-S Coupe, as well as the shifter. A bagless Momo wheel and some AFR and EGT gauges occupy the A-pillar, but otherwise it’s standard Honda in there.

As far as mods to the engine go, it looks like it’s got a set of stainless headers, a short-ram intake, and some silicone coolant hoses, but really- how much do you need to do to a TL engine in an EG to make it fast?

What’s funny is the relatively ricer-level quality of the rest of the stuff done to the car. The 18″ Motegi wheels are gaudy and probably weigh a metric ton, the clear taillights are just plain abominable, and there’s a big damn hole cut in the bumper for some reason. But when you’ve got a TL V6 in your Civic, I suppose we’ll afford you some ricer liberties. I mean, it’s not like it’s Ivan The Terrible’s Civic Type ARRRR.

It’s surprisingly quiet, too -- although I guess not that surprising considering the car that donated it’s engine to this swap was designed for ferrying around real estate agents and their clients. What crazy engine swaps have you seen? Did any of them make you drop your jaw like this one? Leave a comment for us below!

1992 Mercedes-Benz W140 S Class Review: The Invincible Sedan

If you aren’t aware it’s 2011 and just like every other year we get one year older. Of course, being mortal when we get older you find your body changing over time. You find hair growing out of your ear lobes, you find aches in places where it has never ached before a year ago and your bones creak slightly more than usual. All of these mentioned above will happen to you, unless you’re not human. However, if you’re a car, especially a W140 series Mercedes Benz S-class, you could probably go on forever.

Designed to be the best car in the world, it actually is, or was. First sold in 1991 the W140 Mercedes Benz S-class cost Mercedes Benz about $1billion to develop and had tons of innovation built into it. It was the first production car that had double glazed glass for the windows, power assisted closing for the doors and boot lid (on higher specced models), electric windows that will stop and lower itself if it detected your hands and objects in its way, an electric powered adjustable rear view mirror (so that the ultra lazy can just move their wrist to adjust it) and other incredible sounding gadgetry at the time. Some of these items had filtered to lower Mercedes Benzes and introduced into cars from other manufacturers. It was one, if not the last, over-engineered Mercedes Benz made and it basically cost 25 percent more than the outgoing W126 model because of this. Everything in the W140 felt good to the touch and also felt like it could go on forever.

The car in question that I drove was a black 1992 300SE. This was the base model in the line-up which went up all the way to the V8 500SEL and the V12 600SEL. This was pre-1994, before Mercedes Benz changed the way it named their cars – the S-classes became the S280 or S500L instead of using the ‘SE’ or ‘SEL’ moniker. It had a 2.8liter straight 6 engine that made 190bhp and about 199lb/ft (270Nm) of torque. Adequate for a barge that weighed in at about 1,880kg (for this base model). Unfortunately, due to the weight of the car, you only get 100/bhp per ton, hence the 0-60mph time of about 10.5 seconds. Not very CarThrottle, but what’s very CarThrottle about this car is that it makes the chore of driving a barge easier than you think possible in every location. With the exception of small, tight backlanes.

This car may be almost 20 years old and in car years, being 20 means you’re almost 50. In most 20 year old cars you will find a lack of refinement and a lack of performance in them. If you had a ride in a 20 year old Toyota Camry you may be grinding your teeth and you would hear squeaks rattles and clunks throughout your drive. There are some old Camrys which would still be nice to drive, but these are rare, few and far between. Not to mention utterly dull to drive. But try hop into any Mercedes Benz W140 and you’d be surprised by how much of a sense of occasion a car like this car give you. That three-pointed star up front does this to you.

The leather seats feel good, the driving position isn’t tiring at all. Half a day of dealing with city traffic and I popped out of the car feeling strangely fresh as when I hopped in the car in the morning. I also remember a few of us driving 400 kilometers in one and none of us felt knackered. It is this long legged ability and the high level of refinement of this old Mercedes that makes it worthy of a CarThrottle article.

And it surprisingly handles in an inert sort of way (blame it on that recirculating ball type steering system), slightly feel-less brakes and a typical Mercedes throttle pedal. It isn’t a small car as even this short wheelbase car seems to have tons of space at the rear. It is actually Rolls Royce Silver Spirit huge if you want a comparison of size. But it would still do a U-turn at a busy street junction with such verve that could embarrass smaller cars and it could also be hustled down a tight mountain road if you want to but you actually won’t. I tried giving it more boot than usual around one of the highways but somehow, I seemed to settle into a serene, hushed trot at about 70mph. I suppose this is what stress-feel motoring is all about.

Now being a typical Mercedes from the 1990s it will tell you that it’s understeering very early into a corner. So you have to actually adjust your driving style to suit it – not the other way round. If not it would be akin to wrestling a bull (and it is bull-sized). Drive within its limits and it does its job well. I suppose you shouldn’t hustle a Mercedes S-class as it is more suited for ushering captains of the industry from one meeting to another instead of tackling the Nurburgring. You could take this W140 to the nearest Autobahn for a workout. Even this base model will hit 130mph if it had enough road to do so. It could also do a 100mph cruise all day if you wanted to. And cruising at 100mph in one feels like cruising at half the speed. Such is the refinement of the W140 S-class that you could do this 20 years on without any problems. In fact, if you sat in the later W210 S-class that came after this model you would be hard pressed to differentiate the ride quality and quietness of the cars.

Did I encounter any problems with this car? No. None whatsoever. The individual air-conditioning controls still worked perfectly in this car, the car’s original 6 cylinder engine still sounded sweet (with only a top or cylinder head overhaul to its name). Most of the electrics basically worked fine and there were no sounds of creaks or squeaks aside from the usual leathery squeaks. The 4 speed automatic (pre-1994 models mostly came in the more basic gearbox) worked decently well too.

I suppose the best things about cars like these is that they are now dirt cheap with prices of between a thousand or so pounds to about three thousand pounds for this base 300SE model and you could even get the fully loaded S500 versions for about the same amount (depending on condition of course). Parts may be pricey as it is an S-class – and spare parts for these cars were never as cheap as the smaller C or E class Mercedes. This was the best car in the world, circa 1992, and in 2011, it still drives better than some of the cars today.

205 MPH… On Ice!

Back in the 80′s, 200 miles an hour was world-record territory for a road car. The F40 was the first stock production car to break the 200mph barrier, with others following after it. Those early race-derived supercars were raw, elemental thunderstorms of power and grip with little concession to human comfort.

So it’s a sign of great technical progress that a Finnish rally driver named Juha Kankkunen recently went 205mph in what is essentially a stock Bentley convertible, a leather-lined luxury rocket that’s as far from an F40′s rawness as one can possibly get. What’s so cool though? It was 205mph on ice.

I have to say, if I was going to shoot for the world speed record on ice, I’d probably get a Continental GT SuperSports too. What’s strange is he did it in a convertible supersports. With all-wheel-drive, a 621-horsepower twin-turbo W12 engine, and sophisticated ESP, the list of cars better suited to a high-speed ice run is pretty short. I’m thinking tuned Nissan GT-R, 911 Turbo S, maybe a Gallardo LP570-4 SV?

The Continental is remarkably close to stock specs, too. There’s a roll cage for safety, Pirelli snow tires for grip, and a few aero modifications to make the big Bentley more stable at high speeds -- as well as a parachute to slow down. The engine, suspension, etc is all the way it came from Crewe. The venue for this record was set on a frozen lake with 70mm thick ice in the Baltic Sea, just 4km off the coast of Finland. The final number, verified by the Finland Traffic Police and a Guiness World Records representative, was an amazing 205.48mph. The record was set on E85 BioEthanol, too -- fitting in with Bentley’s C02 policy.

Juha is no stranger to ice speed records -- he holds the previous record as well. Set in 2007 in a “regular” Continental GT Coupe, he beat his previous best of 199.83 mph thanks mostly the the extra 70-odd horsepower the SuperSports has over the standard GT. Before that, the previous record was set in 1995 by a -- get this! -- Bugatti EB110 SS, at a piddling 184mph.

Bentley says they will be releasing a limited (100 units) edition Continental GT in honor of the new record at the upcoming Geneva show, saying it’ll be the baddest, most powerful car to wear the flying B ever released. No other details, but imagining a more hardcore Bentley than the Continental SuperSports stretches the imagination! Keep an eye out for this new model around March 1st. In the mean time, high five to Juha Kankkunen, who is setting a new standard for automotive bravery.

The Sound of Classic Rally

Need a moment of zen today? Then plug in your speakers, turn it up, and just listen to it. It’s a compilation of footage from the 2011 Rallye Legend Boucles de Spa, a gathering of classic rally cars that’s a yearly occurence. Old (RWD) Escorts, stage-prepped air cooled 911′s oversteering wildly, just… just watch it. It’s beautiful.

My goodness. Feeling more in tune with your inner Chi now? Not yet? How about footage from 2010? Take two and let me know how you’re feeling later.

It’s already too late to go see the action this year (it was held Feb 18-19), but for more info on the event you can visit the organizational page at Race-Rallye.be. The language selector is at the top right! Enjoy the rally sounds on this Tuesday afternoon.

New Jaguar Previews XKR-S Before Geneva

Jaguar’s got a treat for us, coming to the Geneva show. It’s low, mean, blue, and has a lot of power. In the next episode of “Making Aston Martin’s look overpriced and slow,” Jaguar is bestowing the XKR-S upon us.

It slots above the already ridiculous XKR in Jaguar’s lineup as the performance star of the model line. Under the hood, the big cat gets upgraded from a hardly sufficient 510 horsepower and 462lb-ft of torque, up to a more robust 550bhp and 502lb-ft of torque – which makes this officially the most powerful road-going Jaguar ever made. That honor was previously held by the XJ220 supercar of the early ninties, with it’s TWR-fettled twin-turbo V6 that pushed out 542 horsepower and 472lb-ft of torque.

Jaguar doesn’t say what’s been done to increase the power, but with a direct-injected, supercharged V8 there’s always going to be more on the table. A good guess would be an ECU retune and intake/exhaust work, but full details will be released at the car’s debut at Geneva in March. They do say the XKR-S will do 0-60 in 4.2 seconds and a top speed of 186mph, which puts it up there with the Mercedes CL63 AMG, Aston Martin DB9, and Maserati GranTurismo S as far as performance goes.

The XKR-S will also get revised suspension tuning as well as aerodynamic addendum, but that’s about all Jaguar is saying at this point. The whole XKR-S is part of a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the E-Type, which has got to be the sexiest 50-year old out there these days. Stay tuned for more pictures and information as they roll in!

Aston Martin Cygnet – the intro begins

There's a promo video for the AM Cygnet featuring the sport of Parkour - Free-RunningAston Martin has released a teaser video for the AM Cygnet featuring the French Sport of Parkour through the Aston Martin factoryWhen we first reported that Aston Martin were buying in the Toyota iQ to turn it in to a ‘Mini-Me’ Aston Martin – the Aston Martin Cygnet - we were pretty sure that AM were for real, even though they did call it a Concept.

That feeling was more than affirmed a couple of weeks ago when Aston Martin released a few official pictures of the Cygnet and gave us some production targets – 2000 a year in Europe. But only sold to existing AM customers. And only to a wider market place if the Cygnet really caught a wave of popularity.

Which all made sense. The Cygnet is about giving AM a sheen of an Eco-Halo to keep the Envir-mentalists off their backs and give them a helping hand with the ridiculous CO2 targets being imposed on car makers - a couple of thousand little AM Cygnets a year would do wonders for their CO2 average. And of course they really would make great city runarounds for owners of big AMs and as AM courtesy cars.

But we have to wonder if Aston Martin are reaching much further afield for their customer base for the Cygnet straight out of the gate. They’ve released a ‘Teaser’video for the Cygnet featuring a bunch of ‘Parkour’ players – the mad French sport of ‘Free-Running where the participants bound up and over obstacles instead of around them – which is a million miles away from the normal AM video.

It suits the car. But does it give the lie to the claim that the Cygnet is aimed only at current Aston Martin owners?

Aston Martin Rapide Review – Valencia

The Aston Martin Rapide in Valencia - possiblyAston Martin are having a press launch of the Rapide this month in Valencia, giving the first opportunities to road test the new AM and offer up an Aston Martin Rapide Review.This month Aston Martin are partying in Spain. Valencia, to be exact. They’ve moved a whole platoon of Aston Martin employees to Spain for the duration of the press launch of the newest AM – the Aston Martin Rapide – and are flying in journalists and guests from the four corners of the globe to see, drive and party with the Rapide.

Sadly, Cars UK didn’t get an invite. We’re not on Aston Martin’s ‘Party’ list. But no worries. As soon as there are any cars on the road in the UK we’ll get to play. And you know what? We’ll be able to judge it much better than a relatively brief blat in Spanish winter sunshine. Which sounds like sour grapes, but it really isn’t.

Would we have gone if invited? Maybe. If we could spare anyone. It’s a good freebie for whoever goes and you get to play with a beautiful new toy ahead of the pack. And we’d have told you how the Aston Martin Rapide is still beautiful, despite being a foot longer. We’d have said the Rapide drives as well as the DB9, just slightly less responsive in the bends – but you’d have to be pushing really hard to notice.

We’d have gone on to tell you that the space in the back isn’t as commodious as an S Class or a 7 Series. But we’d have told you that doesn’t matter. You can get passengers in the back – and proper-sized ones at that – they just can’t get up and party. But we’d say that doesn’t matter, because anyone buying a Rapide wants it for an occasional need for passenger room when he/she wants to drive. The Rapide isn’t a chauffeur car; it’s a car for two couples to enjoy a drive; for a wealthy family with children; a car to be driven, not driven in.

“The Rapide isn’t a chauffeur car; it’s a car for two couples to enjoy a drive; for a wealthy family with children; a car to be driven, not driven in.”

And we’d have gone on to say we didn’t care a jot about any of what we’ve said before anyway, because the Rapide is still beautiful. And that’s enough. Certainly enough to make us question the eyesight of anyone considering a Panamera.

And how do we manage to say all this without going to the Spanish jolly? It’s our job. We know what AM set out to achieve. We’ve seen the car. And because we all have preconceptions before we drive anything a short drive – particularly in attractive surroundings – tends to reinforce preconceptions. So we’d be surprised if any of the reviews coming out of the Valencia jolly are any different to our brief – and completely concocted – Aston Martin Rapide Review here.

And just to set the record straight, we do get offers to jet off and test cars from other car makers. Do we go? Not really. As we said, it takes up lots of time and what we really want from a car maker is to bring us their new toy and leave it for a week – preferably longer. Otherwise all you get is our preconceptions – unless there is something unexpectedly outstanding or awful. You need to live with a car to know what it’s like.

Of course, if Aston Martin want to give us a Rapide for a week or two in Spain we would probably take them up on it. Especially if they want to throw in a nice villa in Javea (we know one or two that would suit) – just down the coast from Valencia. We wouldn’t even mind cattle-class Ryanair from Stansted – if we have to. June would be nice. For two.

Aston Martin One-77 – Ten cars sold to one buyer

The new Aston Martin One-77 - ten go to one customerCars UK has discovered that one Middle East customer has bought ten Aston Martin One-77s in a deal worth £15,000,000The Aston Martin One-77 is a wonderful creation (being built for Aston Martin by CPP) which is getting very close to finding its way in to customer’s hands. Aston Martin have been doing final shakedowns on the One-77 and customer cars are underway. And although we don’t yet know how many One-77s have been sold so far (did JK buy one after Salon Prive last year?) what we have discovered is that one customer has bought ten One-77s. Yes, you read that right. Ten Aston Martin One-77s.

It probably won’t surprise you to learn that the buyer is from the Middle East. ‘Bulk’ buying of motoring exotica is not all that uncommon by buyers in the Middle East, who don’t buy just for themselves but for ‘The Family’. But this is one of the biggest single buys we’ve come across.

Apparently, the buyer in question told the boys at Gaydon that he wanted ten One-77s, but they had to be delivered by September. He was told they couldn’t guarantee that as the schedule for production was set. It would seem an immediate transfer of £15 million changed their minds. As it would.

But it’s not just this guy who’s bought more than one. We know of one buyer who has ordered two: one to drive and one to be dismantled and displayed on his walls as a work of art. Which it is.

Aston Martin Rapide – the Configurator

Aston Martin has launched an online configurator for the new RapideAston Martin has launched an online configurator for the new Aston Martin Rapide where you can build your very own Rapide.Now that the Aston Martin Rapide is finally hitting the roads – and Rapide Reviews are being published - Aston Martin are moving from ‘It’s coming’ promotions to ‘It’s here – come and buy one’ marketing. So it’s no surprise that they’ve now launched and Aston Martin Rapide Configurator online where potential buyers – or in reality ‘wannabe’ Rapide owners – can go and play with the options list and build their own Rapide.

You get the usual choice of options from which to choose and can configure everything from interior and exterior colours to specifying the options you want fitted. It’s a good time-waster if you’re bored for half an hour, and if you’re anything like us you’ll be trying your best to come up with a set of options that make the Rapide hideous – just for the hell of it. But we didn’t manage that. Whatever we did the Rapide still looked beautiful.

But be warned. Aston Martin seem to have built their configurator to be used just on Internet Explorer 6 or greater. Which when you consider that IE is about the worst of the internet browsers available – although undeniably the most ubiquitous – it seems a big clanger. Why not support for Firefox or Chrome, or even Safari? Much better browsers and much more likely to render your dream Aston Martin Rapide without screwing up.

But never mind. Even if you do have to crank-up IE for the first time in months to play with the Rapide configurator it’s still worthwhile.

Bridgestone Potenza S001 – standard on 458 Italia & Rapide

The Bridgestone Potenza S001 - as fitted to the Ferrari 458 ItaliaA bit of VT of the latest tyre from Bridgestone – the Bridgestone Potenza S001 – as fitted to the Aston Martin Rapide and the Ferrari 458 Italia.I think it must be a petrol-head thing, but we love tyres. Anything from a cross-ply to the latest high-performance job is a source of fascination. Our tyre fixation this last few months has been winter tryes, and we’ve told anyone who’d listen not to rush out and buy a 4×4 when the snow hit but to invest in a decent set of winter tyres. We’re a blast at dinner parties – no question.

So when those nice guys over at Newsmarket (thanks, Dan) sent us a video of the latest Bridgestone – the Bridgestone Potenza S001 – it definitely got our attention. And when we discovered that the new Bridgestone is standard fit on the Ferrari 458 Italia, the Audi RS5 and the Aston Martin Rapide they’d definitely got us hooked.

So on the off-chance that we’re not the only tyre-fetishists on the planet we thought we’d bring you a video of the new tyre in action on the 458 Italia. The first half of the VT is Vicky B-H – which is far from unpleasant – but the second half is the tyres.

Aston Martin DBS UB 2010 – the ‘Bez’ Special

The Aston Martin DBS UB-2010 - perfect if you want a Bez-MobileAston Martin has created a special edition DBS – the Aston Martin DBS UB 2010 – to commemorate 10 years of Dr Ulrich Bez’s leadership.Special edition cars are used by car makers as a way to shift some extra metal by seemingly offering either something not normally available, or at a discount from list price if you’d specified the extras you get on the Special Edition on a standard car.

Aston Martin has played this game lately with the Limited Edition DBS Carbon Black and V12 Vantage Carbon Black, offering something extra and a bit different for more money. And now they’re offering a new Limited Edition DBS which uses the other reason for a Limited Edition Car – the anniversary. Only they’ve managed to tie in the less-used Limited Edition tool – the ‘Celeb Name’ Limited Edition.

The Aston Martin DBS UB 2010 is a DBS to commemorate 10 years of Dr. Ulrich Bez’s leadership at Aston Martin. Which is nice for Ulrich and nice for the buyers who want a car specified to his tastes, for that is what you get with the DBS UB. And it’s an honour too; particularly for a ‘Suit’. It tends to be the ‘Glory Boys’ who get honoured (the SLR Sterling Moss or the Lamborghini LP550-2 Balboni) or ‘Family’ (Ferrari Dino, Mercedes Benz).

The Limited Edition – 20 Coupes and 20 Volantes – all get finished in Azurite Black with metallic bronze leather which has woven seat inserts and a ‘Cryptic Titan’ finish on the facia. You’ll get a UB-2010 sill plaque with the good doctor’s moniker on and a plaque also signed by Ulrich.

Who knows, the ’Cult of the Suit’ could catch on at AM. Maybe Aston Martin will go the whole hog and drop the DB prefix for its models (after former owner David Brown) and go the full ‘UB’ route.

Aston Martin One-77 on London streets

The Aston Martin One-77 in LondonAston Martin’s £1.2 million Hypercar – the Aston Martin One-77 – has been on a supercar run from London to Silverstone.We’re getting really close to the first production Aston Martin One-77 getting in to the hands of a customer (and in all probability in to the hands of the guy who’s bought 10 AM One-77s), and for the first time we’ve actually seen the One-77 out in the wild.

This One-77 was taking part in a supercar run from London to Silverstone on Friday to promote the FIA GT1 World Championship which takes place this weekend at the new Silverstone track, and was the first chance to see the One-77 both on the move and away from a static display at an event.

We’ve seen the One-77 in the flesh a couple of times, but each time it’s been the same car (the AM One-77 from Salon Prive last year) but this is a different car. It’s being reported as the first production car, but in truth it’s not – it’s best described as the “…final prototype that would be more accurately described as the First Production-Intent One-77.” And that’s from the horse’s mouth. Much to our surprise it looks great in white – a colour we would never have considered for the One-77.

We’ve also seen video of the One-77 before, but that was the video of the One-77 final testing. This time we get a road-ready One-77 doing the ‘London Shuffle’.

Not the most exciting video. But if you’ve ever wondered what £1.2 million on four wheels in London looks like, now you know

New Aston Martin Rapide to run in Nurburgring 24 hour

The Aston Martin Rapide which will take part in the Nurburgring 24 Hours in MayAston Martin are to run a Rapide in the Nürburgring 24-hour race in May together with a V12 Vantage. The Rapide will be driven by Aston boss Dr Ulrich Bez.It may be a four door saloon car. It may designed to ferry privileged families in supercar style. It may – on the face of it – be the least sporting car Aston Martin has produced in a generation. But as far as Aston Martin are concerned the new Aston Martin Rapide is a thoroughbred sporting Aston, and as such is perfectly suited to run the Nordschleife circuit for the Nürburgring 24-hour race in May. So that’s what they’re doing.

Aston Martin has run cars in the Nurburgring 24 hours for the last five years, but they were Vantages – both V8 and V12 versions – not even Db9s. So this is unchartered territory for Aston Martin. But so confident are they that the Rapide is almost a stock production car.

The only changes AM have made are small mandatory changes required to compete in the race plus a bit of weight saving and a suspension tweak or two. The team will be headed up by Aston boss Dr Ulrich Bez with the rest of the team made up from engineers from Gaydon. Dr Bez said:

“This race represents the ultimate final engineering durability test for any sports car – it subjects the car to the toughest possible assessment under public scrutiny.

The Rapide has the capability to carry four people in comfort but first and foremost it is a sports car and we will subject it to the same tests we would our other sports cars. We already have a proven track record at the Nürburgring racing our road cars with limited modification and in recent years we have enjoyed success in winning the SP8 class both in 2008 and 2009.”

Aston Martin are also running their most powerful car – the V12 Vantage – in the race. Last year was the first time the V12 Vantage had competed and it won its class and

Aston Martin Rapide – First customer car

The first Aston Martin Rapide leaves the factoryThe first Aston Martin Rapide leaves the Magna Steyr plant in Austria headed for a customer.It may not seem the biggest news in the world – Aston Martin Rapide leaves factory for customer’. After all, that is rather the point. But the gestation of the AM Rapide seems to have been so long it’s quite hard to remember who owned Aston Martin when the Rapide first poked its very elegant nose above the parapet, so it seems a big deal that complete cars are now heading out to customers.

In fact it was Ford who were at the helm when the Rapide first made a public appearance at the NAIAS in 2006 and revealed a glorious 4-door interpretation of the DB9. We all drooled. And Aston seemed keen to make the Rapide a reality not a concept. If four years is keen…

It’s also worth noting that the Aston Martin Rapide isn’t built at Gaydon, but in Austria at Magna Steyr’s facilities. Why, you may ask yourself? Well, when AM had to decide how to get the Rapide from concept to production it was selling more cars than it ever had. It simply didn’t have the room at Gaydon to bolt the Rapdide together as well as all those Vantages and DB9s. Times change, but that’s why this Aston is Austrian.

But it’s here. It’s beautiful. It’s an Aston Martin. And we want one. And the first lucky customers are about to get one.

New Aston Martin DB9 Facelift spied

The 2011 Aston Martin DB9 FaceliftAston Martin are on a roll at the moment and are planning a facelift for the DB9 in time for the Paris Motor Show.There’s a fair bit going on at Aston Martin at the moment, a big change from just a year ago when the recession was causing huge pain. We’ve had the launch of the car the V8 Vantage always threatened to be with the initially limited edition Aston Martin V12 Vantage, and the news that the V12 Vantage is US bound and no longer a limited edition.

The big news for AM this year has been the launch (finally) of the most beautiful 4 door car in the world – the Aston Martin Rapide – which frankly could handle like a dog and take 20 seconds to get to 60 mph and we’d still want one, so achingly gorgeous is it by any measure of saloon car gorgeousness.

With all this newness going on at Aston martin it’s easy to take for granted the car responsible for the modern renaissance of AM – the Aston Martin DB9. The Ian Callum designed DB9 is now six years old and, althopugh it has aged incredibly well, AM are ready for a mild tweak for 2011.

The car in the picture at the top – courtesy of Motor Authority – was snapped out and about sporting a slightly more aggressive look for the AM DB9 for 2011. It’s definitely a DB9, but it seems to have borrowed a bit of DBS bling to update its lines.

New sills, a tweak or two to the lighting and bumpers, some new fairy dust on the inside and maybe a small power hike and improvement in emissions and economy are on the cards. Nothing too major and nothing that will mess too much with the lines.

Aston Martin V12 Vantage – No longer a Limited Edition + V12 Vantage Video

The Aston Martin V12 Vantage - now a regular AM modelAston Martin have admitted that the V12 Vantage is no longer a Limited Edition model but part of the Aston Martin Model Range.We love the Aston Martin V12 Vantage, even though we’ve only actually driven the V8 Vantage (4.3 & 4.7 versions). But we know from the difference the 4.7 made to the V8 what a great car the V12 must be to drive. And we’ll get our hands on one at some point soon.

And that has just become a little easier now Cars UK has discovered that the Aston Martin V12 Vantage is no longer a ‘Limited Edition’ Aston but is – to all intents and purposes – part of the model range.

We’ve had our suspicions that Aston Martin had decided to un-limit the limited bit when Aston announced the V12 Vantage Carbon Black – to all intents and purposes a limited edition, limited edition – back in December. And now they’ve announced the V12 Vantage will be sold in the US (and South America) from later this year we just couldn’t see how – despite the price tag – there would ultimately be enough cars to go around.

So we asked asked Aston if the cap on the number of V12 Vantages had been lifted. They said that ‘we respond to customers’ demands… giving our customers what they want.’ In other words, the V12 Vantage is a winner and we’ll make as many as buyers order. Which is very good news for Aston Martin. And for Aston Martin lovers.

And for Cars UK. The more there are the more chance we have of blagging one for a few days

Edo turn Aston Martin DB9 in to Aston Martin DBS. Why?

The Edo Competition Aston Martin DBSGerman Tuners Edo Competition have turned a 5 year old Aston Martin DB9 in to a DBS for a Russian customer. But why?When your business is to play games customising exotic cars you must get used to strange requests from clients with more cash than class. We’ve all seem abominations that should have been still-born, but business is business and tuners aren’t going to turn down business if it brings in the readies.

So when Edo competition got a Russian client asking them to turn his five year old Aston Martin DB9 in to a DBS they were happy to oblige. In spades.

Steel body panels were replaced by carbon fibre; the V12 engine got a tweak from 470bhp to 550bhp; a carbon fibre front spoiler and rear diffuser were added. The interior didm’t escape attention with Alcantara/leather with carbon fiber inserts and metal accents.

The customer wanted the highest of high-end sound systems installed – which Edo were happy to do – but he also wanted a new exhaust with butterfly valves so he could turn the exhaust on or off depending on whether he wanted to listen to the car or the music.

Think that’s enough? Not yet. Edo also fitted a competition suspension setup offering adjustable ride height and stiffness as well as compression and rebound damping. The brakes got fettled too with 405 mm rotors and 6 piston monobloc calipers act on the front wheels, while the rear axle is fitted with 380 mm rotors and 4 piston monobloc calipers. High-performance brake pads and braided stainless steel brake lines are used on all four corners.

And hence an Aston Martin DBS – and then some – was created from a five year old Aston Martin DB9. How much did it cost? Edo aren’t saying.

But you can bet it would have been cheaper to buy a new DBS and keep the DB9 for rainy days.

Aston Martin DB5 James Bond movie car up for auction

You can play James Bond with an opriginal Aston martin DB5 Bond car - if you have a spare $5 million.One of the original James Bond Aston Martin DB5 cars – FMP 7B – is being auctioned by R.M. Auctions at their ‘Automobiles of London’ sale in October. Expected to fetch over $5 million.Maybe it’s my age – maybe it’s just a boy thing – but if ever I think of a ‘James Bond’ car it’s the Aston Martin DB5, complete with machine guns, bullet-proof shield, revolving number plates, tracking device, removable roof panel, oil slick sprayer, nail spreader and smoke screen.

Sadly, the closest I’ve ever come to owning a James Bond DB5 was the toy car I had as a child. But that got played with, so even if I still had it – which I don’t – it would be worth nothing. Unlike one of just two original DB5s used in Goldfinger and Thunderball – and the only Bond DB5 still remaining – which carries an estimate of $5 million as it heads for R.M. Auctions ‘Automobiles of London’ sale in October.

This particular DB5 – reg no. FMP 7B – was loaned to EON productions for filming and then went back to Aston Martin where it was subsequently sold to Jerry Lee – an American radio guy from Philadelphia – who paid the princely sum of $12,000 – and has owned it ever since.

Having been a static display at Jerry’s home for forty years the DB5 needed some TLC – which it’s had – and is in terrific condition (certainly compared to my toy DB5s). Prior to the sale the car will make an appearance at the Stoke Park Club, where Bond fans will remember Goldfinger’s game of golf with Bond and Oddjob’s bowler hat slicing the head off a statue.

A piece about an R.M. Auctions wouldn’t be complete without a quote from its European boss, Max Girardo. Max said:

Aston Martin DB9 Facelift revealed

The subtly facelifted Aston Martin DB9Aston Martin has given the DB9 a facelift for 2010 / 2011. But don’t worry. It’s very subtle. The DB9 is still gorgeous.Remarkably, the Aston Martin DB9 has been with us since 2003. Yet it still conspires to look as fresh and appealing – and let’s face it, just downright beautiful – as it did when it launched. But standing still for too long is a dangerous game in business, so Aston Martin has decided the time has come to give the Aston Martin DB9 a facelift - as we reported in May.

But don’t worry, Aston Martin’s most successful DB ever isn’t going to morph in to a nipped, tweaked and tucked Floridian parody of its former self. In fact the cosmetic changes are very subtle, really amounting to little more than new makeup rather than a facelift.

There’s a new front bumper and the grill gets a bit of sparkle. The lower intake gets a re-shape and a bit of bright hexagonal mesh and there’s new headlight bexels. The sills get a re-shape, there’s new alloys, silver brake callipers and clear light lenses. And that’s it. As we said – new makeup, not a stretched and manic looking Florida facelift.

Under the skin the changes are still minor, but more significant, The current passive damping gets replaced by an Acrtive Damping System (ADS) which is said to give better ride comfort but dial in an extra degree of sharpness when Sport mode is selected. There’s also a new tyre pressure monitoring system and some tweaks to the Bluetooth. Throw in some new trim finishes and a B&O hi-fi option and you’re about there.

There, that wasn’t too painful. And the Aston Martin DB9 is as beautiful as ever. Even after minor surgery.

Aston Martin V8 Vantage N420 launches

The Aston Martin V8 Vantage N420 hits the roads next monthAston Martin has launched the Aston Martin V8 Vantage N420, a special edition to celebrate Aston Martin’s Nürburgring 24-hour race success’s.The only surprise about the new Aston Martin V8 Vantage N420 is that Aston Martin has chosen to reveal it today rather than this last weekend at Goodwood. But at least it gives us some supercar news even though Goodwood is over for another year.

If you remember the last stripped down, lightened and ‘Superleggera-fied’ Aston Martin Vantage – the V8 Vantage N400 – you’re not going to be struggling too much to work out what’s on offer with the Aston Martin V8 Vantage N420. Except this time there’s no tweak to the power to give more go, you have to make do with the 4.7 V8′s 420bhp.

The lack of a power increase is not too terrible as the 2010 V8 Vantage now enjoys a decent level of get up and go thanks to the move to the 4.7 litre lump. But this feels a lot more of a cosmetic job than the old N400, which did feel quite a bit different to the regular Vantage. And with a weight saving of about a sack of spuds the Vantage N420 seems more of a semi-skimmed Superleggera than a full fat option.

The N420 gets a new set of gloss black alloys, a rear diffuser, a set of side strakes, a carbon fibre front splitter and some black mesh vents to butch-up the exterior. On the interior it has carbon fibre seats and graphite instruments and the ‘Race Track’ stitching from the V12 Vantage. You’ll also get the normally optional Sports Pack – which gives you revised springs and dampers – and a louder exhaust as standard.

The N420 is available as Coupe or Roadster, and with a six-speed manual or optional Sportshift automated manual transmission. Prices start at £96,995 and deliveries start in August. This is a lot more a ‘V8 Vantage S’ than proper Superleggera, but it looks good, it’ll go well enough and it’s better than having no radio, no carpets and plastic windows.

2009 MTM Bentley Continental GT

2009 MTM Bentley Continental GT

The continental edition of 2009 MTM Bentley WP Birkin is a sport scar two of door of luxury of high efficiency. The MTM comprises the exhaust out of steel, spoiler back of 4 pipes, adjustable frame of sports, sporting glances, the powerful engine which provides high efficiency. The MTM comprises the W12 engine with the turbocompressors and the twin exhausts. The engine delivers one of power of exit of 650 BHP, 586 deliver-pi of couple and reach to him the speed of 62 M/H in 4.9 seconds and high speed is approximately 206 Mph. The MTM comprises the system of F-Cantronic which electronically lowers the size of cars to before by 25 millimetres and 35 millimetres with the back. The MTM comprises the aluminium wheels of 21 inches with the brake system of high efficiency, brakes disc of diamond cut with six gauges of piston on all the wheels which can carefully stop the car even at the speeds.

2009 MTM Bentley Continental GT

Outsides comprise the handles of door, the alloy wheels, the elegant structure of body, the mirrors, the headlights and the rear lights. The interiors comprise the leather seats, the sporting wheel, the device of air-conditioning, the audio system and the instrument panels.