http://www.autoblog.com/2007/02/01/scoop-louis-vuitton-buys-aston-martin/
http://www.leftlanenews.com/2007/02/01/louis-vuitton-to-acquire-aston-martin/
$1.2 billion. ford retains 15% stake.

i hope they don't fuck up astons by over-styling them, and getting all funky with the interiors.

[Edited on February 23, 2007 at 6:03 PM. Reason : ]

2/23/2007 6:02:26 PM

Another sign of the Apocalypse.

2/23/2007 6:07:14 PM

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/02/02/motor-trend-aston-martin-sold-but-maybe-not-to-lvmh/
http://www.autoblog.com/2007/02/06/lvmh-says-aston-purchase-is-pure-rumor/

2/23/2007 6:29:03 PM

lol, these descriptive web pages make me laugh.

Why even read the article when you have the whole story in the address bar?

2/23/2007 6:49:59 PM

well i guess they got bough by a "team of private investors". i wonder is luis vuitton is one of them lol

3/12/2007 5:54:28 PM

Luis Nutts?

3/12/2007 7:52:31 PM

This sucks. Aston's have style. I was planning to own one someday, but probably not now. Louis Vuitton just makes hideous bullshit.

3/12/2007 7:57:45 PM

this has no importance to f1 thus i don't care (sorry waiting for thursday night)

3/12/2007 8:08:54 PM

Guys, duh, it should be clear that was just a rumor. It has been sold to a group, headed by the founder of Prodrive.

http://www.leftlanenews.com/ford-sells-aston-martin.html

Quote :

"Ford sells Aston Martin Ford today officially announced the sale of Aston Martin to an investment group lead by Prodrive founder and chairman David Richards. The deal — expected to close during the second quarter — is valued at $925 million, the company said. Ford plans to retain a small $77 million stake in Aston. The new owner of Aston Martin is a consortium comprised of: David Richards, founder and chairman of Prodrive, a world-leading motorsport and automotive technology company; John Sinders, an avid Aston Martin collector and a backer of Aston Martin Racing; and Investment Dar and Adeem Investment Co, international investment companies headquartered in Kuwait. CEO Dr Ulrich Bez will remain in charge of Aston Martin. Ford announced in August it intended to sell the company in order to raise capital. In November, it was reported Aston Martin would likely become an independent car company, since no major automaker expressed an interest in acquiring the marquee. Rumors that Aston Martin would be been sold to luxury goods maker Louis Vuitton (LVMH) surfaced earlier this year, and were promptly shot down as "absolute rubbish." Prodrive revealed a tuning package for the Aston Martin V8 Vantage. The company tuned the 4.3 litre V8 engine to raise peak power from 380 hp to 425 hp, as well as increasing peak torque from 302 lb/ft to 325 lb/ft. This reduces the car's 0-62 mph time from 5.0 secs to 4.7 secs (est)."

BTW, this Prodrive tuned AM Vantage is one of the sexiest cars ever.

LOVE THOSE WHEELS

http://www.leftlanenews.com/prodrive-tunes-aston-martin-vantage.html









Prodrive also produced their own car, though it is not in production yet; if they were to make it, it would put a lot of supercars to shame. It was also tested by the Stig on TopGear. Maybe the video is somewhere on the internet for those who are interested. It has a modded Subaru STi engine with these impressive numbers:

349 hp
424 lb-ft
0-60 in 3.8 sec
175 mph
2,424 lbs

http://www.rsportscars.com/eng/articles/prodrive_p2.asp
http://www.leftlanenews.com/topgear-tests-the-prodrive-p2.html







[Edited on March 12, 2007 at 8:18 PM. Reason : ]

3/12/2007 8:15:17 PM

Well this is noteworthy news to me, because as I understood it Ford was going to sell either Aston Martin OR Land Rover. Hopefully Land Rover is off the bubble now, they have changed hands too many times in the past 15 years.

3/12/2007 8:21:25 PM

if aston is in prodrive hands good things are to come... Ferrari better watch out.
i wish prodrive would have purchased rubyroo though...


[Edited on March 12, 2007 at 8:39 PM. Reason : .]

3/12/2007 8:38:55 PM

cmon you think they could have got subaru for one billion dollars? fuji heavy isnt coming off of that shit.

3/12/2007 8:40:36 PM

umm.... i think yota is planing on or has purchased them

3/12/2007 9:02:42 PM

for less than a billion?

3/12/2007 9:03:38 PM

nahh..

i was just dreaming... i really want a p.2


and i think yota only purchased GMs portion of SOA now that i think about it


[Edited on March 12, 2007 at 9:06 PM. Reason : .]

3/12/2007 9:05:51 PM

YAY! not that i will ever be able to afford it

Aston's new owners confirm Rapide production

Quote :

"Aston Martin's new owners have confirmed plans to produce the Rapide four-door luxury sports car, which was previewed in concept form last year. Ulrich Bez, who will remain CEO of Aston, said the Rapide would add another 1000 to 2000 cars to last year's record output of 7000, according to the U.K.'s Times. Previously, Bez said the company only planned to make between 300 and 500 Rapides per year. "This is an incredible opportunity - Aston Martin is one of the world's most iconic brands," said Prodrive boss David Richards, head of the consortium to buy Aston. "David Richards and I have a great deal of mutual respect for each other and we are equally passionate about realising the brand's full potential," Bez added. He said the company would take on 200 more workers. The Rapide will be the second new model launched by Aston Martin's new leadership. The first will be the DBS coupe, which will arrive later this year."

3/14/2007 8:07:38 AM

New models to come:

DBS (bond car)
Rapide (4-door)
DBX, a super-supercar:

Quote :

"The following text is copied directly from Auto Express magazine, issue 953 21-27 March 2007. Aston Martin's future is now X-rated, Auto Express can reveal. Since the firm was taken over last week by a group of businessmen led by Prodrive chairman David Richards, boss Ulrich Bez has wasted no time in outlining his vision for the years ahead. As well as fast-tracking the development of models such as the DBS and four-door Rapide, Bez has hinted at a new flagship, codenamed DBX. Aimed at the likes of the Mercedes McLaren SLR and Bugatti Veyron, the car would be a benchmark for pace and exclusivity for the British brand. While engineers and designers haven't revealed the performance targets they would set for the newcomer, it would sit on the firm's versatile verticial horizontal (VH) aluminium and composite chassis, and is likely to use a tuned version of the 6.0-litre V12 engine producing more than 700bhp. That means a top speed in excess of 205mph and a 0-60mph time of less than 3.7 seconds. Inspired by the Aston Martin Zagato, launched back in 1986 primarily to reach 300km/h (186mph), the car will probably feature much of the technology which underpins the forthcoming DBS in a smaller, more potent package. Power will be transferred to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox because, while Aston has access to both fully automatic and semi-automatic units, it's thought a manual will offer greater driver appeal. New owned Prodrive is likely to be involved in much of the suspension and engine tuning, as was the case with the V8-engined vantage. Although prices have not yet been discussed, it's expected that the newcomer would be the most expensive model Aston Martin has made, with a tag of at least £350,000. Meanwhile, bosses at the company have also confirmed that they intend to increase sales volumes by speeding up production. Aston will employ more people, and is aiming to lift the overall output to nearly 9,000 vehicles every year - up from its current volume of around 6,000 models."

3/21/2007 9:02:51 AM

w00t go aston its your birfday...


seriously though... i <3 aston and now that they shall have balls to go with the class they allready had... i'm going to have to become rich so i can own one now...
i've just been waiting for this day to do it.

3/21/2007 9:57:32 AM

So the DBS is going to be the replacement for the Vanquish.

Those wheels are some of the best on any car ever. And that body kit is gorgeous too.





If red x: http://pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=16106

click edit post and then copy paste the URL into another window


[Edited on April 6, 2007 at 2:55 PM. Reason : ]

4/6/2007 2:53:43 PM

Aston rumored to be working on a mid-engined car to rival top supercars.

Chops:





If red Xs:

http://autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/misc?url=/misc/zoom.pbs&Site=CW&Date=20070425&Category=FREE&ArtNo=70424002

http://autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/misc?url=/misc/zoom.pbs&Site=CW&Date=20070425&Category=FREE&ArtNo=70424002&Ref=V2

4/27/2007 10:07:03 PM

aml1

as in american lemans 1

4/27/2007 10:33:05 PM

bttt per request

3/15/2008 6:15:11 PM

Aston Martin V12 Vantage RS


Smallest least-powerful Aston (Vantage V8, 4.3 litres, 380 hp)

+

Biggest most-powerful Aston engine (6 litre V12 from DBS/DB9, boosted to 600 hp)

=

WOW

[Fastest, quickest, most powerful Aston ever!]

Quote :

"The limited edition Aston Martin V12 Vantage RS might be based on the V8 Vantage Coupe but sports a 6.0 liter V12 engine producing 600 hp, a rear spoiler which deploys automaticly at high speeds to add down force and weighs just 1,600 kg thanks to, amongst others, a carbon fibre bonnet and trunk lid."

To go into limited production and on sale next year.

The same engine is found in the Vanquish, Vanquish S, DB9, and the current range-topper, the recently-released DBS, but in the Vantage RS, is massaged to produce bigger numbers, while the car weighs much less:


Vanquish:
460 hp, 400 lb-ft, 4048 lbs

Vanquish S:
520 hp, 425 lb-ft, 4133 lbs

DB9:
450 hp, 420 lb-ft, 3769 lbs

DBS:
510 hp, 420 lb-ft, 3737 lbs

Vantage V12 RS:
600 hp, 509 lb-ft, 3520 lbs



Imagine the performance this beast will have.

Expected:

0-60 mph in < 3.8 seconds
Top speed > 200 mph

3/15/2008 7:09:43 PM

3/15/2008 7:26:21 PM

I'll guess that in the straight line it will be a low 12 second car at around 120mph, not too far off from the c6 z06

3/15/2008 9:01:48 PM

a suede shifter? really?

3/16/2008 2:23:00 AM

aston martin is definitely the rappers car of choice now, thats for sure

3/16/2008 2:41:56 AM

wow

too much suede

3/16/2008 9:23:49 AM

....bout damned time aston.....

3/16/2008 9:34:22 AM

bttt per request

8/9/2008 9:34:52 PM

AM to produce a proper supercar...

http://www.one-77.com/

8/9/2008 10:45:24 PM

oh that's one SEXY car

8/9/2008 11:12:30 PM

agreed...and i'm not even all that into cars

8/9/2008 11:17:59 PM

looks like a corvette to me

8/9/2008 11:40:56 PM

who cares

8/13/2008 10:32:35 AM

Jon Sibal's rendering of the One-77

8/30/2008 5:05:30 PM

awd aston??!1?!?!?!

8/30/2008 5:15:58 PM

<3 mid engine

8/30/2008 11:17:30 PM

^????????? AM's never produced a mid-engined car.

8/30/2008 11:48:16 PM

Aston rumored to be working on a mid-engined car to rival top supercars.

Chops:





If red Xs:

http://autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/misc?url=/misc/zoom.pbs&Site=CW&Date=20070425&Category=FREE&ArtNo=70424002

http://autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/misc?url=/misc/zoom.pbs&Site=CW&Date=20070425&Category=FREE&ArtNo=70424002&Ref=V2

8/31/2008 12:33:48 AM

Maybe they'll put one of these in it: http://media.fukung.net/images/6947/SuperEngine004.jpg

8/31/2008 2:42:29 AM

they probably want something that doesn't spin rod bearings constantly

8/31/2008 12:12:51 PM

Supposedly, it is going to cost GBP 1 million, which is almost $1.85 million now, but $2 million when the car was announced.

I can't understand why it would cost so much more than any other Aston, 3x as much as the Enzo, and even more than the Veyron. Ferrari and VW spent a huge amount of money developing the Enzo and Veyron respectively. I can't see Aston spending that much.

9/30/2008 5:19:21 AM

Quote :

"I can't understand.... [words]"

THAT'S BECAUSE YOU'RE AN INSURGENT SON.

9/30/2008 7:13:19 AM

I still can't understand why this costs so much more than Enzo, McLaren F1, and the especially the Veyron.

Quote :

"The One-77 was announced just a couple of months ago but has already sold out. Its deep pocket-buyers, who've had to leave a hefty £200,000 deposit to place their orders, will have to wait until late 2009 for their cars to begin coming in. Proving once again how daring supercars can be, the One-77 was announced amid one of the worst slumps in the automotive business in decades with the eye-popping price tag of £1,050,000 or roughly 1.4 million euros."

10/29/2008 5:29:34 PM

wheels are ugly.

10/29/2008 6:12:46 PM

They can charge whatever they want. The price is just a made up number. People who buy these car don't exactly shop around.

I like those GTO brand camaro headlight covers.

10/29/2008 7:30:41 PM

bttt

8/25/2009 11:01:08 AM

thats chump change

10/15/2009 10:10:06 AM

-->

[Edited on December 16, 2009 at 5:26 PM. Reason : ]

12/16/2009 5:25:28 PM