The Aston Martin Virage is “undeniably a beautiful car”. In fact, Aston does beauty very well but in this Virage test drive video from Autocar, the English publication asks itself if Aston hasn’t built one car too many, showing that Aston’s creative inspiration for the modern era stops here.

With Aston Martin saying that no revolution is needed right now, the new virage sits between the Aston Martin DB9 and the DBS models. It has quite a bit more performance and drive feel than the DB9, almost to DBS levels, but with more comfort than the latter. The Virage is nothing short of “fantastic” - both refined and with plenty of performance produced by its tweaked V12 engine.

The Virage manages the fast but relaxed mix quite well, making for a nice road car that could make it to the track as well. Its carbon ceramic brakes as standard are particularly impressive, and it can do 0-100 km/hr in less than five seconds. Steve Sutcliffe says it’s a really great car but that Aston probably needs to start to think about its future, and mix things up a little. We’d be happy to see what that could entail.

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Always unimpressed by the Aston Martin Cygnet - a microcar based on the Toyota iQ - we think it’s very weird to learn that the Cygnet is being planned for the US market, too. While the Cygnet is only for customers who already have an Aston and so could therefore be argued to be an exclusive accessory to the real thing, it seems strange that the company would even bother to make it available on a market that already hates the Smart ForTwo.

While it’s not the fault of Americans that the Smart ForTwo has been a failure, and neither has it been just because it’s a minicar, the ForTwo has probably dampened US enthusiasm for anything under a hatch model. The rebadged iQ will get an all-electric version in 2013 and while the Cygnet could prove an alternative to the Smart, it is still just an iQ dressed up in fancy (and expensive) Aston Martin finishes.

Luckily though, the Cygnet won’t be the only thing coming from the company in the years to come. We should apparently get a redesigned Aston Martin Vantage in 2014, preceded by a new DB9 in 2013. Production of the limited edition, carbonfibre One-77 should start by year end and we shouldn’t see anything with the Lagonda name attached to it for a few years’ yet (and that’s after the Aston Martin SUV was killed off because…well no-one liked it really).

Source | Automotive News

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The Aston Martin DB9 is a beautiful car without its new restyling, but the company decided to do a couple of touch-ups anyway for 2011. The changes are minimal so as not to lose the charm of this car, and the front grille has had a slight reshaping with new mesh features. It also gets slightly changed bumpers, air intakes and side skirts, along with new 20-inch wheels.

The DB9 has kept its V12 engine with 477 hp and the six-speed manual gearbox. Also as an option now is a six-speed automatic Touchtronic 2 transmission. The Aston Martin DB9 has been a big success for the company, alongside the Vantage, and has been produced since 2007. This will most likely be the last restyling before the new DB9 appears in 2013.

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The Aston Martin Cygnet interior is what makes this a special compact, city car. The exterior has been modified just enough to make it more pleasing to the eye than the Toyota iQ, but it hardly screams the Aston brand. The interior, on the other hand, is truly amazing - just like a luxury, 12 cylinder coupé. We won’t hazard a guess as to how successful this will be for Aston, as it seems more like a fun experiment for Aston owners than anything else, but we still enjoyed seeing the Cygnet in the flesh.

The Aston Stand at the Geneva Motor Show also exhibits the DB9 Coupé, DBS Volante, the V12 Vantage and the Rapide sedan. It’s got to be one of the most elegant and sophisticated stands at the show and is well worth a look if you’re there.

Aston Martin Cygnet live at Geneva: the Aston stand

Continue reading: Aston Martin Cygnet live at Geneva motor show: Aston stand pics

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New pics of the Mansory Cyrus have been released, showing the Swiss supercar which is based on the Aston Martin DB9. The Cyrus is full of carbon fibre and could cost about 380,000 euros more than the DB9, though the official price has not been released. The Mansory Cyrus has updated alloy wheels measuring 20 inches at the front and 21 at the rear, and a lowered suspension kit.

Continue reading: Mansory Cyrus pics

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