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

The Aston Martin DBS and Aston Martin V12 Vantage will have a carbon black edition available from next month. In time for Christmas orders, the Aston Martin carbon fibre finish increases the appeal of the cars and reduces weight. Thanks to new sports seats, for example, the use of carbon and kevlar has saved up to 17 kg.

New Aston Martin rims with five spoke design are available, and obviously the DBS and V12 Vantage now come with Carbon Black exterior finish, used also on the interior features. The audio systems also get an overhaul, with the Vantage now equipped with the 700 Watt Premium Audio System, while the DBS has the Bang & Olufsen Beosound.

According to Aston Martin, a price increase of approximately five percent will be added, although full pricing and available will be available next month.

Continue reading: Aston Martin Carbon Black for DBS and V12 Vantage

How Lotus Evora became UK’s Best Handling Car according to Autocar.co.uk testing. Contenders: Lotus Evora, Jaguar XFR, Nissan GT-R, Porsche 911 GT3, Porsche Panamera, Audi R8 V10, Aston Martin V12 Vantage, Lamborghini Murcielago LP 670-4 SV, Ford Focus RS, Renault Sport Clio 200 Cup, Nissan 370Z.

Continue reading: Britain's Best Handling Car by Autocar

In one mega group-test Evo sees which is the best road-racer model out of the Porsche 911 GT3, the Aston Martin V12 Vantage, the Audi R8 V10 and the Corvette ZR1. While describing this test as determining the most “hard-core” model, the introduction doesn’t really specify the criteria.

In fact, after a look at the engine specs and details, the Corvette is pegged as one of the more interesting models due to its very fast engine. But if you were to explain from the beginning that by “road-racing” you mean vehicles that can go fast elegantly, corner well, and give an overall fast but assured driving experience, you’d probably understand that the ZR1 is not quite in the league of the others (although some accusations of bias were levelled at Evo in the comments).

After an initial drive, Evo says:

Continue reading: Group test: Porsche GT3 vs Vantage V12 vs Audi R8 V10 vs Corvette ZR1

Jeremy Clarkson drives the Aston Martin V12 Vantage in this video. The presentation is blanketed in pathos, with Clarkson saying that he feels like he’s driving an ending. Otherwise, the verdict on the six-litre V12 with 510 hp is: “It’s fantastic. It’s wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.”

Continue reading: Top Gear drives Aston Martin V12 Vantage

A very lucky Richard Meaden from Drivers Republic had the chance to race in the 24 hours on the Nurburgring onboard an Aston Martin V12 Vantage. He shared the driving with Ulrich Betz and another two drivers, and you can see their exploits in these two videos. It’s an exciting event for anyone who loves motor car racing, and you can relive some of the excitement in this footage.

The V12 Vantage had a few safety updates to be able to participate in the race, but apart from that it’s more or less the series model. It achieved an excellent result: first in its classification and 21st overall, demonstrating both speed and trustworthiness.

Continue reading: Video: Nurburgring 24hrs from an Aston Martin V12 Vantage

Are we jealous!! With the Aston Martin V12 Vantage in utterly undeniable sports style, Autocar attests “I still love this car”. For a video test drive of the V12 Vantage, see the video above, and whether you agree with the “gran turismo” compromise or not, see the beautiful gallery below.

Continue reading: Autocar tests Aston Martin V12 Vantage, new pics

The Geneva motor show presentation of the Aston Martin V12 Vantage certainly got some hearts racing, thanks to its extreme sports style and news is now out that the V12 Vantage will also appear in Roadster version. For some fans it won’t make a lot of sense, much like the Ferrari 430 Scuderia 16M in cabriolet version; as some maintain that the main purpose is pure driving passion and pleasure, leaving aside special limited versions.

Aston Martin has not yet confirmed the V12 Vantage cabriolet engine, but these spy shots leave little doubt. The 510 hp V12 should be plenty to drive a heavier vehicle than the coupè, and while these shots don’t have the same front air intakes as the coupè, the larger brakes and air intakes around the bumper bars indicate there is a V12 under the bonnet. The V12 Vantage Roadster could debut at the Frankfurt show in September, and will likely be built in a limited edition, for the glory of collectors.

Source | Leftlanenews (Thanks to Demonracing for the tip)

Continue reading: Spy shots of Aston Martin V12 Vantage Roadster

Giving the crisis in the automobile sector (especially in the Japanese car market), Aston Martin has declared itself satisfied with its sales for 2008. In fact, though no absolute records were reached, 2008 was the second most successful sales year ever for Aston Martin.

Ulrich Bez has stated that he is particularly satisfied with the results of the DBS, which has seduced more than 1,000 customers since its debut, and that the company has great hopes for the V12 Vantage, to be produced in 500 units, which is half the original target, within in the year.

Even more important will be the arrival of the Rapide, whose production is set for the end of 2009. The Lagonda brand, after the first Lagonda concept from Geneva, is destined to remain a show-car at this stage, leaving the honour of becoming a production car to the second prototype to be presented in May.

Continue reading: Aston Martin 2008 sales year second best ever

We’ll have the opportunity to check out the Aston Martin V12 Vantage in the flesh at the 2009 Genva motor show. Until then we give you this Vantage gallery, along with the first technical details from iMotorMag, including the figure of just 4.1 seconds to reach 100 km/hr. That’s fast for a small car, but then it also has 510hp. Enjoy the Aston Martin V12 Vantage pics below.

Continue reading: Aston Martin V12 Vantage: new pics