Aston Martin announces Carbon Black Special Editions

Aston Martin is launching special edition versions of its range-topping DBS and V12 Vantage models called the Carbon Black.

Aston Martins get Carbon Black label

Aston Martin really has been dominating the headlines this week – first, by revealing official pictures of its Cygnet supermini, and now with the unveiling of special Carbon Black versions of its much-celebrated DBS and V12 Vantage grand tourers.

As both cars have "surpassed all sales expectations", Aston thought it would celebrate by giving them a lick of Carbon Black paint "especially formulated with a subtle metallic twist to create a deep rich patina". And we're not talking about some simple spray job here – each unit will receive 50 man-hours of hand painting, so owners can rest assured that their car is very special indeed.

Further highlights include the addition of lightweight carbon fibre and kevlar seats covered in hand-stitched Obsidian Black leather, piano black fascia trim, and gloss black 10-spoke diamond-turned alloy wheels.

The Aston Martin Black Editions are available to order from the Aston Martin dealership network now, with first deliveries expected to take place in March 2010.

black for Aston Martin

Back to black for Aston Martin

THE colour has to be black if you want your new Aston Martin to be really special.

But an ordinary spray finish is hardly sufficient for the two extra-special models that have just been announced by the famous sports car firm.

Being launched to celebrate their success in the showrooms with standard paintwork, DBS and Vantage grand tourers are now available in a new finish called carbon black.

Needing an extra 50 man-hours of hand painting, the Black Edition models are expected to be available for delivery in March and will come with lightweight carbon fibre seats in black leather, piano black fascia trim and 10-spoke diamond-turned alloy wheels - also finished in black.

'Sales of these cars have surpassed all expectations and we want to celebrate. We think the special editions add a typically understated flair,' said a spokesman.

Aston Martin Cygnet

Aston Martin takes a sharp turn from its sports cars of the past to show how it could create a commuter car.

Aston Martin just released the first official images of the Cygnet – a new luxury commuter concept car and a radical departure from the sleek, sexy sports cars for which it is known.

Aston says the the Cygnet concept "represents a creative, environmentally conscious solution, being small, yet with presence – and highly fuel efficient, now combined with the prestige of Aston Martin's luxury brand ownership." All we can say is "wow:"

Aston is best known for producing the sports cars that secret agent James Bond drives in the 007 movies. Usually they are outfitted with machine guns and ejector seats. While Cygnet takes sharp turn for the brand, it could be the perfect car for a paunchy, middle-aged Bond, who long ago lost his license to kill and now works as a British bureaucrat.

Aston says work on the concept is ongoing and will continue into 2010 when it is hoped that it will become a production reality initially available to Aston Martin customers in the U.K. and Europe. No word about the USA.

2010 Aston Martin Rapide Gets a U.K. Price of £139,950

Aston Martin has announced that the 6.0-liter V-12 Rapide will start at £139,950 in the U.K.–about $235K, in line with expectations when it hit the scene at the Frankfurt Motor Show. All things considered, it’s a pretty steep price for the premium sedan, but you didn’t expect to buy into an Aston cheaply, did you?

The Rapide is capable of 470 hp and 442 lb-ft of torque. It makes the leap to 60 mph in 5.3 seconds and tops out at 188 mph. The Rapide puts a premium on comfort and style as much, if not more, than performance.

Aston Martin Rapide sedan priced above 007's pay grade

If you have $200,000 sitting around that you're just dying to spend, here's an interesting offer.

Buy a new Aston Martin Rapide four-door sports car, which will go on sale next spring, and get $50 back. The price of the Rapide will start from $199,950 in the U.S., Aston announced over the weekend. For the money, you'll get a lot of standard equipment, like a Bang & Olufsen audio system, heated seats with memory adjustment, dual cast brakes and an adaptive damping system.

The Rapide is Aston Martin's first great attempt at fusing a four-door sedan with a sports car -- just like the new Porsche Panamera. You know, imagine if James Bond got married, settled down and still wanted to have fond memories of the car he used to escape motorcycles with built-in machine guns -- yet plenty of room for the kids. The Rapide will be the first sports car to be hand-built at the Aston Martin Rapide Plant in Graz, Austria, which tries to replicate the quality levels of Aston's traditional English plant in Gaydon.

Aston Martin brings four-door Rapide

Four doors, four seats, lithe and sleek as an Olympic swimmer. And oh, yeah, $199,950. That's the price Aston Martin released yesterday after we attended a special media and Aston Martin owner introduction December 3 at the Chelsea Art Museum in Manhattan when we got our first look at the Rapide in the aluminum and up close.

Some say the Aston Martin Rapide is a car that shouldn't have been built. There has never before been a four-door Aston Martin. Yet there it is. And we say the naysayers are wrong. The Aston Martin is sweet as a Georgia peach but without the fuzz.

We say that without driving it or even hearing it run. No doubt the Chelsea Art Museum folks would probably object to our spinning donuts in the exhibit hall. And anyway, there are all those support columns in the way.
However, the Aston Martin Rapide is based on the same platform as the DB9. Aston Martin calls it Vertical / Horizontal architecture, using bonded rather than welded aluminum per aerospace industry practices. The engine is the familiar (to the AM devotee at least) 6.0-liter V-12, rated at 470 horsepower at 6000 rpm and 443 lb-ft of torque at 5000, and mounted front mid-ship, per other Aston Martins. Transmission is a six-speed Touchtronic 2 automatic, with PRND buttons on the dash and paddle shifting. With an increase in curb weight of only 420 lbs over the DB9, the resultant 0-60 time, as Aston Martin would say, is a mere 5.1 seconds.

The suspension of the Aston Martin Rapide is the familiar (again) double wishbone front and rear with adaptive shock absorbers for a smooth ride with sports car handling. Which indeed is what Aston Martin calls the Rapide, a four-door sports car.

We have to take them at their word about the sports car part, though we have little cause to doubt it. What aroused our curiosity, at least for the evening, was how well the Aston Martin Rapide succeeded aesthetically and how well it functioned as a four-door, four-passenger vehicle.

Those with very long memories will remember the Jaguar E-type 2+2 as a good car gone bad via a good idea that should not have been: the E-type 2+2 had a swollen hunchback that ruined the E-type's essential proportions. Although the Aston Martin Rapide retains the front doors--the only doors--of the Aston Martin DB9, and also its hood, the remainder of the Rapide is entirely new. We find it impressive that any body part had been able to be carried over. The Rapide's contours look entirely fresh to our Philistine eyes.

Aston Martin Rapide Pays a Visit

The Aston Martin Rapide, which goes on sale next year for around $200,000 in the United States.

Update | 4:18 p.m.

Aston Martin brought the first (and only) production configuration version of its Rapide four-door sports car to Manhattan last night. The car was first shown at the the Frankfurt auto show and goes on sale next year.

The 470-horsepower car was displayed in a gray-blue metallic paint amid huge abstract paintings at the Chelsea Art Museum. It arrived in the company of Marek Reichman, Aston’s chief designer.

“I think of a racehorse,” he said discussing the car’s design. “You can sense the power of the horse even when it is still. But when it starts to move you see the play of highlights and muscles.”

Photographs do not do the Rapide justice. There are many subtle lines and planes to its body. A taut “bone” line runs from the side vent and a gentle curve rises over the front fenders. Gray is a traditional Aston color, and the bright blue added to it on this car brings out the subtlety of the body shape. Two lovely greens are among the choices of body colors; a light walnut covers the information processing center.

Aston Martin is taking orders for the $199,950 car. The company said it planned to sell about 2,000 units in its first year, of which between 25 percent to 33 percent will come to North America. Few options are available. A 1,000-watt, 15-speaker Bang and Olafsen audio system is standard.

The rear seats are heated and cooled. Headroom is generous, but legroom more limited: the average man’s knees will necessarily be angled, not comfortably. And slipping in and out of the seats is not a smooth process despite the clever mechanics of what the company calls “swan doors.”

One option is a set of screens for the rear of the front seats; their side views constricted, the rear passengers will appreciate them. This is in contrast with Porsche’s design of the Panamera, whose rear-seating area is more generous.

“You seem to have chosen grace over space,” someone in the museum observed, and Mr. Reichman agreed. “Every millimeter was considered very carefully,” he said.

Aston Martin Rapide to Carry a 139,950 GBP ($232,282) Price Tag in U.K.

Aston Martin has priced its upcoming Rapide four-door sports car at 139,950 GBP ($232,282) for the domestic British market, the automaker revealed today. That's 44,652 GBP ($74,111) more than a standard U.K.-spec Porsche Panamera Turbo, which carries a base price of 95,298 GBP ($158,170). These amounts use today's exchange rates and may not reflect the actual U.S. pricetag.