Aston Martin Rapide Bertone Jet 2+2

 

Bertone will be making an appearance at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show next month, and they’ll be bringing along a one-off shooting brake version of the Aston Martin Rapide as part of the celebrations surrounding the British manufacturer’s 100 year anniversay. The car was commissioned by a private collector, who no doubt had to fork over an eye-watering sum of money for Bertone’s bespoke services.

Bertone has some history when it comes to shooting brake Aston Martins. In fact they’ve been at it since the ’60s and the DB4 GT Bertone Jet. However the Aston Martin Rapide Bertone Jet 2+2 is more akin to a 2004 Bertone creation, the Aston Martin Jet 2 concept – which was based on a V12 Vanquish.

The Aston Martin Rapide Bertone Jet 2+2 is mechanically identical to the outgoing Rapide, and that means under the hood is a 470 horsepower 5.9 litre V12. Interestingly it’s not based on the new 550 horsepower Aston Martin Rapide S. But I doubt with all the new sheetmetal and fancy interior trim anybody will notice the missing 80 HP.
On the inside the Aston Martin Rapide Bertone Jet 2+2 still features four individual seats, but now it has added practicality due to the fact the rear pair can be folded down and hidden away by an electronically controlled sliding cover to create a spacious cargo area.

Source: Bertone

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Aston Martin DB-ONE

 

  

The Aston Martin DB-ONE concept is the product of independent designer Ruben Vela, based in Spain

The DB-ONE concept is a proposal for an extreme Aston Martin, with classical proportions combined with ultramodern surfaces resulting in a fresh vehicle which also represents the traditions associated with Aston Martin. In designing the Aston Martin DB-ONE Vela took the elements essential to Aston Martin, large front grille, long bonnet and side vents and created a car with an immense sense of movement, based around the idea of tension - beginning with the grille and moving back towards the rear of the car. The body surfaces of the DB-ONE highlight all the power emanating from the proposed 550 horsepower, 6.0 litre, V12 engine even when static. "Cars aren't static objects, so I belive it's important to show dynamism in the design. And this is much more important when you are designing a super-sports car," says Vela. The rear of the Aston Martin DB-ONE concept is extremely clean due to the small gap in the tail which hides the taillights and a rear diffuser provides a neat finish to the design. Although the Aston Martin DB-ONE is an independent design created outside the company and exists only on a computer and as a scale model, Aston Martin's new owners, Prodrive, could certainly take note of a few styling ideas introduced by Vela on the DB-ONE concept.

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Aston Martin Twenty Twenty

The rear of the Aston Martin Twenty Twenty (from the doors back) is more appealing with more conservative use of bare aluminium.

Powering the car was a 6.0 litre V12 from the Aston Martin DB7 Vantage. In the Twenty Twenty it was tuned to produce around 500 horsepower.

 

The Aston Martin Twenty Twenty concept from 2001 was designed by Giorgetto and Fabrizio Giugiaro of ItalDesign.

The fully-functioning concept car was intended as a vision for a convertible Aston Martin sports car for the year 2020. Thankfully Aston Martin's current styling trend is headed in a completely different direction to the Twenty Twenty concept.

The brushed aluminium highlighting lines which adorn the Aston Martin Twenty Twenty are an original design feature. However their overuse (especially around the front) gives the concept an unusual, almost comical appearance from some angles. The grille surround almost looks like lipstick.

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Aston Martin Vanquish

 

German tuning firm Wheelsandmore have just announced their range of performance products for the Aston Martin Vanquish.
Their available upgrades include, unsurprisingly, a range of 20″ and 21″ wheels in a selection of different colors and materials. Including three-piece forged alloy wheels and lightweight carbon fiber rims. A sports suspension kit helps the car sit snugly over its new wheels.

To improve performance Wheelsandmore have remapped the ECU to take advantage of the new sports exhaust they’ve developed for the car. The enhancements add and extra 48 horsepower and 67 ft-lbs (90 Nm) of torque, taking the total output to 613 horsepower and 524 ft-lbs (710 Nm) of torque.

Source: Wheelsandmore via TopSpeed

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