Aston Martin makes some of the most visually appealing cars on the road today. Their latest offerings, the DBS Volante and the V12 Vantage, continue the company's tradition of elegant styling combined with V12 power. We generally can't get enough photos of either car, and fortunately for us, Aston has released a plethora of new pictures of both cars. Check out both high-res galleries below.




[Source: Aston Martin]

A Car magazine reader has photographed the Aston Martin Rapide looking like it could have come off a dealer lot. The snapper also peeped the inside, which he said has a full-length console a la the Mercedes CLS to create four distinct seating positions. Aston has, however, said that those rear seats are for "children or two adults on shorter journeys." The slinky black number also sports a serious set of pipes out back that we expect to put out a beautiful soundtrack. And thank goodness the car has a hatch like the Vantage, which means -- in a first for current Aston Martins -- it could have a proper trunk. Like the kind you can actually put things in.

[Source: Car]

Whatever the outcome of the standoff between the Formula One Teams Association and the FIA, it was clear from the get-go that F1 was to change dramatically. As it turned out, the two parties – the first representing the teams currently participating in the sport and the second its governing body – have apparently reconciled their differences.

But as it turns out, even if all of the existing teams walked, the FIA would still have had a field of eager teams ready to take their place – that's one heck of a bargaining chip. One way or another, all indications are that the cost of running an F1 team will be drastically reduced in the near future, starting with next season. Lower costs mean easier access, and teams have been lining up by the dozen to take part in the new, more accessibly Formula One. Follow the jump to read all about 'em.

[Source: Autosport | Image: Mark Thompson/Getty]

It looks like GT and Le Mans prototype racing may be just the beginning for Aston Martin. Following an agreement this week with F1 promotions boss, Bernie Ecclestone, Aston Martin could be jumping into the Formula One ranks in 2012. Like Aston's other race programs, it's F1 campaign will be operated by Prodrive, although the team will actually launch in 2010 as the Prodrive team then switch to the automaker's branding two years later.

The new team will apparently cooperate with McLaren-Mercedes, but Prodrive will build the cars at its Banbury factory. The new cars will use customer engines from another manufacturer, but they will wear Aston Martin badging. The team already has two primary sponsors including Aston Martin majority owner Investment Dar. Prodrive boss Dave Richards acknowledged that the deal to enter F1 was only possible because of the budget caps that are being imposed beginning in 2010.

[Source: AutoCar]

It started with one lone V8 Vantage, dubbed the N24, that ran the Nürburgring 24-hour race in 2006. Last year, that first racer, a yellow car dubbed "Rose," won class honors in the race. This year, it will be joined by five more Vantages, one of them being the 510 horsepower V12 Vantage introduced in Geneva earlier this year.

Only three of the six cars will be factory efforts. The slightly modified V12 Vantage will be piloted by Aston CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez and three co-drivers, and "Rose" will be driven by another team of three. Privateer entrants will be headed by Richard Kramer, an Austrian Aston dealer whose Vantage N24 is being supported by the factory.

You can read the full press release after the jump, and check out live action from the weekend's qualifying and race at the ADAC site.



[Source: Aston Martin]

Reviews of the Aston Martin V12 Vantage are beginning to pop up around the interwebs and Aston decided to hype up the first drives by releasing an additional 20 photos of its new 510-hp GT through... Facebook. The real-world shots show a few more details of the hopped-up Vantage, including the racy carbon fiber hood vents, suede-lined seats and a eye-catching blood-red interior. Unfortunately, the V12 Vantage isn't headed Stateside, but rest assured, our non-essential organs are finding their way onto Craigslist for an opportunity to drive the new sports coupe abroad. Until that happens, check the gallery below for plenty of beauty shots.

If you saw the recent spy shots of a supposed upcoming Aston Martin V12 Vantage Roadster and wondered where all the louvers from the coupe went, the answer may be found in newer reports. Sources suggest that rather than a drop-top V12, the thinly-disguised test mule in question is actually a regular V8 Roadster, only wearing an extra body kit to give it a more substantial look.

Whichever reports are correct, we wouldn't be surprised to see a V12 Roadster popping up close to the end of the fixed-roof V12 Vantage's limited production run. But could Aston be up to something with its entry-level eight-cylinder sportscar? Stay tuned. We know soon.

[Source: Auto Express]

Aston Martin knows how to crank out the variants like few others automakers. With essentially two model lines in production, the British sportscar marque always seems to have another new model to debut. And the next looks to be the V12 Vantage Roadster.

Joining the limited-edition V12 Vantage coupe and its endurance racing counterpart, the muscle-bound drop-top should carry over the 510-hp 6.0-liter twelve, but trade a couple of ticks off the coupe's 4.2-second 0-60 time in exchange for the open-air experience. With barely-disguised test mules already spied, sources suggest the V12 Vantage Roadster is being prepared for its debut at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

[Source: WCF]

Investment Dar, the Kuwaiti firm that owns part of Aston Martin, has reportedly defaulted on payment for a $100 million Islamic bond that was due on April 27. In the process, Bloomberg says it has become the first Persian Gulf company to default on an Islamic bond.

In December of last year, Dar was considering selling a 20- to 30% stake in Aston Martin in order "to profit financially or technically" it said at the time. It was also trying to refinance its short-term debt, attempting to tap banks for 200 to 300 million Kuwati dinars ($691 million-$1 billion U.S.), the upper end of which being more than Dar paid for its share of Aston Martin in the first place.

According to Bloomberg, Dar remains open to selling peripheral assets to shore up its position and it is working with Credit Suisse to restructure. The investment firm has another big Islamic bond maturing in September, and even though the Kuwaiti government is working with national banks to assist them in the downturn, Dar probably doesn't want to be seen setting a pattern of stumbling. Thanks for the tip, Bo!

[Source: Bloomberg]

While RM Auction is still gearing up for the Leggenae e Passione event at the Ferrari factory in Maranello, rival auction house Bonhams is returning to the Aston Martin Works Service at the old factory in Newport Pagnell for its tenth annual auction of historic Aston Martin and Lagonda automobiles and automobilia. To date, the yearly event has generated a whopping £14 million in sales, and with good reason: The auction always features a tempting array of classic British sportscars and such, and this year will be no different. There will be a 1961 Aston Martin DB4 Series III fetching an estimated £100k ($150k), a 1970 DB6 Vantage Volante worth a projected £350k ($530k) and more. One element this year's auction will have that didn't feature in years past, however, are protesters.

Seriously? At a classic car sale? The enthusiasts will be demonstrating against the proposed construction of a Tesco chain supermarket on the site of the old Aston factory there, which they regard as an historically significant site. Aston Martin Lagonda Limited moved its manufacturing facilities to Gaydon in nearby Warwickshire and stopped assembling new Astons at Newport Pagnell when the last Vanquish rolled off the line there in July 2007. Since then, the site has remained home to the Works Service that maintains and restores old Astons and Lagondas, but prestigious as it is, there's only so much space a classics garage needs. Some 2,000 letters of protest against the construction of the supermarket have been sent to date, but the most enthusiastic among the outraged are set to gather at the site this weekend and put on a little show for some of the company's best customers in the hope that the site may be preserved with more dignity than the frozen food section that's planned instead. For more information on what's in store for this year's auction, follow the jump to the full press release.

[Sources: Aston Martin and Octane]