Author: mark

Aston Martin DB9 GT Bond Edition Revealed! 

Aston Martin has revealed a new ‘007 Bond Edition’ to its DB9 GT range to celebrate the firm’s appearance in the upcoming James Bond film “Spectre.”

The Bond Edition Aston is based on the DB9 GT and is a run-out special built to commemorate the DB9’s 12-year life before the new DB11 arrives next year.

Limited to only 150 examples, the special edition uses the same 6.0-litre V12 engine, tuned to deliver 540bhp and 457lb ft of torque, and it can manage the 0-62mph in 4.5sec, at a top speed of 183mph.

The DB9 Bond Edition gets a unique “Spectre Silver” paint and “007 Bond Edition” exterior badging. On the interior, there are sill plaques with the 007 logo, Bond-themed embroidery and various special accessories offered by Aston, such as, a leather Globe-Trotter luggage and a special Omega watch with an Aston strap.

To enhance further the “007” feeling, the AMi II touch-sensitive Aston Martin infotainment system has been programmed in with a special Bond Edition start-up screen.

The DB9 GT Bond Edition is available to order now and it costs £165,000. 

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Meet Peugeot’s Latest Concept, the All-Electric Fractal.

Peugeot’s all-electric Fractal concept will be revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show next week.

The compact four seat coupe, which showcases Peugeot’s future look, feel and sound, is powered by a lithium-ion battery, driving two 168bhp electric motors, giving a combined 335bhp and a range of up to 280 miles on a single charge. According to Peugeot, the Fractal can manage 0-62mph in 6.8secs.

The lightweight concept car is shorter than a 208 supermini, but much lower and wider, with massive 19-inch wheels. The Fractal also has the ability to change its ride height; a ground clearance of 11cm in the city is reduced to 7cm on motorways in order to improve aerodynamics and save battery life.

Peugeot says that more than 80% of the interior has been created using 3D-printed components, and the design was inspired by materials and surfaces used in recording studios. The reason being to absorb unwelcome sounds and improve the clarity of the 12-speaker sound system with vibrating sub-woofer. The seats also feature a ‘tactile’ system for delivering bass sound.

One of the most important features of the new concept is its digital sound signature, which alerts pedestrians to its presence. The sound is a response to the impending European legislation that states that all electric vehicles must make some sort of sound while driving by 2019.

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The New Lexus RX Will Make Its European Debut in Frankfurt. 

Following its international launch at the New York show in April, the all-new fourth generation Lexus RX will be making its European debut at the Frankfurt motor show on September 15^th.

Larger, more luxurious and more efficient than its predecessor, the new RX is likely to take on the BMW X5 and new Mercedes GLE.

The new RX will be available with a 3.5-litre V6 and petrol hybrid powertrains and most of the RX variants will come equipped with Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS) system, which monitors and adapts steering electronically to provide suitable handling for different driving conditions.

On the exterior the new car matches Lexus’ latest design features with a larger grille and redesigned headlight clusters at the front, and a revised roof design at the back with a more aerodynamic, sloping shape.

Inside the cabin, main emphasis is given on comfort and luxury with a 12.3-inch central screen and a large head-up display dominating the driver’s eyeline. Expensive finishes like laser-cut wood, a full-length panoramic sunroof and reclining and heated seats for rear passengers are optional.

Prices for the new RX have not been announced yet however, a starting price of around £45,000 for the hybrid is possible.

Further details and official prices will be confirmed when the car goes on sale in late 2015.

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Bugatti Veyron’s Successor is Officially Teased!

With every Veyron now sold, Bugatti is preparing for its next big supercar and has released a teaser video of its successor.

The Veyron replacement is expected to use an updated version of its predecessor’s turbocharged 8.0-litre W16 engine and to produce an incredible 1500bhp and 1,100 pound-feet of torque. The new supercar will be capable of 0-60mph in around 2.0s, reaching a top speed of over 280 mph.

Although the video doesn’t show any footage of the mystery car, the new Bugatti is expected to be lighter, more nimble, and more powerful, and to feature a highly luxurious cabin complete with all of the very latest in connectivity technology. 

According to Volkswagen, the new model will have “the fastest top speed of any series-production road car, together with the sort of driveability to allow you to use it every day.”

Bugatti hasn’t officially confirmed the name of its new hypercar but the name ‘Chiron’ is rumoured to have been chosen for the new model.

The new Bugatti will be revealed in 2016 with deliveries expected to start the following year.

Oracle Finance, providing flexible finance for exceptional cars.

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Several Records Smashed at Pebble Beach Classic Car Auction!

Pebble Beach is considered to be one of the world’s most prestigious classic car events, and this year proved again that motors can be lucrative investments.  

Over $128m classic cars were sold during the event, with 3 cars sold above $10m and 26 cars below $1m, breaking thus the company’s record.  

The auction demonstrated how important provenance is and how it can affect a car’s value. A 1976 930-series Porsche 911 Turbo, which was once owned by Steve McQueen (image), was sold for £1.25m, that is around 10 times the value of a standard 930. 

Similarly, car’s heritage and rarity proved to be equally important. A 1953 Jaguar C-type Lightweight was sold for $13.2m as it was one of just three made and it ran at Le Mans in 1953 and 1954.  

Ferrari managed to gather the highest bids (seven of the top 10 sales) with a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider sold for $16.8m and a 1962 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Speciale for $15.5m.

One of the auction’s highlights was a collector’s private collection, named the Pinnacle Portfolio, which was sold for $75.4m breaking the record for a private collection sold in a one-day auction!

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Meet the New Mercedes-AMG C63 Coupe.

Mercedes-AMG has officially revealed details of the new AMG C63 Coupe, which will make its European debut on 15th September at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

The AMG C63 is similar to the all-new C-Class Coupe but with a more aggressive bodykit that includes wider arches, a new front bumper with beefier air intakes, larger wheels, chunky side skirts and quad exhausts.  

The car features AMG’s 4.0-litre bi-turbo V8 engine producing 469bhp and 650Nm of torque in the ‘base’ variant, and a whopping 503bhp and 700Nm in the ‘S’ model.  The ‘S’ model can manage the 0-62mph sprint in 3.9 seconds, just slightly faster than the saloon,  at a limited speed of 155mph.

Inside the cabin, AMG badging, optional AMG Performance seats and bespoke instruments are the only real changes over the standard coupe, although the seating position is lower than the saloon.

Official Prices have not yet been revealed but a small premium over the base C63 Saloon’s £60k starting price is expected. The new Mercedes AMG C63 coupe is due to go on sale March 2016.

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Aston Martin Lagonda Taraf Goes On Sale from £696,000!

Originally destined exclusively for the Middle East, customer demand forced the company to offer the Lagonda Taraf for sale in selected markets, such as, the UK, Singapore, South Africa and in EU-compliant continental Europe. 

Each Lagonda will be hand built by Aston Martin’s special projects division and its near £700k price tag places it well above other super-luxury saloons, like the Rolls-Royce Phantom and the Bentley Mulsanne, which cost £373,824 and £229,360, respectively.

The new Lagonda is built on an aluminium body structure encased in carbon fibre body panels to keep the weight of the long saloon in line with its performance. Powered by a 550bhp 5.9-litre naturally aspirated V12 engine the car produces 537bhp and 465lb ft of torque and it’s capable of reaching 0-60 mph in just 4.4s at a top speed of 200mph.

The luxury limousine is designed to evoke the spirit of the historic Lagonda of the 1970s and Aston Martin’s design director, Marek Reichman, referred to the car as  a ‘Concorde amidst airliners’  and added that “…the new model has been created as a piece of exceptional automotive art.”  

Precise pricing details remain confidential as each Lagonda Taraf will be individually crafted and the luxurious bespoke interior will be built to customer’s specification. 

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The Roofless Lamborghini Aventador SV Is Here!  

The first images and details of the open-topped Aventador Superveloce Roadster have been revealed at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California.

The LP750-4 SV Roadster is based on the Aventador SV coupe and uses the same 6.5-litre V12 engine with the 740bhp maximum power output at 8,500rpm. Compared to the hard-roof SV, the SV Roadster can do 0-62mph in 2.9s that is just 0.1s slower, at the same top speed of 217mph.

The SV Roadster follows the same styling as the coupe, but with a gaping rear diffuser, slashed side-sills, a jutting front bumper and a massive motorsport-style fixed rear wing. The removable roof is made from two separate quick-release panels, each weighing less than 6kg. The SV Roadster also features a pop-up rear windscreen that can be raised and lowered by the driver in order to reduce noise and wind when the roof panels are removed. 

Lamborghini confirmed that only 500 Aventador LP750-4 SVs will be built and deliveries of the £350k Roadster will start next Spring. 

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BMW M4 GTS Concept; The Pinnacle of BMW Performance.         

The BMW Concept M4 GTS made its first public appearance at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California.

Based on the current turbocharged M4 coupe, the M4 GTS is a lightweight, track-focussed road car, with more power and aggressive aerodynamics.

It showcases BMW’s new technology, which includes an innovative water injection system that increased the power and torque of the GTS’s 3.0-litre twin turbocharged six-cylinder petrol engine to produce over 460bhp and nearly 450lb ft of torque.

M division engineers focussed on developing a road car that’s optimised for the track and as Frank van Meel, president of BMW’s M division, said “…despite its outstanding track ability, it is still fully road legal.”

The new M4’s carbon fibre front splitter and rear wing are both manually adjustable to aid aerodynamic balance, and the bonnet is made from carbon-fibre reinforced plastic to help reduce the standard M4’s 1595kg kerb weight.

The car also features OLED (organic light-emitting diodes) rear lights which omit a full surface and homogenous illumination rather than a single point of light as with a regular LED light.   

The limited-edition M4 GTS model will appear at Frankfurt Motor Show next month and the production version is expected to be in the showrooms by Spring 2016. 

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