Aston Martin Previews New DBS with AM310 Concept

One of the surprise debutants of the 2012 edition of the Concorso d'Eleganza, which took place in Lake Como in northern Italy this weekend, is the Aston Martin Project AM310 Concept. Mind you, this is not one of your run-of-the-mill concept studies but a pre-production version of the DBS replacement that will make its debut later this year before it goes on sale worldwide in early 2013.
With the exception of the two-tone alloy wheels and the visible carbon fiber aero kit and mirrors, this is the same car we showed you a couple of day ago testing on the Nürburgring.
The styling of the DBS replacement has been freshened up in a revolutionary kind of way with design cues from the One-77, especially in the profile with the sharper and more pronounced front and rear fenders, and the use of chrome on the window line, as well as the rounded rear with the stretched 'C' shaped tail lamps.
Aston Martin is keeping quiet about the AM310 simply revealing that it is powered by a 6.0-liter V12 and that it uses a lot of carbon fiber – evidently for the construction of both the bodywork and the chassis.
From what we understand, the next DBS makes use of a more powerful version of the V12 engine as well as a lighter and improved variation of the VH chassis found on the current model. We expect to learn more over the next couple of weeks.
In the meantime, head over the break to check out a gallery, courtesy of our Dutch friends at Autoblog.nl, along with a video from the event, of the new Aston Martin AM 310 Concept.

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Aston Martin V8 Vantage Design Concept

Some designers like their cars to be complex and overly aggressive in their details while others prefer to keep things sleek and simple. This Aston Martin V8 Vantage concept, which was sent to Carscoop by independent designer Narcis Mares, is one of those cars we would personally catalogue in the second group.
Mares says he drew his inspiration from several Aston Martins ranging from the British brand's brutish 1980s models to the more contemporary V12 Vanquish and V8 Vantage coupes, though we must say that we also see a hint of BMW Z4 on the supercar concept's profile.
Overall, we find Mares' Aston Martin V8 Vantage to be a handsome concept and are especially fond of the super clean and minimalistic front- and rear-end designs.
Check out the rest of the photos below and then head over to the comments section to tell us what you think of the study.

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Aston Martin V12 Zagato Final Production

Aston Martin has released the first official images of the final production version of its new limited run V12 Zagato that we first laid eyes on as a concept in both road going and racing flavors at last year's Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in Italy. The new V12 Zagato will make its world premiere at the 2012 Kuwait Concours d’ Elegance next week with its European debut to take place at the Geneva Salon in early March.
As the name suggest, it was designed as the ultimate Vantage by Italian coachbuilder Zagato to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its first partnership with Aston Martin, the 1962 DB4GT Zagato.
“Our relationship with Zagato stretches back more than 50 years. Together in that time we have created a series of very special cars," said Aston Martin CEO Ulrich Bez. "The first – the DB4GT Zagato – is a true icon: fast, beautiful and incredibly desirable. In the V12 Zagato I believe we have captured the spirit of that car and combined it with a confident twist of modernity to give it a character all of its own.”
Using the running gear of the V12 Vantage, Zagato penned a unique body and interior for the limited run special.
The bonnet along with the ‘double-bubble’ roof and doors are hand-crafted aluminium, while the front and rear fenders, door sills and boot lid surround are made from carbon fibre. Customers will be able to choose from four bespoke exterior colors including Scintilla Silver, Alloro Green, Alba Blue and Diavolo Red.
We only get a peak of the interior for now, but the pictures reveal that Zagato dressed the cabin in a combination of black leather and alcantara with patterned red stitching along with carbon fiber trims.
Power comes from the regular Vantage's normally aspirated 6.0-litre V12 producing 517PS (510bhp) at 6,500rpm and 570Nm (420lb ft) of torque at 5,750rpm, linked to a six-speed manual gearbox.
Production of the V12 Zagato will commence in the third quarter of the year with first deliveries to take place in the fourth quarter.
Aston Martin said it will build only 150 cars, all of which are available for pre-order with a starting price of £330,000 (plus local taxes), which comes to about US$519,700 or €398,500 at today's exchange rates.

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Project Kahn Tries to Make Something Out of Nothing

There are plenty of reasons not to buy into Aston Martin's cover up of the Toyota iQ, but if you have already paid twice or perhaps even three times as much for a cooler grille and a luxed up interior and still aren’t happy about the way the Cygnet looks and sounds, Project Kahn has some select upgrades for you. On the outside, the British tuner fits the Cygnet with its own alloy wheels that are available in various colors (size 17-in. up front and 18-in. at the back), a new set of brake calipers finished in heat resistant paint, again in whatever color the customer wants, and bespoke exhaust tail pipes.
A lowering module for the suspension gives the Cygnet city car a more aggressive stance while also promising to improve handling.
In typical Kahn fashion, there are no photos of the interior with the British tuner repeating its vague statement that customers "can have whatever they want" and that "Afzal Kahn could, for example, design an exterior the colour of your jeans and an interior with seats the same shade of a grey T-shirt".
Along with the tuning package for the Cygnet, Kahn also released a new timepiece with a white fascia and a black leather strap with contrast white stitching.

Factory fitted option – Aston Martin Cygnet
Bag
Umbrella
First Aid Kit
Rear Parking Sensors
Bright Finish Upper and Lower Grille
Mirror Cap in Body Colour
Tailgate Finisher
Mesh in Magnum Silver
Tailgate Spoiler
Satellite Navigation
Kahn GMT Pure watch specification:
Pure white Face
Stainless Steel Case
50M Water Resistant
Quartz Movement
Date function
Black Leather Strap with contrast white stitching
World time zones with all major world cities
Kahn Inscription
40MM Diameter
Swiss Made

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