Aston Martin DBS Volante at Geneva

Aston Martin's V12-powered rag-top DBS has received a premature online unveiling. To be officially introduced in Geneva, the new 2+2 seater DBS Volante features a fabric top that neatly tucks away behind a sculpted tonneau cover at the touch of a button in 14 seconds. Power is provided by Aston Martin's all alloy 6.0-litre V12 engine producing 510-horsepower and 570 Nm (420 lb ft) of torque for a top speed of 191 mph (307 km/h) and a 0-100 km/h (62mph) time of 4.3 secs.

In standard specification, Aston Martin DBS Volante comes with a rear-mounted six-speed manual gearbox, while for those that don't mind having a less engaging driving experience, the British firm also offers an automatic six-speed 'Touchtronic' option.

To keep the car's weight down (Aston announces a weight of 1,810kg or 3,990 lbs), Aston Martin DBS Volante is offered with carbon ceramic brakes as standard while the bonnet, front wings and boot lid are all made from carbon fibre.

The DBS Volante will be built at Aston Martin's global headquarters at Gaydon, Warwickshire with the first examples expected to be delivered during the third quarter of the year. Prices will be announced at the Geneva Auto Salon.

© Source: carscoop
We need your comments below >>

Read more...

Aston Martin DBS Touchtronic

It’s the pinnacle of the Aston Martin line up and the car of choice for James Bond. And now for the first time the stunning DBS can be ordered with the British firm's Touchtronic gearbox.

The transmission of choice on 90 per cent of standard DB9’s the automatic gearbox has been reworked to suit the sporty nature of the DBS. Aston Martin’s engineers contemplated using the automated manual Sportshift unit from the smaller Vantage but decided that despite its more traditional torque converter set up the automatic Touchtronic could offer the right blend of usability and involvement to keep DBS customers happy.

And the end result is very impressive – when driven in conventional auto mode the gearbox makes the DBS easy to live with in traffic and it copes with low speed manoeuvring better than the automated manual in the Vantage. But given the DBS’s power and focused handling, plenty of driver interaction is crucial and thankfully the steering wheel mounted paddles offer excellent control and a lovely throttle blip on the downshift. The upshifts are 15 per cent faster than in the standard DB9 and if you press the Sport button they are 25 per cent quicker. In addition to making up changes faster the Sport button also gives you a sportier throttle response.

Crucially, if you change up a gear at half throttle the changes are smoother than the Vantage’s Sportshift transmission too and with a shorter final drive ratio, despite being 30kg heavier, the Touchtronic DBS matches the manual’s 0-100mph performance.

Not only that, emissions drop from 388g/km to 367g/km, while claimed combined economy rises from 17.2mpg to a still scary 18.2mpg. But then fuel costs are not high on the list of super car owners concerns and even with its £3,000 price premium over the manual it’s no surprise that Aston Martin predict that the Touchtronic will account for 75 per cent of future DBS orders.

© Source: autoexpress
We need your comments below >>

Read more...

Aston Martin launches DBS auto

Responding to customer requests, Aston Martin has now launched its DBS with an automatic transmission, which it is calling the Touchtronic 2.

Basically, a similar unit to the DB9’s automatic, the Touchtronic 2 is a transaxle ZF transmission which has been upgraded to handle the higher power and torque from the V12 of the DBS. Buttons on the fascia are used to select drive, park and reverse settings, with leather-trimmed magnesium paddles mounted behind the wheel to shift up and down gears. Once a paddle is activated, manual control is selected, with the driver needing to select “Drive” to return to full automatic mode. There is also a “Sport” setting with more aggressive throttle mapping and gear changes.

The 0-100km/h time of 4.3 seconds is unchanged, mainly due to a shortening of the final drive ratio from 3.15:1 to 3.46:1. Top speed of 307km/h is also unchanged.

In addition, the DBS now comes with BeoSound, Bang and Olufsen’s bespoke audio equipment for the DBS. 13 channels, 10 speakers, 1000W - it’s all fitting for Aston Martin.

An optional 2+2 seating configuration will now be offered also, along with new 10-spoke 20-inch wheels with a diamond turned surface, which saves 8kg in unsprung mass.

Pricing on the DBS starts at $497,441 for the manual, and $505,691 for the new Touchtronic 2, excluding on-road costs.

© Source: caradvice
We need your comments below >>

Read more...

Aston Martin DBS First Steer Video

Australia's CarAdvice.com.au road tests the new Aston Martin DBS in Gaydon, England.



© Source: caradvice
We need your comments below >>

Read more...

New Bond Car! Aston Martin at the NY Auto Show

© Source: youtube
We need your comments below >>

Read more...

Aston Affirms Bond Sticks With DBS

Don't worry about old James Bond. Since he ditched his suits for a Speedo and took on a blond 'do, it's been rumored that he'd switch driving machines again--particularly since former Aston Martin owners at Ford have other vehicles they'd like to "prominently place" on movie screens everywhere.

But for the new Bond movie in development--tagged only Bond 22 for now as a title is yet undecided--Daniel Craig will, once again, pilot an Aston DBS. Craig's first Bond flick, 2006's Casino Royale, saw him jet around in the Aston supercar for the first time, setting a Guinness record for "most cannon rolls in a car" at the same time. In that stunt, Aston reminds us, stuntman Adam Kirley rolled the DBS seven times for the cameras. (And we swore it was CGI!)

Bond's former Astons include the DB5 from 1964's Goldfinger, which features ejector seats and rockets. More recently, the Vanquish appeared in DIe Another Day.

The new Bond film isn't due until November of 2008, giving the community involved plenty of time to figure out how to get deadly new gadgets into the DBS.

© Source: thecarconnection
We need your comments below >>

Read more...