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Aston Martin has announced two exciting developments for both new and existing customers of the company’s flagship Vanquish S. Just 40 examples of a new Vanquish S Ultimate Edition will be handcrafted at the company’s Newport Pagnell production facility in Buckinghamshire. The model represents a luxurious and unique limited edition befitting the Vanquish S’s status as the ultimate Aston Martin and also celebrates the skilled craftsmanship of the team working at Newport Pagnell. The Ultimate Edition will be available by special request to customers wishing to celebrate the last of a significant car in Aston Martin’s history. Initial feedback suggests the whole allocation of this special edition will be sold within weeks of launch.

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The full range of Aston Martin racing cars tested together for the first time at the Paul Ricard High Tech Test Track in the South of France on the 9th and 10th of February. Aston Martin Racing was joined by Aston Martin Racing BMS, Barwell Motorsport, Hexis Racing and Aston Martin’s own V8 Vantage N24. The test made for spectacular viewing with three DBR9s, six DBRS9s and the V8 all thundering around the 6km Le Castellet circuit.

In stark contrast to the snow in the UK, the teams were greeted with bright sunshine for the first day of the test and enjoyed dry conditions all day. Damp conditions on the second day of the test didn’t deter the teams or dampen their spirits.

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Aston Martin has confirmed details of its N24 race car, based on the critically acclaimed V8 Vantage road car, which will be showcased at the Autosport International Show this week. The Vantage N24 is based on a standard European specification production V8 Vantage, with modifications undertaken to prepare the car for the competitive racing environment.

At the 2006 British Motor Show, Aston Martin Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ulrich Bez, announced that the company would build a limited production run of cars based on the V8 Vantage that completed the Nürburgring 24-hour endurance race that June. The near standard V8 Vantage finished 24th overall out of 220 starters, completing some 130 laps of the 15.77 mile circuit – in a field of mostly specialised race-homologated entrants.

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Visitors to the 2007 North American International Auto Show in Detroit will discover a new edge to Aston Martin’s ongoing reinvention. The company will be creating an art installation, a collaboration between world renowned automotive photographer René Staud and the eagerly awaited Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster. Staud’s dramatic imagery of two Vantage Roadsters, one Silver Ice and one Fire Red, set in amongst the stunning Icelandic landscape, forms a 100 square metre photographic backdrop for the stand. The two cars used in the shoot are staged in front of this image, placed on a field of black volcanic sand. The Fire and Ice theme forms the core of all Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster communications, including the dramatic and evocative imagery used in the official brochure and press material.

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Aston Martin’s factory prepared, production standard, N24 V8 Vantage has achieved an impressive overall eighth place finish in the inaugural 24-hour race of Bahrain, competing in a field consisting of largely motorsport homologated cars.

Greeted at the chequered flag by a jubilant team – a group of volunteers from the company’s engineering and prototype development departments – the N24 Vantage capped a consistent 24-hour performance, finishing eight laps in front of the ninth placed runner.

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The expansion of Aston Martin’s global dealership network is all set to move into Russia for the first time in the company’s 94-year history. The Aston Martin franchise has been awarded to Andrey Lomakin and Andrey Boyko who also jointly own A.G. Marine, one of the leading specialists of luxury yachts in Moscow. The new dealership will be located on the prestigious Vozdvizhenka Street and will operate under the name of Aston Martin Moscow.

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Prodrive has launched a range of parts for the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, which improves the car’s performance and enhances its driving dynamics. The range includes: a performance pack for the engine; new driver-adjustable suspension; unique forged wheels; and a discreet aero package. Prodrive has tuned the 4.3 litre V8 engine to raise peak power from 283 kW (380 bhp) to 317 kW (425 bhp), as well as increasing peak torque from 410 Nm (302 lbft) to 440 Nm (325 lbft). This reduces the car’s 0-100 km/h time from 5.0 secs to 4.7 secs (est) and increases the top speed by 13 km/h to 293 km/h (est). A new throttle map, combined with the increase in torque, also make the engine more responsive throughout the rev range.

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“Casino Royale”, the 21st James Bond film and the first to star Daniel Craig, has broken British Box Office records on its opening weekend. The film took £1.7m on its opening day, a new record for a Bond film, and grossed £13.4m over the weekend, breaking the previous Bond record of £9.1m, set by “Die Another Day” in 2002. On July 15 at the Milbrook proving ground in Milton Keynes, the film and Aston Martin entered the Guinness Book of Records as stunt man Adam Kirley rolled an Aston Martin DBS seven times in a single stunt, beating the previous record of six set by a stunt man on BBC’s Top Gear programme last year. Gary Powell, “Casino Royale” stunt coordinator, said: “We rehearsed the stunt several times driving test cars, which were a similar weight to the Aston Martin, at 80mph towards a ten inch ramp which worked very well. The cars flipped over at least 5 3/4 times in rehearsal. But we knew, due to the design and suspension of the Aston Martin DBS, it would probably level itself out in mid-air.”

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Aston Martin will unveil one of the most eagerly anticipated convertibles of the year when the V8 Vantage Roadster is revealed at the 2006 Los Angeles Auto Show on Wednesday 29th November. Aston Martin Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ulrich Bez said: “The V8 Vantage Roadster is a pure sports car, a car that heightens the senses and provides a dynamically thrilling driving experience. The Vantage Roadster adds to the unbeatable thrill of open air motoring and by combining engineering excellence, technological innovation and physical perfection, will ensure every journey is one to remember.”

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At the 2006 Paris Motor Show Aston Martin debuts a new automated manual transmission option for the V8 Vantage - Sportshift. Sportshift adds electro-hydraulic control to the existing Vantage 6-speed manual gearbox to offer improved shift times and replaces the conventional manual gear lever with push button controls on the centre console to select ‘Auto Drive’, ‘Reverse’ or ‘Neutral’.

Manual gear changes are selected in Paddle Shift Mode – the new ultra-quick system provides the driver with heightened precision via fingertip control of gear changes using paddles, forged from lightweight magnesium, located directly behind the steering wheel to progress smoothly and swiftly through the ratios.

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