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2011 Aston Martin DBS spy shots – Click above for high-res image gallery

Our spy photographers have been busy little bees lately. The crew recently managed to set their lenses on what appears to be the next Aston Martin DBS, complete with a pretty new face. From what we can tell, the company has refreshed the V12 heathen with all-new body work from the A pillars forward. The car now wears a revised fascia with thinner headlamps, and the hood appears to have a few new wrinkles as well. We’re having a hard time telling if the front fenders have been significantly massaged or not, but chances are they’ve been modified somewhat to mate with those new LED-bespeckled lights.

From the rear, its clear Aston Martin has equipped the car with a redesigned diffuser, and the taillights have been redrawn as well. So, will the company supply buyers with any extra power to accompany the new suit of clothes on the DBS? It’s possible, but not likely. Odds are the car will still pack the same burly 6.0-liter V12 with 510 horsepower. Which still sounds pretty good to us.

Spy Shots: Aston Martin DBS gets a nip, a tuck and new headlamps originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 21 Jun 2010 19:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Edo Competition Aston Martin DB9/DBS – Click above for high-res image gallery

You’d think that someone who can afford to have their Aston Martin DB9 transformed into a DBS could probably afford to simply buy a new DBS. We can’t really speak to the motivations of one Russian DB9 owner, but Edo Competition wasn’t about to argue with a paying customer.

After the five-year old DB9 was brought to Edo for conversion, the tuner replaced the original metal body panels with the carbon fiber parts used on Aston’s flagship DB. In addition to the external appearance, the interior of the car has been customized with a mix of leather, Alcantara, carbon fiber and metal.

The DB9’s 5.9-liter V12 has also been upgraded from 470 horsepower to 550 hp, taking it beyond the 510 hp output of the factory-built DBS. A car that goes faster needs to be able to stop as well, so the binders have been enlarged, though Edo oddly stuck with steel brakes instead of upgrading them to carbon. No cost has been disclosed for the conversion, but we can’t help but wonder whether the net expenditure was greater than the cost of a new car minus the trade-in.

[Source: Edo Competition]

EDO Competition converts five-year-old Aston Martin DB9 into DBS originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 19 Jun 2010 15:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2010 Aston Martin DBS Carbon Black – Click above for high-res image gallery

We’ll admit right now that we have never been completely taken with the Aston Martin DBS. It wasn’t that we didn’t like it – on the contrary, it’s every bit the fabulous car. It’s just that we found the DBS slightly… too much, in the same way you could have too much pampering or too much caviar. Even as you’re finding the words to decline the next round of Beluga you’re thinking, “Wow, I can’t believe I’m about to give this the stiffarm, but…” It’s all about the fact that the DB9, to our eyes, is just right. The DB9 needs nothing added, and as fabulous as the DBS is, it marks the addition of that not-needed something.

Then the DBS Carbon Black came for a visit, so you can consider this our about-face: The DBS – or rather, this DBS – is our first choice in Astons, so much so that we’d only look at the others after driving this one into some shallow, oily grave.

Photos by Jonathon Ramsey / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading Review: Aston Martin DBS Carbon Black devours suns, spits them out

Review: Aston Martin DBS Carbon Black devours suns, spits them out originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 03 May 2010 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aston Martin DBS Carbon Black Edition – Click above for high-res image gallery

If you’ve been waiting patiently – even not so patiently – to get your hands on the new Carbon Black edition of the Aston Martin DBS, you’ll still have to wait until the summer to take delivery. Oh, and a trunk full of hundred-dollar bills. But if all you want is to catch a glimpse, we’ve got good news for you. Because no matter where you are in the continental United States, chances are there’s a DBS Carbon coming to a city near you.

In a special demonstration organized by Aston’s exclusive audio partner Bang & Olufsen – which furnishes the 13-speaker, 1000-watt sound system in the DBS – a pair of the special Carbon Black editions will be touring America. Along their route, they’ll be hitting New York, Washington, Miami, Dallas, Chicago, San Francisco and LA. So unless you live in Oregon, you’re covered.

If you do swing by a local Aston dealer when the Carbon Black editions are in town, you’ll see a pair of DBS coupes with a special-process black flick paint and an interior with carbon-Kevlar seats covered in black leather with silver stitching, along with special wheels and badging.

[Source: Inside Line]

Coming to a City Near You: Aston Martin DBS Carbon Black Edition originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Quantum of Solace Aston Martin DBS – Click above for high-res image gallery

If you’re not a big fan of Olympic ice skating you probably missed the fact that U.S. skater Evan Lysacek beat out Russian favorite Evgeni Plushenko to win the gold metal at the Vancouver games. We know we missed it, but we can’t pass on a chance to talk about the Aston Martin DBS.

It seems Lysacek has a fondness for fast cars and James Bond movies, and the best way to celebrate the biggest of skating wins is with an Aston. Yahoo is reporting that Lysacek will celebrate victory in the Great White North by ponying up more than $269,000 for a new DBS (the Quantum of Solace DBS starts at $305,000). The world-renown skater (in skating circles, anyway) is trading up from his Land Rover for an English GT that is more our cup of tea. Yahoo quotes Aston Martin Newport Beach in Southern California executive salesman Gary Briggs as saying “we know how much Evan likes his luxury cars, and he will enjoy taking a tour of a showroom and test driving the DBS.” So would we.

As to how Lysacek intends to pay for his new Aston, we’re guessing the advertising deals that come with winning gold in one of the winter game’s more popular events will more than make up for the quarter million he’ll need to spend to get behind the wheel of a DBS. We never really aspired to Olympic gold, but if we knew the winner got a DBS, we may have taken those childhood skiing lessons a bit more seriously. Let us know when you’re ready to take us for a spin, Evan.

[Source: Yahoo Sports via Daily Derbi]

Gold medal winner Evan Lysacek only has eyes for Aston Martin DBS originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aston Martin DBS replica based on Opel Calibra – Click above for image gallery

If James Bond were real, we wouldn’t recommend trying to impersonate him. We get the feeling that 007 wouldn’t take to impostors very well. Fortunately he’s a fictional character – or so we’re led to believe – so the gloves are off. If you’re planning on pulling off the Bond look, you’re going to need a Bond car. And if it’s the Bond of late, you’ll need an Aston Martin. Unfortunately, most of us can’t afford a real Aston, so a group of coachbuilders – apparently in Thailand, world capital of the sex-change operation – have created this replica.

The clone is built on the chassis of an Opel Calibra, a sports-coupe also sold with the same nameplate in different markets alternatively as a Vauxhall (UK), Holden (Australia) or Chevrolet (South America) and based on a Saab-sourced platform. Apparently the Calibra is known as a good starting point for replicas, with reports of Porsche Turbos and others based on the same. Whether this one is any better executed, however, than the Mustang-based Vanquish or the one based on the Mazda Miata is another story.

While reports suggest this a replica of a DB9, to our eyes bears the hallmarks of the DBS that’s been 007’s ride for the past couple of installments. Which is a good thing, because if you’re going to pull off the looky-look, you’d better get the details right. Have a closer look in the gallery below, and for comparison’s sake, an example of the donor car in the one below that.

[Source: TopSpeed via CarScoop]

From Thailand with Love: Aston Martin DBS replica based on Opel Calibra originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aston Martin V12 Vantage “Carbon Black” – click above for high-res image gallery

As if your average, run-of-the-mill Aston Martin wasn’t special enough, the folks that regularly rifle around in 007’s garage have now put together a pair of limited editions of their DBS and V12 Vantage sports coupes. As you might guess by the Carbon Black name, the special versions have decidedly noir paint schemes. The metallic black finish is formulated to flip around depending on how the light hits it, giving a different look at different times. Applying the new finish will require 50 hours of handwork per car, and as you might expect, those labor rates don’t come cheap. Oh, and on the Vantage, the strake in the fender vent is also fabricated out of carbon fiber for an extra special touch.

The midnight theme continues on the inside, where the cabon-fiber-and-Kevlar seats are covered in Obsidian black leather with silver stitching. Other model-specific items include anodized black tread plates, “carbon themed” door sill garnishes, and the dashboard and center console trims are finished in piano black. Given the number of border-line econoboxes using piano black these days, we think it might have been nice for Aston to have considered something different for that last element. If this bothers you, no doubt Aston would do something more unique for a “nominal” fee. It’s not all pure appearance however – the new chairs save 37 pounds.

Aston Martin dealers are taking orders now, but the final price won’t be set until early 2010. Aston also hasn’t said how limited these editions will be, so you might want to hurry and get your deposit in.

[Source: Aston Martin]

Continue reading Heart of Darkness: Aston Martin introduces limited-edition Carbon Black DBS and Vantage

Heart of Darkness: Aston Martin introduces limited-edition Carbon Black DBS and Vantage originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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