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Aston Martin ready the AMR-One for Le Mans 2011

By News Editor on 06/06/2011 in News

In under a week, the Aston Martin Racing team will be putting the new ground-up developed AMR-One LMP1 prototype race car through its toughest test yet in front of a 250,000 strong crowd at the Le Mans 24 Hours on 11-12 June.

The British team are returning to La Sarthe to continue the development of the new Aston Martin Racing AMR-One in its inaugural year on the 8.4 mile (13.6km) circuit. 2011 has seen the re-invention of the Aston Martin Le Mans programme with an innovative prototype car designed ultimately to make the best of the new technical regulations balancing the performance between diesel and petrol engine competitors. All that is carried over from 2010’s entry is the iconic orange and blue Gulf Oil livery.

The Le Mans crowd get their first close look at the Aston Martin Racing AMR-One

The AMR-One features a new 2.0 litre straight six turbo-charged engine designed and built by Aston Martin Racing. The new open-cockpit car was only given the green light in September 2010 and since then the team has been busy designing, building and developing the car ready for its most demanding challenge yet. The main aim for the team at Le Mans this year will be to accumulate valuable experience and information to support its challenge for top honours later in this ambitious three year programme.

As is tradition, Aston Martin will be running the famous starting numbers of 007 and 009 adorning the two works-entered Gulf liveried AMR-Ones. Driving the 007 car will be Darren Turner (GB) Stefan Mücke (D) and newly joined ex F1 ace, Christian Klien (A). Piloting the 009 car will be Harold Primat (CH), Andy Meyrick (GB) and Adrian Fernandez (MX).

On how the car and the team have been progressing in 2011, Team Principal, George Howard-Chappell said: “Time has not been on our side in the build up to Le Mans, however we have made significant progress since our first outing with the car at Paul Ricard in April. We have recently come back from a test in Monza where the engine has demonstrated better reliability, and our drivers have reported very positively on the car’s balance and handling.”

“We won’t be pushing the car to its maximum potential this weekend, as we need to build up to that. It’s a three year programme; we’re in the early stages of the car’s birth so it will be nice if we can run reliably; the performance will come later.”

The Aston Martin factory team will be joined by three customer teams, Kronos Racing in the LMP1 category with their V12 powered DBR1-2, Jota Sport with their GTE-Pro Vantage and Gulf AMR Middle East with their GTE-AM Vantage.

Howard-Chappell continues: “I am delighted that Kronos, Jota and Gulf AMR Middle East join us this year at Le Mans; I know the fans will be thrilled to watch and hear the V12 and V8 Aston Martins battling it out on the circuit.”

The 24 hour endurance epic begins at 15:00 on Saturday 11 June with live television coverage on Eurosport and commentary via Radio Le Mans (www.radiolemans.com).

Aston Martin V12 Zagato wins design award at Villa D’este, Italy

By News Editor on 23/05/2011 in News

At its world premiere this weekend, the Aston Martin V12 Zagato has won the Concorso d’Eleganza Design Award for Concept Cars and Prototypes on the shores of Lake Como, Italy.

Introduced as a modern interpretation of the famous Aston Martin and Zagato collaboration in the 50^thanniversary year of the iconic DB4GT Zagato, the V12 Zagato was shown for the first time at this prestigious international event sparking great interest of visitors and customers.

All visitors to the Concorso D’Eleganza were invited to cast their vote for the best concept and prototype. Among ten entries from around the world, the Aston Martin V12 Zagato was voted the best in class.

Dr Ulrich Bez, CEO of Aston Martin, said: “We are thrilled to see that this car conquered people’s hearts. With the V12 Zagato we managed to add just another successful chapter both to the history of Aston Martin and the future of our brand. This is an exciting car, powerful and incredibly beautiful.”

Marek Reichman, Design Director of Aston Martin, added: “It is an honour to win this award in Italy, where many great designs originated from, and this victory shows that Aston Martin has successfully developed their own renowned design language over the past years. The result is a car that incorporates the core values of the Zagato design language which we perfectly translated into Aston Martin’s modern design DNA.”

Dr Ulrich Bez is looking forward now to taking the car to the Nürburgring where it will have its racing debut at the 53^rd ADAC ACAS H&R-Cup VLN race in less than a week, on the 28^th May. Aston Martin’s Chief Executive Dr Ulrich Bez will lead a driver team which will eventually race two V12 Zagato cars at the Nürburgring 24 hour race on 25^th/26^th June. Dr Bez: “Nürburgring is where we sign-off every new model in terms of dynamics, and there can be no better place for the new V12 Zagato to be finally tested. The 24 hour race is the ultimate road test and a fitting introduction for the V12 Zagato”.

“Based on the reactions of our customers to this race car, we hope to offer a road-homologated V12 Zagato in a small, limited number as soon as possible. First feedback has been great so far, this makes us confident that this new Aston Martin V12 Zagato will be a winner of the classic car vote at Villa D’Este in fifty years time.”

Aston Martin award DB4 GT V12 V12 Zagato Zagato

Aston Martin unveils new V12 Zagato

By News Editor on 20/05/2011 in News

Aston Martin will unveil the stunning new V12 Zagato endurance racer concept on the shores of Lake Como, Italy at the Villa D’Este Concours tomorrow.

Reviving a collaboration which has produced some of the most beautiful and sought-after cars in the world, the partnership takes inspiration from the past, to create a modern descendent of classics such as the DB4GT Zagato, V8 Vantage Zagato and DB7 Zagato based on Aston Martin’s ultimate performance interpretation of the Vantage range: the V12 Vantage.

Dr Ulrich Bez, CEO of Aston Martin said: “The Zagato design language is a perfect complement to our design and engineering expertise. After 50 years of the two companies being associated with each other the partnership has produced some of the world’s most iconic cars.”

“Of course, fifty years ago Italian design houses were widely seen as leading the way with new designs but now and supported by our independency, Aston Martin has its own in-house design ability so this new venture with Zagato is more collaborative than it perhaps would have been in the past.”

“The task for us has been to create a concept that is a natural successor to those iconic cars that have gone before. Matching the technology of the age with the traditional skills vital to deliver such a bespoke and exclusive sports car will lead to a strictly limited run of road going V12 Zagatos.”

Work began in 2010 with initial meetings between Aston Martin and Zagato where sketches incorporating the design DNA of both companies were discussed and a decision was made to proceed with the project.

Director of Design, Marek Reichman added: “The Design team at Gaydon spent time refining the concept using a mixture of the latest computer based modelling techniques along with crafting traditional clay models to give a real world idea of proportion, stance and detail.”

“The V12 Zagato is an elegant yet brutal design which reflects the great balance between race performance and pure Aston Martin style. The original DB4GT Zagato was a true icon, powerful and graceful; the new design is a true representation of the spirit of DB4GT Zagato. The muscular organic forms define the thoroughbred nature of the car’s racing credentials.”

Working alongside the initial design team was a dedicated group of Aston Martin engineers led by Chris Porritt – previously responsible for the engineering of the One-77. With the skills and knowledge gained from such specialised projects this team has worked to bring the unique design of the V12 Zagato to reality in a very short period of time.

Featuring a new handcrafted aluminium body, the Aston Martin V12 Zagato delivers a beautiful and muscular design not possible using pre-formed panel techniques. Using the influences and skill of nearly 100 years of heritage in the craft, every aluminium panel was formed using an English wheel and traditionally crafted body bucks. Each front wing alone comprises seven separate pieces of aluminium, combined and then hand finished to give one flowing form. Another iconic Zagato design cue is the double bubble roof created in this case from five separate pieces illustrating further the intensity of craftsmanship involved in the construction of the V12 Zagato.

Designed for the focused driver, the V12 Zagato has been honed with pure driving enjoyment in mind. The V12 Zagato combines Aston Martin’s most dynamic bonded aluminium platform with the power of the 6.0-litre V12 engine producing 510 bhp (380 kW / 517 PS), and 570 Nm (420 lb ft) of torque.

The V12 Vantage which forms the basis of the V12 Zagato has been proven on the race track as early as 2009 with a class win in its debut race at the 24 hour race at Nürburgring in close to production specification. In 2011 the car has gone on to form the basis of the new Aston Martin GT3 race car unveiled last month.

The first Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato shown to the public in late 1960 spent much of its life as a racing car after launch. Later perhaps the two most famous DB4GT Zagatos, registered ‘1 VEV’ and ‘2 VEV’ were raced with success by such names as Jim Clark and Roy Salvadori. The fascinating story of these cars and the nature of high performance and low weight which drove the Zagato projects gave the inspiration for the first two V12 Zagatos to be created as endurance race cars.

The racing debut of the Aston Martin V12 Zagato will be at the 53. ADAC ACAS H&R-Cup VLN round at the Nürburgring on 28^th May with a view to two cars racing at the 24 hour race on 25/26 June. The cars will be driven by an experienced driver team, led for the sixth year by Chief Executive Dr. Ulrich Bez.

The Aston Martin V12 Zagato will be shown for the first time at the Villa D’Este Concours on Saturday 21^st May 2011.

Aston Martin V12 V12 Zagato Zagato

Aston Martin announces new collaboration with Zagato

By News Editor on 11/05/2011 in News

Aston Martin has announced an exciting new collaboration with renowned Italian design house Zagato in the 50th anniversary year of the iconic DB4GT Zagato. The first product of this renewed working partnership will be shown for the first time at the famous Villa D’Este Concours on 21st May 2011, with a racing debut at Nürburgring later in the month.

Aston Martin and Zagato have enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship since their first collaboration which culminated in the production of the now iconic DB4GT Zagato 50 years ago.

Dr. Ulrich Bez, Chief Executive said: “The DNA of both Aston Martin and Zagato has combined successfully to make some of the world’s most desirable collector cars in the past and in this special anniversary year of the DB4GT Zagato it is appropriate to explore a modern collaboration.”

“Now is the right time for a new Aston Martin Zagato and in combining our design intelligence I think we can create something fitting of the iconic DB4GT Zagato that has gone before and since established itself as one of the most famous Aston Martins of all time.”

Work on the new Aston Martin Zagato collaboration is well under way with an initial concept to be presented at the Villa D’Este Concours in May to gauge initial customer reaction with a view to a production car following in 2012.

Aston Martin Design Director, Marek Reichman added: “Our designers are able to collaborate with a broad spectrum of organisations and individuals to seek new and exciting ideas and inspiration due to Aston Martin’s independency.”

“Working with Zagato again in 2011 is inspirational for the team – certainly DB4GT Zagato is one of my favourite ever designs as it is with many of the designers in our studio. We can create a truly modern Aston Martin interpretation which stays true to the historical routes of the relationship with Zagato.”

The first partnership between Aston Martin and Zagato came to fruition in 1961 after Aston Martin sought to remove even more weight from the very special DB4GT. In the search of an ever lighter and higher performance version, Aston Martin approached Zagato, a company renowned for such projects. Managing Director, Elio Zagato and Technical Director Gianni Zagato along with a talented team managed to draft the main designs of the DB4GT Zagato in just one week.

After previewing the car late in 1960 at the London Motor Show to great acclaim, Aston Martin began taking orders from customers and production of this exclusive car began in 1961. Of the original 19 DB4GT Zagato built, all still survive and are held in pride of place within some of the worlds greatest car collections. The first car built and used to unveil to the public was later was raced extensively beginning with its debut at Goodwood in 1961.

Of all of the Aston Martin DB4GT Zagatos, three were built to a lightweight racing specification designated within Aston Martin as DP209 (Design Project Number). Among these were perhaps the two most famous DB4 GT Zagatos, ordered by the Essex Racing Stable and registered as ‘1 VEV’ and ‘2 VEV’. These cars were raced successfully by great names such as Jim Clark and Roy Salvadori. In tribute to this racing heritage the product of this great partnership in 2011, 50 years on, will be campaigned in endurance racing, commencing at the Nürburgring on 28th May.

25 years after this first collaboration between Aston Martin and Zagato the two companies joined forces again in 1986 to design and build a limited number of the V8 Vantage Zagato and then later the V8 Zagato Volante. The former of the two cars, based upon the highly acclaimed V8 Vantage, was heralded as one of the most dynamic Aston Martins offering performance figures of 0-60mph in 4.8 seconds and a top speed of 186mph (300 kph).

A more recent project took place with the design and production of the DB7 Zagato. Launched to the world at the Paris Motor Show in 2002 with production following in 2003; 99 examples were built for sale with number 100 kept by Aston Martin. Further to the announcement of the DB7 Zagato a great deal of interest was shown by customers in the USA for a version suited specifically to the climates of Florida and California and thus the collaboration extended to an identical number of DB-AR1 (American Roadster 1) being produced. Similar in styling to the DB7 Zagato but built as a pure two-seat roadster with no roof the DB AR1 answered this demand perfectly.

50 years on from the first meeting of the two companies the new collaboration from Aston Martin and Zagato will be shown for the first time at the Villa D’Este Concours held on the shores of Lake Como Italy on Saturday 21st May 2011.

Aston Martin DB4 DB4 GT Dr Ulrich Bez GT Zagato