The near angelic vision of art and technology you see before you is neither a figment of your imagination nor a cleverly done computer rendering. Its actually an existing super car by Aston Martin and goes by the designation One-77.  Its also one of the rarest, with only 10 made thus far. Part of the reason is because of its price at about £ 1,120,000 UK, or about $1,750,000 US, give and take a few thousand.  Making it not only the most expensive Aston Martin but one of the costliest vehicle in the world, next to Koenigsegg and Bugatti.  One other reason is because the attention to details.  To be as impeccable as possible, Aston Martin will fly its employee to clients in order to finalize settings on the One-77 suspension, or finish the interior accents in gold, ruthenium, and other rare metals, all to keep the new owner satisfy. The company even customized a special unveiling expierence at the hand off, filled with specifically composed music, light show, and other dramatic display.

Quipped with a 7.2-liter V12 by engine specialist Cosworth, the Aston Martin One-77 isn’t the fastest super car out of the market today.  But its sensual lines, both inside and out, should make it one of the prettiest. via: Wired

Photos:Nick Dimbleby & Basem Wasef

Don’t let the pint size of the Aston Martin Cygnet fool you, this vehicle is as much of a luxury car as its bigger siblings. Aston Martin produced a special video titled Hand Crafted to showcase just how much attention goes into creating the Cygnet. In this day and age where mechanization is commonplace in most industries, Aston Martin took one step back to give each Cygnet a human touch. Shot on location at Gaydon Headquarters, the short film gives us an insight into the production of Cygnet and the craftsmanship that goes into every vehicle. Click after the jump to watch the video in full.

Starting this month, Aston Martin and the company’s racing division begin track test of its newest GT3 entry, the V12 Vantage GT3. First appeared in April of this year, the V12 Vantage GT3 will go on to replace the Aston Martin DBRS9, which first entered the GT3 racing circuit back in 2006. Sharing the same bonded aluminum chassis and 6.0-litre V12 engine as its road-going cousin, engineers tuned the V12 Vantage into a race-ready behemoth with experience gained in the past 6 years. The car will be ready for the GT3 season of 2012. It will also be available for purchase to other GT3 racing teams.

If you’re driving around town in an Aston Martin, you can’t very well be seen on the sidewalk talking into a Blackberry. Luckily, Canadian luxury mobile phone maker Mobiado has the solution. Their just-launched Grand 350 Aston Martin is opulence that can fit in the palm of your hand, featuring a case CNC-machined from aircraft-specification aluminum and a 2.36-inch 272-carat sapphire crystal screen with 16 million colors. Other features include a quad-band antenna, GPS, as well as micro USB and Bluetooth connectivity. No word on pricing, but we figure if you have to ask you probably can’t afford it.

Fast cars, hot women, and ever hotter days… is the best way to describe this year’s Gumball 3000. A mobile party on route from London to Istanbul, a distance of 3000 miles, 8 countries, and approximately 8 days. But thanks to the expertise of its film crew, Nixon, the race’s official time keeper, was able to documented it all in under 2-minutes. Check out the amazing scenes (and an odd Aston Martin with New Jersey license plate) of life on the fast lane.

Want to take this one for a spin? With only 14 vehicles made, the Aston Martin Cygnet by Parisian boutique colette might just be the most exclusive Cygnet sub-compact on the market now. Designed in conjunction with Aston Martin Works Tailored branch, colette added its own flairs – plush Bitter Chocolate Brown interior appointments with honeycomb accents, in honor of colette’s mascot Oscar, a brown Labrador, along with a set of custom seat pillows and extensive stitch works all in colette’s signature blue. The re-work wasn’t limited to the inside as Lightning Silver paint with colette blue racing stripes adorned the outside. Comes with various add-ons including a hand carved stainless steel emblem, co-branded key ring and wallpaper of its navigation system, each of the colette x Aston Martin Cygnet is for sale at around €48,995 or $70,000 US, available only at colette in celebration of the boutique’s 14th anniversary.

colette
213 Rue Saint-Honoré | Map
75001 Paris, France

“Gentlemen… and Ladies, start your engines!” The streets of London briefly filled with lunacy yesterday as the 2011 edition of Gumball 3000 got underway in and around Covent Garden. A rush to the finish point at Istanbul, drivers will have to cover 3000 miles in distance, across 8 countries, and endless speeding rules. Joining this year’s prestigious entries will be hip-hop star turned actress EVE, Bun B and DJ Muggs from Cypress Hill, and a very fitting participant, David ‘The Hoff’ Hasselhoff, though Knight Rider will not be driving KITT this time around. But it won’t be Gumball 3000 if it didn’t have the exotic cars and there were plenty of them this year. Among the many Royce, Bugatti, Lamborghini, and Ferrari, there was a noteworthy vehicle, a rare Aston Martin One-77. First unveiled in Paris Motor Show in 2008 only as a “teaser”, it officially debuted at Geneva Motor Show the next year. With only 77 vehicles made, its exclusivity have some to speculate the price to be around $1.7 million dollars each, making it rarer and as expensive as the Bugatti Veyron. The race will end at Istanbul on June 1st.

Engineers at Aston Martin will not be resting on their laurels any time soon. With the Aston Martin V12 Zagato taking home the Design Award for Concept Cars and Prototypes at Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in Italy, the Gaydon-base Aston Martin already panned out the car’s racing debut at Nürburgring. To take place on May 28th, a race-spec version of the Zagato will compete in 53rd ADAC ACAS H&R-Cup VLN. That will be follow by a 24-hour endurance race, also at Nürburgring, next month. But the question on everyone’s mind, will the vehicle see production? Because of the overwhelmingly positive responses at Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este and elsewhere, CEO of Aston Martin, Dr. Ulrich Bez, made the assuring statement that production of the Aston Martin V12 Zagato will be underway soon. via: WCF

The Aston Martin Vantage V12 Zagato is a homage to their classic DB4GT Zagato, released first in 1960. Italian design house Zagato was responsible for the original design and brought back into this new project to revamp the exterior of the supercar. This vehicle will be launched to celebrate 50th anniversary of Aston Martin. Its aggressive lines and bold features are hand-formed in aluminum body. Under the aluminum skin is a 6 liter V12 engine from the Vantage which produces neck snapping 510 bhp. Only a limited number of vehicles will be made to order and a race version will be debuting later this month as well. via: Cool Hunting

Its bespoke approach in car making meant the sale of Aston Martin to a group of private investors in 2007 was the right decision. Without pressures from stock holders or the constantly gauging the market, the venerable brand doubled its effort in propagating its racing heritage instead. In keeping pace with its revival of the Lagonda series next year, the Gaydon-base car maker unveiled its new entry the GT3 segment, the Vantage GT3. Powered by a 6.0-liter V12 engine, the same as the road going cousin, the V12 Vantage GT3 will also house a semi-automatic paddle shift Xtrac gearbox. Other specifications include a racing ABS braking system, traction control, and ground effects to keep the vehicle adhere to the track. The first Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 will roll off the assembly line this July as replacement to the current DBRS9 GT3 with 10 customer models to follow at the start of next year.

Aston Martin is getting some criticism from the more forward thinking design aficionados, who complain that instead of creating new designs, the British car maker is focused on optioning and tweaking its baseline models – similar to the tactic employed by Porsche, which currently offers 22 versions of the standard 911. Others, who appreciate exactly where Aston is currently at, will be receptive to the Vantage S, which packs in some of the aggressive body styling from the V12 Vantage, and offers an engine optimized to produce 430 hp and 361 lb-ft of torque. The Vantage S also offers a more sport-specific chassis and tuning than the baseline Vantage model, the performance of which is put on display in this 8 minute video from High Gear Media Videos. The Vantage S is seen taking on the numerous curves and corners of the Ascari Race Resort. It’s a window into a stereotypical gentleman’s pursuit; pushing a car that is pedigreed, fast, and luxurious, around a beautiful private track set in the sun drenched south of Spain. And that’s exactly why it’s worth watching. Check out the 8 minute mini-vacation after the jump.

Don’t call it a new Aston Martin; the Virage first emerged in the British luxury sportscar maker’s lineup 20 years ago at the 1988 Birmingham Motor Show in England. Back then, it was heralded as the next big thing for Aston, but turned out to be something of a disappointment, outshined by the DB9 and DBS, which went on to represent the bleeding edge of British automobile performance. Now, ahead of the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, Aston has re-released the Virage in the US, back after a 20 year absence. The Virage is a 2+2 mid engine sport coupe, powered by a 6.0-liter V-12 with 490 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque, which allows the vehicle to sprint from 0 to 62 mph in 4.6 seconds, with a top speed of 186 mph, according to Aston. And while it isn’t the most stunning Aston ever, it is an undeniably beautiful coupe. Aston may be trying to position it as a third alternative, alongside the DB9 and DBS, and in that, it probably fails – the Virage too closely resembles a facelifted DB9. But if taken as just another variation on the theme – vicious but elegant touring coupes – that Aston has elevated to an artwork, it’s nothing to criticize too heavily. Aston luxury touches are present on the interior – a Walnut fascia trim, and Iridium Silver center console, and Aston technology is visible outside – it’s Carbon Ceramic Matrix (CCM) brakes come standard on the Virage. Other options, and pricing, will be announced at the Geneva Show in March. Check out the rest of the gallery after the jump. via: WCF.