Aston Martin Racing will debut the Vantage GT2 at the first round of the Le Mans series on April 5. The car can run on either racing fuel or E85 bioethanol, making it the greenie's race favorite.

Full story here.

Here's Inside Line's take: Aston Martin Racing Shows off More Pictures of Vantage GT2

Aston Martin will tell you that this V12-powered Vantage RS is just a concept. Yeah, and the Pussycat Dolls can sing.

To create the Aston Martin V12 Vantage RS, Aston's engineers put the company's largest V12 engine in its smallest car. The result is a a 600-horsepower monster that can reach 200 mph. If it goes into production (as we think it will), the Vantage RS would be the fastest street-legal Aston Martin you can buy.

The fact that V12 Vantage RS is just sitting in the Aston stand at this year's Geneva auto show will only further fuel production rumors. In fact, yesterday we saw Aston principal and the Chairman of Prodrive David Richards (he bought the company from Ford in December) giving Formula 1 and 24 Hours of Le Mans racing legend Jacky Ickx a tour of the car. Hmmmmm.-- Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief

More evidence of the impact of the green movement upon motorsports is the announcement of Aston Martin's GT2 race car can run on either E85 bioethanol or standard race fuel. In 2007 Aston Martin converted a standard DBRS9 to run on E85, and this is the next logical extension of that experiment.

"Thanks to our experience with the DBRS9, we have been able to develop a bioethanol-fueled version, which will be eligible to compete in an increasing number of series now accommodating this greener fuel, including the American Le Mans Series," said Robin Brundle, Aston Martin Racing's new managing director.

Here's Inside Line's take: Aston Martin Goes Green With Vantage GT2

It's the last handmade Aston Martin, the Vanquish Ultimate Edition number 50 of 50.

It's beautiful, powerful and can reach 60 mph in 4.9 seconds.

Read the Vanquish First Drive on Inside Line.



More photos after the jump.

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Tragedy strikes the world of rallying as Colin McRae, one of the world's great rally racers, was killed along with his 5-year old son Johnny after his helicoper crashed near Strathclyde Scotland, a half mile from his home. There may also have been another child and adult aboard who also perished.

Jean-Eric Freudiger, McRae's agent, last night said that he had spoken to the driver's brother and that he had confirmed the former champion had been piloting the Squirrel aircraft. Freudige added: "I have heard that it was his aircraft. He was in the helicopter. I cannot believe it was a helicopter pilot error because as my best friend and the godfather of my daughter I know he was a very safe pilot.

"We have been close business partners and friends for seven years. He is the best person I have ever met in my life. I have to try and understand what I have just been told."

McRae's friend the rally journalist Jeremy Hart who flew with the champion several times described him as a "very good, very measured pilot whose natural ability with machinery was second to none". "Colin regularly flew all over the UK and into Europe," said Hart. "He knew the terrain and conditions at Jerviswood very well. It was the place he flew into most regularly.

"As a driver Colin was misunderstood slightly as being reckless but everything you saw with him came from pure raw talent as opposed to being learnt. He was the Michael Schumacher of rally driving.

"It's so ironic that he should die in a helicopter crash when he had competed and had brushed with death so many times as a rally driver."

This is indeed very sad news. In fact it reminds me of the death of motorcycle and F1 legend Mike Hailwood who was killed along with his son in a traffic accident while going out for some fish and chips with his kids back in 1981, and was struck by a truck that made an illegal turn. Like McRae's passing, so incredible and so ironic.

McRae was a huge part of Subaru's rally success over the past decade or so. He was also a huge hit at both this year's and last year's X-games; especially last year, in which he flipped his Subie racer, landed upright and continued on to take  second place, fractions of a second behind Travis Pastrana.

Full story here and here. More on the life of Colin McRae can be found here and here; and finally, a nice video tribute to this great racer here.

Incredible coincidence—and good luck!
Subaru rally team chief Dave Richards and his wife survive a helicopter crash in Essex England, which occurred after McRae's crash. Both walked away from the crash and were treated for shock. Richards was a good friend of McRae, and is CEO of Prodrive which recently bought Aston Martin from Ford.

A Prodrive spokesman said: "David and Colin were great friends and it's an amazing coincidence that this has happened.

"Colin was a Subaru driver for many years and during that time he and David got to know each other very well. David is devastated about what has happened to Colin.

"We are just thankful he and Karen are OK."

Full story here and here.

According to Aston Martin's CEO, Dr Ulrich Bez, the new DBS is like Muhammad Ali. It is, in other words, all about grace, elegance and power. Having been introduced to us in the James Bond movie Casino Royale, the DBS is finally available for (rich) mere mortals to buy. The first customer cars will be delivered in November and will cost $265,000. Aston claims already to have orders for a thousand cars, equivalent to two years production.

The lucky few will be buying a car that looks like a DB9 on steroids. The DB9's elegant, subtle curves are now littered with aerodynamic addenda, including bonnet scoops, a carbon-fiber chin spoiler and a rear venturi. These features are not only functional, they also show allegiance to Aston's DBR9 racecar, which won its class at Le Mans this year. Inside, the cabin architecture is shared with the DB9 and V8 Vantage, but the center console detailing is new. One of the most intriguing features is the starter system - instead of a traditional key, owners are given a stainless steel and sapphire ECU, which must be inserted into a slot on the dashboard.

Starting the car means giving life to a tuned version of Aston's familar 5.9-liter V12, which now delivers 510hp (up 13 percent on the standard DB9). Aston reckons this is enough to propel its flagship from zero to 60mph in 4.3sec and on to 191mph. The transmission is a six-speed manual.

Aston customers teased into buying a DBS will also be offered a unique watch. Aston has a relationship with the Swiss watchmaker Jaeger-Le-Coutre, who've produced a special AMVOX2 Chronograph DBS watch. Only 380 will be made and you can only buy one if you've bought a DBS. It costs a hefty €22,000 (around $26,000) but it does have a unique feature: prod a button on the side of the watch and it will open or lock the car -- very James Bond. -- Alistair Weaver, Contributor

Inside Line has obtained these spy shots of a new, uprated version of the Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Developed to complement the standard Vantage, the new model will feature upgrades to the suspension, brakes and engine. Expect better breathing and a new ECU to deliver improved throttle response with more power and torque.

Comparisons with the Porsche 911 GT3 are obvious, but Aston insiders insist the new car will not be as radical as its German rival. Although steps have been taken to reduce the car’s hefty mass, it will not be a stripped-out road racer - "this is not a road-going version of the N24 [Vantage-based] racecar," said one source.

It is also not to be confused with the Prodrive version of the Vantage. Despite the close ties between the motorsport specialist and Aston - David Richards is Chairman of both - this is not simply a re-badged Prodrive car. The Prodrive model is not subject to the same legislative requirements as the official "works" car.

The new, as-yet unnamed, model will make its debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show alongside the new DBS. 

AutoExpress is reporting that the Lexus LF-A coupe may get a V10 engine. The genesis of this engine was the Toyota's F1 effort, which developed the V10. The production version could well have over 500 horsepower.

The front-engined, rear-wheel-drive car appears to be aimed directly at the Aston Martin DB9, as well as the Ferrari F430, Mercedes SL65 AMG, and the Porsche 911 turbo.

Full story here.

Here's the Inside Line spy video on this car.

The announcement of the Aston Martin sale is expected today by Ford. Word has it that it will be sold to group of private investors, in a deal worth about $870 million, so say sources familiar with the situation.

The group is led by auto racing entrepreneur David Richards, a founder of Prodrive Ltd., which runs Aston Martin's racing program. Richards would be backed by Kuwait's Investment Dar Co., among others.

Full story here.

NEWS UPDATE:  AM sold for $925 million. Full story here.

Here's Inside Line's take: Ford Puts "Sold" Sign on Aston Martin

Word out of the UK says that rally specialist Prodrive may end up owning Aston Martin. Prodrive is located in England, and is a key part of Subaru's rally efforts, as well as being involved with other motorsports and automakers, including Aston Martin.

Full story here.