Aston Martin Vanquish V12 by Henrik Fisker

Henrik Fisker's own automotive company may have gone under, but his love for design persists and after the Galpin 2015 Mustang, he's back to what he knows best with the Thunderbolt study.

It's the former Aston Martin designers one-off coachbuilt take on the Vanquish V12 coupe and it was revealed today at the 2015 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance in Florida. 

"I wanted to create an elegant beautiful GT sports coupe, with pure emotional sculpture, that would stay timeless," said Fisker, who pointed out that the Thunderbolt was "in no way affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by Aston Martin". 

The prototype has a completely redesigned body made out of carbon fiber featuring Fisker's signature lines, while the interior was redone with new materials and details, including the world's first application of Panasonic's 11.6-inch Curved Control Screen in a car that is designed to reduce reflections and glare. 

The only performance-related upgrades mentioned are the lowering of standard car's ride height by 15mm and the 21-inch alloy wheels with sport tires.

Fisker said that, while there will be no commercialization of the prototype shown at Amelia, "based on initial response, an extremely limited number of additional cars could be made on a special order basis, available exclusively through Galpin Aston Martin". These cars would not get the prototype Panasonic screen and would features some minor styling adjustments to the front end with a different grille and bumper, as seen in the red rendering.

Read More

Aston Martin V12 Zagato

The iconic British sports car maker and the legendary Italian coachbuilder will mark the 50th anniversary of their first collaboration with a brand new study.

To honor their first joint project, the 1961 DB4GT Zagato, the two companies developed the Aston Martin V12 Zagato, a race car study that will be unveiled on May 21 at the Villa D'Este Consorod'Eleganza in Italy, where it will compete against the Ferrari Superamerica 45. But this elegant and dramatic coupe was not built for classy Concours d'Elegance events alone, as it will actually race at the Nurburgring 24 Hour event on June 25-26.

The car's design draws inspiration from older classics such as the DB4GT Zagato, V8 Vantage Zagato and DB7 Zagato. Based on the high-performance V12 Vantage, the V12 Zagato features an impressively sculpted bodywork, combining Italian elegance with British force.

Work on the project started in 2010, with the aluminum body being hand-crafted, in true coachbuilder's style. Each front wing alone contains seven separate pieces of aluminum, combined and hand-finished to obtain one flowing form. Elements like the traditional Zagato double bubble inclined roof, the dramatic air scoops in the front fenders, the recessed taillights and the sweptback rear end give the V12 Zagato an aggressive yet very distinctive look.

The endurance race car features a 6.0-liter V12 engine that produces 517 horsepower and 570 Nm (420 lb-ft) of torque, just like the V12 Vantage it's based on. However, weight reduction measures make it faster than the roadgoing version. It should sprint from 0 to 100 km/h (96 mph) in under 4 seconds. Aston Martin will field two cars at the Nurburgring 24 hour race but the really good news is the company will build a limited edition version for the road as well.

Read More