Merry Christmas! Now give me £180,000 please. That's what Aston Martin is saying with these two new cars, the V12 Vantage and DBS Carbon Black editions. According to the maker, they're basically limited editions of the top-of-the-line Astons, built in homage to the fact they've both sold more than anticipated.
So what are they, and why will they command 'approximately 5% over current base prices' when deliveries begin in March 2010?
Well, each car takes 50 hours of hand painting, in black obviously, and inside the cabin there's masses more black, with the pieces of leather pulled together using silver stitching. A piano black facia and centre stack trim complete the blackness, and both get mega stereo systems - the DBS a bespoke Bang and Olufsen.
The
V12 Vantage gets a pair of carbon fibre side strakes, and both get the same lovely 10-spoke alloys. It's not just aesthetic though, because both get carbon fibre and Kevlar seats, each shaving 17kg off the normal seat, and the Vantage buyers also get a performance driving course thrown in for free.
Mark Nichol - 21 Dec 2009