Friday, May 29, 2009

Aston Martin One-77


Aston Martin revealed its first complete One-77 coupe at the Villa d'Este Concours d'Elegance this weekend in Lake Como, Italy - and collected its first prize for the car. This collectors'-edition coupe received the Design Award for Concept Cars and Prototypes, voted the clear winner ahead of seven other entrants including the Morgan Aeromax Supersports, the Zagato-designed Perana Z One, the Infiniti Essence and the Rinspeed iChange.

The V12-engined, 200mph-plus One-77 has an all-new monococque body structure with hand-crafted aluminum panels, and Aston Martin pledges "extraordinary workmanship and money-no-object commitment to quality". As indeed one would, for a car costing £1million plus local taxes.


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Opel/Vauxhall Astra


These are the first images of the new Opel/Vauxhall Astra, which will debut as a five-door hatchback at the Frankfurt Motor Show this September. Created at GM's European design studio, the sixth generation Astra's cab-forward silhouette, steeply-raked windscreen and sloping rear roofline are design elements found in the Insignia. At 4400mm, the new car is 110mm longer than the model it replaces and has a 71mm longer wheelbase. It also has wider tracks front and rear.

"We're continuing with the same premium design cues as the Insignia, inside and out of the car," said Mark Adams, Vice President of GM Europe Design. "However, the main design themes, like the wing-shaped light signatures and the blade, needed an individual execution to avoid 'cloning' the model ranges. This is why, for instance, you see twin wings in the rear lights and a reversed blade on its flanks."

Opel has not released images of the new Astra's interior, but the automaker promises similar strides in quality to those found in the Insignia combined with improvements in packaging, seat design and in-cabin storage. The Insignia's unique wraparound IP is also said to be reinterpreted in the Astra.

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