A decade ago, the Jaguar F-Type returned a true sports car to the automaker’s showrooms 40 years after the last E-Type was built. And now, the final curtain is coming down on what will be Jaguar’s last internal-combustion sports car before the company switches to an all-EV lineup. When introduced, the F-Type won the World Car Design of the Year award. Performance covered a wide gamut, with a rip-roaring 575-horsepower supercharged V8 at the top. For the final year, that engine defines the F-Type R75 models and takes them into the sunset.
In the past, “bigger and heavier” would be a buzzkill for a sporting GT. But the 2024 Mercedes-AMG GT turns that axiom on its head. Based on the new-generation SL roadster, the AMG GT Coupe raises the luxury quotient over the first-gen GT while maintaining its hair-raising performance capability. The new GT adds standard all-wheel drive, a roomier cabin, and more chassis tech. With 469-hp GT55 and 577-hp GT63 models offered, ferocious performance is a given. The new model arrives by mid-year, starting around $136,000 and should make some competitors nervous.
If you missed your chance at last year’s Aston Martin Vantage F1 Edition, you can now get the best consolation prize ever. The 2025 Vantage is a major upgrade over the previous Vantage in every way while maintaining the striking design. The biggest news is under the hood, where a new version of the twin-turbo V8 gets a nearly 25-percent boost to 656 horsepower. The new interior shows a major leap in elegance over the previous car. You can also expect a leap in the price, which has not yet been announced.
Ferrari had Pininfarina, and Aston Martin had Zagato, at least for a small number of very limited-edition models. The first was in 1961, the DB4 GT Zagato, with just 19 made. One of those sold for $9.5M a few years ago. The most ambitions collaboration between the British automaker and Italian designer/coachbuilder was a quartet of special bodies built around the second-generation V12-powered Vanquish model from 2017-2019. RM Sotheby’s 2024 Phoenix, Arizona auction is offering #33 of the 99 Vanquish Zagato coupes built, with an estimated selling price of $600K-$650K.
Has inflation taken a bite out of the exotic car market? Premier Financial Services Midwest Regional Sales Manager Ross Dressel has seen a dip in activity in the $200K-$500K heart of that segment. But meanwhile, “affordable” pre-owned exotics and classics in the $75K-$200K range are getting more action for America’s #1 exotic and classic car lease financing provider. Who’s up? Who’s down? Read here to find out.
Aston Martin bills its new DB12 grand tourer as a “super tourer” because, the British automaker says, “grand is not enough” to describe the DB11’s successor. Marketing fluff aside, the new DB12 appears to be a super new entry into a segment where its closest rival is the Ferrari Roma. The overall look will be familiar to Aston fans, and the interior steps up to a “super” level of grand touring luxury and tech. The Mercedes-AMG twin-turbo V8 gets a boost to a very super 671 horsepower, easily exceeding the DB11’s V8 and V12. Customer deliveries start in fall.
The automotive world may be going EV, but that’s not stopping Aston Martin from introducing its 2023 V-12 Vantage. The new Vantage has a 5.2-liter twin-turbo V-12 with 690 hp and 555 lb-ft of torque. The price tag of “around $300,000” is more than double the base price of the Vantage V-8 model, but you can put your checkbook away. The 333 Vantage V-12s to be built are already spoken for.
Here are our “Cars to Watch” for the Bonhams auction at Amelia Island, which features more than 80 automotive offerings, plus a diverse assemblage of memorabilia and collectibles and 50 vintage motorcycles.
The Aston Martin DBX, the marque’s first SUV, has arrived. It has been billed as “an SUV with the soul of a sports car” by the brand. The car starts at $189,900 and is ready to compete with other luxury brand SUVs.
