Edo Aston Martin DB9 DBS Conversion

The transformation

Within the space of six months, edo competition, located in the Westphalian Ahlen, has transformed a 5 year old DB9 into an Aston Martin DBS. And that’s exactly what a Russian customer asked for: Turn a DB9 into a DBS. This not so trivial conversion involved replacing steel body panels with carbon fiber pieces and increasing the engine output from 470 to a staggering 550 horsepower. That’s why it will now do 320 km/h (199 mph) when the old car topped out at 295 km/h (183 mph). Its new 20 inch wheels and wider

body contribute to a more muscular appearance, and numerous aerodynamic parts, such as a carbon fiber front skirt as well as a carbon fiber rear diffuser, underline the car’s sporting credentials. The custom interior presented a unique challenge: The dashboard, center console, headliner, door panels and seats were refinished with utmost precision. The choice of materials and colors was left to the customer, who, in this case, opted for an Alcantara/leather interior with carbon fiber inserts and metal accents. An additional highlight is the high-end audio system that was installed in the car, promising pure auditory bliss. No corners were cut in

trying to extract the best possible sound from the new high-end speakers. In order to be able to enjoy the new entertainment system, a new exhaust system featuring butterfly valves was fitted, allowing the driver to change the sound from ferocious to unobtrusive and quiet. But that’s not the only function. This high-performance exhaust system which was specially developed for the DB9/DBS also helps the engine produce more power and torque. A programmable control unit monitors exhaust backpressure and opens 70 mm butterfly valves when the pressure exceeds a selected threshold. The exhaust is made from stainless steel and the chrome exhaust tips round off its classy appearance. A new edo competition sport suspension system makes the revitalized DB9 more athletic. To accommodate different driving styles, the suspension is adjustable in ride height, stiffness, as well as compression and rebound damping. After the DB9 received a considerable boost in output and handling performance, there was one more area that needed to be addressed: safety. This is why edo competition developed a new braking system for the Aston. 405 mm rotors and 6 piston monobloc calipers act on the front wheels, while the rear axle is fitted with 380 mm rotors and 4 piston monobloc calipers. High-performance brake pads and braided stainless steel brake lines are used on all four corners. This marked the end of the transformation and the work was completed. The DB9 had been turned into a DBS. Rather than just performing cosmetic changes, edo competition had also refined the mechanicals and customized the car according to the wishes of its owner. The result: A happy, very satisfied customer and a big thanks to the entire edo competition Motorsport team.

2013 Aston Martin DBS V12 Supercar is the Old New 

Ladies and gentleman, time to take out your magnifying glasses and open a couple of windows to compare these fresh scoop pictures of the 2014 Aston Martin DBS to 

Note that according to some sources, Aston Martin may replace the DBS nameplate with a new one, though we have yet to hear this from channels.
To save you some research time, we can tell you that the 2013 model year DBS or whatever Aston Martin decides to call it, adopts some styling cues from the One-77 such as the more heavily arched front and rear panels, the door mirrors along with new front and rear lights, and grille and bumper designs.
If your mind goes to a heavy facelift, you are right as it's not only the styling that remains more or less the same, but its underpinnings, including the chassis and the V12 engine, as well.
Of course, Aston Martin engineers will fettle around with the VH alloy frame and its suspension components as well as with the 6.0-liter V12 engine, which should produce around 550-horses (558PS), up from the current model's 510hp (517PS).
Other rumored changes include a brand new interior with modern gadgetry and features.
The DBS' replacement is due to be introduced before the end of summer. 

Ferrari expert or casual enthusiast, this wide-ranging look at Ferrari gets you up to speed on the world's most thrilling automobiles.
As you'll see in the previews below, this deftly assembled collection of articles and pictures tells the Ferrari story though every important Ferrari car and the people who designed them, built them, drove them, and raced them.
More than 100 Ferrari models are featured, from the earliest postwar sports-racers to today's magnificent road cars and Formula 1 single-seaters. Taking their place among scores of timless classics are such Ferraris as the fetching 166 MM Barchetta, snarling 250 GTO, exotic Testarossa, and sharknose Dino 156 F1 Grand Prix racer.

 

(Ferrari) CEO Luca di Montezemolo named Europe’s best manager

Ferrari AfterFerrari

After Ferrari’s death in 1988, the Fiat-controlling Angelli family added another 40 percent to its 50-percent share of Ferrari; Piero Ferrari retained 10 percent.
In the half-decade that followed, the Ferrari company seemed to live on Enzo’s legacy, with no definitive voice to set it on track. Alain Prost narrowly missed winning the F1 championship in 1990, then the team fell considerably off the pace.
The road cars also suffered. By the early 1990s, Ferraris no longer were regular winners of magazine comparison tests. Quality control suffered. Rocked by worldwide recession, sales plummeted, from nearly 4,600 in 1991 to less than half that in 1993.
Fortunately, Ferrari’s management hadn’t been deceived by those lofty late-’80s sales figures and had brought in a new captain for the ship. In late 1991, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo was named Ferrari president and CEO. He was a man with a mission.
“I had just bought a 348 with my own money,” he recalled 10 years after his hiring, “and, with the exception of its good looks, I was utterly disappointed.”
Charismatic and focused, Montezemolo transformed the company in many ways. Under his leadership, one outstanding model after another left the gates of Maranello: the 355, 360 and 430, the 550 Maranello and Enzo, to name a few.
Montezemolo set about righting the Formula 1 effort, triggering the Schumacher era of utter domination. He also orchestrated the 1999 purchase of Maserati from Fiat and the turnaround of that former crosstown rival.
Ferrari was most certainly back, and it wasn’t just sales numbers and F1 titles that proved it. When debt-laden Fiat sold 34 percent of its Ferrari holdings to several banks in 2002 for approximately $700 million, it established the worth of Ferrari/Maserati at approximately $2.1 billion, or about one-third that of Fiat.
At the time, combined Ferrari and Maserati annual production was around 8,000 cars. Fiat manufactured approximately 1.7 million vehicles per year.
But Montezemolo’s vision extended beyond what the public saw on the roads and at the racetrack. He wanted to create an entirely new working environment, one that, as Ferrari literature expressed it, “put people at the center of innovation.”

 © Ferrari S.p.A. Ferrari's wind tunnel opened in 1998.

The firm began using architecture as a source of brand identity, starting with the Renzo Piano-designed avant-garde wind tunnel that opened in 1998. Then came a new machining department, a paint shop that bordered on science fiction in its operation, a product-development center, and other structures.
Fabulous together, each also created a unique environment on its own. The engine assembly plant, for example, was quiet, well-lit and had several atriums inside, all in the effort to create an ideal working environment.
Profitable (Ferrari) not only poured money into its own facility, it did the same for Maserati. The Maserati factory was fully renovated, the product line revamped. Maserati became a highly attractive holding, and in February 2005 was repurchased by Fiat, which merged it with Alfa Romeo. (Ferrari) once again would concentrate on its own fortunes.
If Enzo could see what had become of his factory and of Maranello, he would recognize neither. No longer a sleepy country village, Maranello had assumed an air of sophistication. It daily attracted visitors from around the world. The factory it housed was truly a small city, with roads, intersections and signposts listing street names to guide guests. Inside those hallowed gates, the past blended beautifully with the present, a new entrance on the eastern side of the factory as impressive as the historic gate on the west.
“When I look at where Ferrari is today,” Piero Ferrari observed in 2005, “neither my father nor myself could ever imagine anything so big. It was really just a family business. Now Ferrari is a large company, an industry. The dimensions of everything are so very different.”
Those dimensions expanded further in 2005, when Ferrari sold 5,409 road cars worldwide. Exactly 1,550 were retailed in North America, marking the 13^th consecutive year-over-year sales increase in Ferrari’s most important market.
 ''Ferrari'' F430 ''Spider''.
Leading the charge were two enticing new models: a Spider version of the exciting F430 and the 612 Scaglietti, a four-seat front-engine V-12 grand turismo to replace the 456, introduced to Europe in late 2004.
In addition, Ferrari earned a smashing $200 million for calendar 2005 on consolidated earnings of some $1.67 billion, of which 17 percent was earmarked for research/development and investments.
These improved results partly reflected a “divorce” from Maserati, whose losses had been a drain on Maranello’s coffers. (Even so, and despite its new pairing with Alfa, Maserati will continue to look to (Ferrari) for components and technical assistance.)
The 2006 picture was even rosier. Road-car sales increased to a record 5,671, and profit improved to some $238 million on turnover of approximately $1.88 billion. Year-end employment was listed at 2,870. Notwithstanding Piero’s characterization, Ferrari remained very small automaker by world standards, though certainly never more prosperous or multifaceted.
By now, (Ferrari) was not only a source of pride for parent Fiat but an important profit center. As if to underscore this, Fiat increased its Ferrari stake to 85 percent, through a buyback of outstanding shares.
Ferrari welcomed a new CEO, Jean Todt, in 2006. In the next section, read about his ambitious plans for (Ferrari)'s future

Infiniti's Sexy-Looking Emerg-E


Infiniti's Sexy-Looking Emerg-E


If you weren't content with the patent images of Infiniti's new supercar concept that we showed you earlier this month, you'll be happy to know that the first official pictures of the study…emerged on the internet today, less than two weeks before its public debut at the 82nd Geneva International Auto Salon.