TA.b -Quickie - Aston Martin completes first Valkyrie hypercar

Aston Martin is a storied marque that has been producing luxury and performance cars for years. Decades even. Even James Bond thought they were cool. But the world is changing and the car industry is going through a revolution of sorts that has made it hard for smaller manufacturers to survive. Drawing on its ruch racing heritage and history, Aston Martin determined that ultra-performance hypercars were the way to go to survive and thrive. The result is the car you see here, the Aston Martin Valkyrie.  The Valkyrie (a Norse goddess of war) is a very limited edition with only 200 cars being built. Power comes from a hybrid V12 that produces in excess of 1,100 horsepower and the price is in the seven-figure range. As you can see from the pic and following video, the Valkyrie is basically an F1 car for the road. While it would've been cool to see electric propulsion, I guess we must take baby steps. I doubt many of us will ever see one of these outside of an auto show, so click on "read more" below and view the brief media release and video.  Here's to more Aston Martins in the future!

Source: Aston Martin - Media release, pics, and video

Ford pays tribute to original GT prototypes with 2022 Heritage-Edition GTs

What you see here is a pre-production model of the last of the current generation of the Ford GT. You may remember that Ford developed the GT (then GT40) with the intent to beat Ferrari at Le Mans and they were highly successful. Ford has been mostly hand-building these supercars (hypercars?) for some time with special-edition models accounting for a lot of production (see list in the media release). These cars are bound to be collectable which I think is the point, since Ford will only make a few of these speed marvels with production totaling less than the number of F-150s Ford makes in an hour (that's my guesstimate what with production limited these days by the computer chip shortage). These are special cars. Look at that dash pic (click on it for a closer look) and view the controls on the steering wheel, etc. This is a driver's car. Ford didn't go into specs, but they don't have to. With a car that has pricing that starts well into six figures, the number of possible buyers is small. This Heritage Edition model pays tribute to the original GT prototypes with Wimbledon White paint and a triple racing stripe with touches including exposed carbon fiber behind Antimatter Blue-painted carbon fiber wheels and Lightspeed Blue Alcantara® suede seats. “This is the first Ford GT Heritage Edition that goes beyond celebrating race wins – this one goes deep, and honors the earliest of Ford supercar heritage,” said Mike Severson, Ford GT program manager. “The Ford GT ’64 Prototype Heritage Edition is a modern interpretation of the original, with no mistaking what this car is paying tribute to.” The 2022 Ford GT is available to order for approved Ford GT customers. Production is scheduled to begin in January. Click here for more information (link to Ford site). Click on "read more" to view the media release, a video, and a couple of pics. Enjoy.

Source: Ford - Media release, pics, and video

Audi fulfills many EV dreams with the all-new e-tron Gran Turismo (GT)

See. Dreams can come true. Audi has released the first images and info about it's upcoming e-tron GT  (Gran Turismo) EV supercar. While it looks like it might share some DNA with Porsche's Taycan EV, there is no evidence other than look to suggest this plus the e-tron GT will share limited production on the same assembly line with Audi's R8 in Neckarsulm, Germany. Yes folks, this concept is headed for (limited) production. Expect incredible performance and luxury from Audi's latest addition to the e-tron family. Production is slated to start at the end of 2020. So, more info and pics will be coming closer to the e-tron GT's release date in 2021. More to come... Enjoy the video...

Source: Audi/YouTube - Media release and video