This is the real thing: the new Aston Martin V12 Vantage RS.

Last week Aston confirmed that the stunning concept will go into production in the first quarter of 2009, and just two days ago we caught the test mule. Now we have snapped the real car in full glory testing as it was on the roads around the Nürburgring, with a rear diffuser remarkably similar to the concept's.

The V12 is one of two new Vantage models due in the next 12 months. The new rear diffuser set-up and the air-intakes on the hood of this car are the most obvious change over a regular V8 Vantage. The rear is very similar to that on the Vantage RS concept, and with a big V12 putting big power through the rear wheels, decent cooling for a rear differential is a must.

The new V12 Vantage RS will be fairly extreme, though not as hardcore as Porsche’s RS models. For Aston, RS stands for "road sport," rather than Stuttgart’s track-focused ideology. That doesn’t mean it won’t be fast. The V12 gets its name from the 6.0-liter unit shoehorned under the hood. In production form, and with durability on Aston’s mind, expect about 550 bhp, rather than the concept’s 600 horses.

Other changes for production will probably include the replacement of the static concept’s pop-up rear spoiler with a raised trunk lip. The V12 should also get new wheels. The Mako Blue color of the concept will be available, too. Production itself will probably be at Gaydon, and the price is expected to be in excess of 225,000 Euros or over $350,000.--Brenda Priddy

Magna International Inc. has nailed down a contract to build a vehicle for Great Britain's ultra-prestigious Aston Martin Rapide sedan.

Magna Steyr, Magna's vehicle-building subsidiary, will build the four-door Rapide at its manufacturing center in Graz, Austria, beginning in late 2009. The goal is to build about 2,000 cars annually, Aston Martin said.

"We are pleased that we could win a completely new customer and a new brand for our complete vehicle assembly business," said Magna spokeswoman Tracy Fuerst.

Aston Martin first showed the Rapide as a concept vehicle at the North American International Auto Show back in January, 2006.

In the spring of 2007, Ford sold Aston Martin for $925 million to an investment group that included auto racing magnate David Richard, Aston Martin enthusiast John Sinder and two Kuwaiti investment firms, Investment Dar and Adeem Investment. Last May, the group said it would go ahead with the plans for the Rapide.

The decision to ask Magna Steyr to build the Rapide reflected the fact that Aston Martin's factory in Gaydon is at capacity building current models, including the Vantage, DB9 and new DBS, officials from the British carmaker said.

"The company has grown substantially since the Gaydon headquarters and production facility was opened in 2003, turning the company into one of the U.K. motor industry's top success stories," Aston Martin said in a statement.

Over the years, Magna Steyr has built vehicles for General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler and BMW at its complex in Graz.

Nevertheless, the decision to build the Rapide in the heart of Europe represents something of cultural shift for ultra-British and cachet-laden Aston Martin, which is widely known for building the favorite cars of British super spy James Bond.

Aston Martin's statement was careful to note that the Rapide represents an expansion of the Aston Martin line and nothing is being dropped or cut at Gaydon, which is now building about 8,000 cars annually.

"The continuing growth and success of the company is based upon Gaydon as the focal point and heart of the business, with the design and engineering of all Aston Martin products continuing to be carried out there," the company said in the statement, announcing the deal with Magna Steyr.

However, the partnership with Magna could facilitate Aston Martin's expansion into the wealthy markets in Russia and Central Asia. Magna is now owned in part by Russian businessman with close ties to Vladimir Putin.

As part of the deal, Magna has agreed to establish a dedicated Aston Martin production operation with the Graz complex. The design of the Rapide plant in Graz will be based upon Aston Martin's production plant in Gaydon and the Aston Martin production plant in Cologne.--Joe Szczesny

Now let me get this straight. I’ve just flown 4000 miles to test drive the new Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster and it’s 36 degrees out there. Okay. Is there a problem? Call it one of the little hazards of the profession. But sometimes, we automotive journalists have to make sacrifices in the name of our work and our readers.

Somehow, I have the sense I’m going to get very little sympathy, despite the chilling to the bone I got driving through the hills and valleys of Provence with the Aston’s top down last week. Well, to be honest, I don’t really deserve much. With the heater blasting and the seat heater up on high, it was one of the most memorable trips I’ve taken during a couple decades of covering the auto industry.

The new Roadster is a remarkable automobile, all the more so in light of Aston’s evolution. Like most folks, my first exposure to the British brand came in the movie theater, watching that super-sleuth, “Bond, James Bond,” chasing down one bad guy after another in a procession of Astons. But it wasn’t until 1987 that I finally had the chance to touch some sheet metal.

It came during a long and boring lull in contract talks between Ford Motor Co. and the United Auto Workers. Along with 20 other journalists, I was sequestered in an overcrowded press room in the back of Ford world headquarters, in Dearborn, Michigan, waiting for any tidbit of news I could get. But that particular day, the headlines weren’t going to be what any of us expected.

David Scott, then the head of Ford public relations, dropped in and asked us to follow him to another part of the sprawling office complex. There, we discovered an Aston DB5 sitting atop a small riser. Moments later, the late Henry Ford II, the Deuce, if you prefer, came in to announce that his company had just purchased Aston for a very small sum, averting the bankruptcy of the sinking British marque.

After the inevitable Q&A session, our group was led back to the press room, but I lingered, intrigued by the glint of something I noticed underneath that DB5. As I crawled under the car, PR man Scott reappeared. “Damn,” he said, “I really hoped no one would do that.” What had caught my eye was an industrial-strength adult diaper duct-taped to the Aston’s oil pan. By that point, it was so full the tape was beginning to pull off. “It was the only Aston we could find,” Scott said, adding, “They all leak.”

They did, anyway. Back then, there was good reason why Aston did better on the screen than on the road. Even with Ford’s help the automaker continued to sink, and by the early 1990s, volume had slipped to a low of just 42 cars a year.

It would take another decade before Aston finally found its way. Whatever you think of Ford’s former, highly controversial CEO, Jacques Nasser, he certainly did right by Aston, recruiting former Porsche executive Ulrich “Uli” Bez to run the company. Bez immediately set out an ambitious product development program designed to reflect Aston’s aspirations to produce, in his words, “great cars, passionate cars.”

The new Vantage Roadster is proof positive, a car you can’t wait to experience, whatever the weather.

We’ll have to wait to see what Aston does under its new owners, led by Britain’s Dave Richards. But with Uli still leading the charge, we only expect things to get even better.

2008 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster—TheCarConnection.com

Aston Breaks Out from Ford’s Shadow—TheCarConnection.com

Aston Martin isn’t exactly in mourning over its recent shove-off from the Ford empire. After its ownership changed hands, the British company immediately greenlighted its new Rapide sedan and DBS sportscar—and now, it’s plotting a DBX competitor for the Benz SLR and Bugatti Veyron. Britain’s AutoExpress magazine says the new range-topper would be spun from the VH chassis and would use a version of the Aston 6.0-liter V-12 pumped up to produce more than 700 hp. The magazine predicts a 0-60 mph time of 3.7 seconds and a top speed of more than 200 mph. The rear-drive car will sport a six-speed manual transmission and will have a suspension tuned by Prodrive. The pricetag for the DBX could push $500,000.

ASTON DBX COMING AFTER RAPIDE—TheCarConnection.com

Blind item: which Detroit designer’s feeling the heat? Which NYC-based auto exec is plotting his own swan dive? More to the point, how long before folks mistake us for the Star?

In real news this week, GM turned in a great profit—great by 2007 standards. By 1991 standards it would be Rick Wagoner, not his Blue Devils, making an early exit. Indianapolis, you are but a fond memory.

Ghosn is letting go of America. Like his French subjects, he must only really dig us when we save his ass.

Ford is sort of letting go of Aston Martin—but that token share they held on to is strictly a face-saving measure. Ford’s Euro bread is totally buttered in Britain, so don’t count on Jaguar going away until an even bigger sugar daddy strides on the scene.

Write it in ink: the 2007 New York auto show is where Toyota officially got scared of Hyundai.

BMW’s X6 is a go – now the only question is, what do you call a luxury four-door crossover cruiser? Our first guess is “pricey.”

Disses, not kisses: a Michigan politician thinks Schwarzenegger is telling his state to “drop dead.” No, dude—what he’s really saying would be more like, “Listen to me now und hear me later, you should drop dead, okay?” But that wouldn’t fit on a billboard, would it?

Driving while texting: is there an auto-reply that reads “call 911?”

Apparently, unicorns suck at driving and at being real.

And finally this week, sleeping pills could be causing sleep driving. We’d argue with you about it, but the talking beaver in the passenger seat is demanding “fourth meal.”