#Exotics

This probably shouldn’t come as a surprise but it seems that Chinese consumers are less enthusiastic toward million-dollar cars in a cooling economy.

Keeping its entry sports car current, Aston Martin has announced the most comprehensive enhancement program for the V8 Vantage since 2008.

Almost sixty years ago, wealthy boat-racing privateer Achille Castoldi created the Arno XI hydroplane racing boat powered by a Ferrari engine.

Where does a 3,472-pound bull run? On sheet of ice, of course — what was your answer, Pamplona?

Hard at work, out photographers have captured the first spy photos of the upcoming 2013 Porsche GT3.

The McLaren MP4-12C already feels like it’s been around for a few years, but only recently did customers across North America begin taking delivery of their British supercars.

To help celebrate the occasion, McLaren has produced a video, documenting the arrival of dozens of the exotics arriving at port in Baltimore, MD, and being delivered to key markets, and owners, across the U.S.

Powered by a twin-turbo 3.8-liter V8 engine, the MP4-12C makes 592 hp and thanks to a light weight carbon fiber “MonoCell” chassis is capable of hitting 60 mph in just 3.2 seconds.

“This film is exciting as it represents the arrival of McLaren Automotive in North America,” said Tony Joseph, McLaren Automotive North America Regional Director. “We are thrilled to be launching with the 12C, which is such a tremendously innovative car, and we look forward to building a long term future.”

McLaren current has 10 dealerships in North America in cities such as Beverly Hills, Greenwish, Dallas, Miami, Chicago, Newport Beach, San Francisco and Toronto. The base price for the 12C is listed at $229,000.

Watch the video below:

Can the meanest Lamborghini to come out of Sant’Agata Bolognese get even meaner? Whip out your inhalers because ASMA Design has the answer.

The Viper is one of the rare vehicles to adorn a new logo for each major redesign, sporting “Sneaky Pete” on the original, and “Fangs” on the second gen. For the new 2013 Viper, the first under the SRT badge instead of Dodge, the “Stryker” logo has been designed to celebrate the new direction.

Porsche-philes still agree roughly thirty years later; the very 1979 Porsche 928 driven by Tom Cruise in Risky Business had been sold by the Volo Auto Museum for a reported $49,000. According to knowledgeable sources familiar with this particular German coupe, it’s also the car that Tom Cruise first learned to drive a manual in.

Thanks to Asif Kapadia’s successful documentary that revived Ayrton Senna awareness, and even mania, there’s a growing market for Senna related racing memorabilia. Up for auction at the Race Retro Sale of the Silverstone Auction in the UK are Ayrton Senna’s original 1991 Championship season Shoei full face helmet and racing suit.

Caught on the set during a chase sequence, the classic DB5 adorns the original number plate, BMT 216A, as seen in Goldfinger, where the Aston made its first appearance. Since then, the years have been kind to the quintessential Bond car as its handsome good looks made repeated appearances in Thunderball, Golden Eye, Tomorrow Never Dies, and Casino Royale.

While the length of screen time given to the Aston is unclear, it’s hard to deny that this cinematic icon can heavily contribute to a Bond film’s success. Other vehicles spotted on the set include the Jaguar XJ-L luxury sedan a Land Rover Evoque SUV, and a Land Rover Range Rover camera car.

Check out amateur footage of the James Bond’s ‘Skyfall’ set after the jump.

According to Paul Drayson, the leader of the Lola-Drayson consortium, “Don’t judge electric cars by what you are seeing on the street right now.” The team’s mission is to fine-tune a number of electric vehicle technologies and innovations with the intent to eventually trickle the technology to road vehicles.

Last week, Top Gear revealed that a private treaty sale happened for Ferrari 250 GTO serial number 5095. It sold for £20.2 million, or $31.8 million U.S., the transaction made this GTO the most expensive Ferrari in the world. Unofficially, the 250 GTO is also the world’s second most valuable, only bested by the 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic sold in 2010. Few elite automobile sales are publicly disclosed and prices are almost always protected, though it was estimated to cost between $30 and $40 million.

As a result, Italy’s Polizia launched a major operation across Milan in late January, setting roadblocks to halt high-end luxury vehicle drivers. When drivers hand over license and registration, their personal information will be passed on to the national tax agency to determine whether the owner of the car has declared accurate income and if the proper amount of income taxes has been paid.

When Mercedes-Benz announced the termination of its superluxury Maybach brand, Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche said succinctly, “It would not be sensible to develop a successor model for the current Maybach.”