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Tag: Videos

  • The Aston Martin badge is forged in fire at 1,472 degrees

    A lot goes into making the winged badge on the hood of every new Aston Martin. While most automakers have moved to common plastic, each Aston badge is still handmade from metal. This video from YouTube channel MrJWW shows how it’s done, for a special-edition DBX, in this case.

    A 200-year-old British company called Vaughtons has been making Aston badges since the 1960s. The company has also made medals for the Olympics and Premier League soccer, as well as badges for the first-class suites on the Titanic.

    Each badge starts as a metal blank. These blanks are stamped multiple times in a machine press, but because the material will only move so much while cold, it’s also heated to 1,472 degrees Fahrenheit in between stampings (called “blows” in the business) to make it softer. This process, called annealing, brings out all of the detail.

    2020 Aston Martin Vantage Coupe

    2020 Aston Martin Vantage Coupe

    Each badge can go through the press up to 14 times before it’s ready to go on a car, with six rounds of annealing in between. After that, excess material is trimmed off and the badge is sent for finishing.

    With the basic shape achieved, the badge is cleaned using both ultrasound, and an electrolytic process that uses a mixture of soap and cyanide. Badges are then plated and finished, before being sent to the factory to be mounted on cars.

    Aston Martin isn’t the only automaker that treats its badges like fine jewelry. Every Bugatti “macaron” badge is made from 150 grams of sterling silver, and takes 10 hours to make.

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  • New documentary details Chevy’s development of the mid-engine Corvette

    It may seem like a lifetime ago, but the start of the 2020 model year saw the introduction of the C8 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray—the first mid-engine production Corvette in the nameplate’s history. Chevy now has the first installment of a two-part documentary detailing the car’s development.

    Chevy has teased the idea of a mid-engine Corvette for decades with various concept cars and prototypes, but it finally pulled the trigger on a production version because designers and engineers felt the existing front-engine design had reached its limits.

    The decision to go mid-engine wasn’t made abruptly. Design work on the C8 Corvette began in 2011, before the last front-engine Corvette had even launched, Corvette exterior design manager Kirk Bennion said in the documentary.

    2020 Chevrolet Corvette 2LT

    2020 Chevrolet Corvette 2LT

    As with any new car, designers went through many iterations before arriving at the final C8 shape, building multiple scale models and three full-size clay models as part of the process.

    The resulting design has the proportions of an Italian supercar, but with a good ‘ole small block 6.2-liter V-8 behind the seats. The naturally aspirated engine known as the LT2 produces 495 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque, giving the Stingray a quoted 0 to 60 mph time of 2.9 seconds. We were so impressed that we named the latest Corvette a Motor Authority Best Car To Buy 2021 nominee.

    Chevy isn’t done, either. We’re expecting new Z06 and ZR1 models, and possibly another variant named Zora, after Corvette godfather Zora Arkus-Duntov. That version will get a 1,000-hp hybrid powertrain, Hagerty reported earlier this year. It’s unclear when these more potent Corvette variants will show up, but in the meantime, part two of Chevy’s documentary premieres on YouTube January 4, 2021.

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  • 2022 Audi RS 3 spy shots: 400-plus-horsepower compact sedan coming soon

    A new generation of the Audi A3 was unveiled in April, and like its predecessors the car will spawn performance variants. The S3 was revealed in August and an RS 3 is coming up soon.

    A prototype for the new RS 3 has been spotted again, revealing many clues about the new performance compact sedan. Prototypes for the RS 3 Sportback hatch are also out testing, though we’re unlikely to see this model in the United States, just like with the current generation.

    The new A3 represents more of a major update of the current generation than a true redesign, with both generations utilizing the Volkswagen Group’s MQB platform. This will also be true for the new RS 3.

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    Expect the model to continue with a 2.5-liter turbocharged inline-5, though we could see output exceed the current model’s 400 horsepower now that Mercedes-AMG’s latest compacts are delivering as much as 416 hp. A dual-clutch transmission and rear-biased all-wheel-drive system should also form part of the package.

    We know this prototype is for the RS 3 because of the enlarged intakes at the front, the flared wheel arches, massive wheel and tire combo, and the signature pair of oval exhausts at the rear.

    We can’t see the interior in any of the shots but previous generations of the RS 3 point to body-hugging sport seats sitting up front and a flat-bottom steering wheel positioned in front of the driver.

    2021 Audi A3 Sportback

    2021 Audi A3 Sportback

    We also know from the new A3 that there will be a digital instrument cluster, a large touchscreen for the infotainment system that can recognize letters entered by hand and responds to natural-speak instructions, and a color head-up display. A performance data recorder might also make it into the new RS 3.

    The new A3 is scheduled to reach the U.S. in late 2021 as a 2022 model. The RS 3 should arrive about the same time, meaning we’ll likely see it also arrive as a 2022 model.

    Potential rivals for the RS 3 include AMG’s new 45 series, as well as the BMW M2 and a future CT4-V Blackwing from Cadillac.

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