Aston Martin has installed three stunning cars, The DB5, DB10 and DB9 GT in Harrods window for all to dream over.

As the Christmas displays disappear, shoppers in London’s Knightsbridge are to be treated to the sight of a very special Aston Martin window display in Harrods, the world’s most famous luxury department store.

Three stunning Aston Martin sports cars will take over the iconic Harrods storefront in a month-long celebration of the British marques’ ‘DB’ nameplate. 

Since their debut in the early 1950s, the ‘DB’ models offered by Aston Martin – named after Sir David Brown who bought Aston Martin in 1947 – have been synonymous with sophisticated grand touring and thrilling sports car performance.

Taking pride of place is the Aston Martin DB10, the car that was built specifically for James Bond. 

Aston Martin has been associated with the James Bond franchise for over 50 years, with the DB10 exclusively designed, engineered and hand crafted for the latest Bond film, Spectre. Bond fans will get another chance to enjoy Spectre with the Blu-ray™ and DVD release on 22 February.

Also on display, the DB9 GT – the luxury British sports car maker’s most compelling production ‘DB’ to date. Designed to offer the best of what DB9 can be, this new model delivers world-class grand touring and hand-built excellence.

Finally, the Aston Martin DB5, arguably the most famous ‘DB’ of them all is also on display. Revealed in 1963, the car set the benchmark for all the DBs that followed, with its iconic design language and substantial improvements in performance.

Aston Martin Chief Creative Officer Marek Reichman said: “Harrods is one of the world’s most trusted luxury brands and we are delighted to join forces with them to create this rather unique display in tribute to our most famous nameplate.”

Specialists from Aston Martin headquarters will be available throughout the exhibition, providing visitors with an opportunity to discover more about the Aston Martin product range and the brand’s recently launched AM37 yacht, created in partnership with Quintessence Yachts. Both the window display and exhibition area will remain in place until 28 January.

Aston Martin CEO Dr Andy Palmer is swapping his business suit for a race suit.

Aston Martin CEO Dr Andy Palmer is swapping his business suit for a race suit as he lines up alongside three fellow drivers to campaign a V8 Vantage GT4 in the forthcoming Dunlop Britcar 24hr Race, held at the world-famous Silverstone Circuit.

In what will be his first competitive outing at the wheel of one of the luxury sports car firm’s own track cars, Dr Palmer will be teaming up with Aston Martin Chief Creative Officer Marek Reichman; experienced British motoring journalist Andrew Frankel and aspiring 22-year-old racer Alice Powell to tackle the gruelling 24-hour endurance event later this month.

Dr Palmer said: “As the CEO of a sports car company with such an impressive racing heritage, I have of course been itching to get behind the wheel of one of our race cars.

“I’ve done some GT4 racing in the past but this will be my first attempt at a 24-hour event. I don’t underestimate the challenge, but the Vantage GT4 has a superb record in long distance racing and I know I’ve got a great team alongside me. I’ll obviously be careful, too, not to deliberately outshine my more qualified teammates!”

The team car, a V8 Vantage GT4 N430, will run in the livery of one of the brand’s technology partners, Castrol, with further support from long-term partner Immun’age. Both partners continue to offer vital backing to the brand’s race programme, allowing us to enter both the Dunlop Britcar 24hr Race and the famous ADAC Zurich Nürburgring 24 Hours later this year.  

Alongside his fellow racers, Dr Palmer has been honing his track skills with Aston Martin Racing star driver Darren Turner at his Base Performance Simulators facility in Banbury, as well as taking opportunities to test the GT4 on track.

His teammates bring significant race experience to the event. Marek Reichman successfully campaigned a Vantage in the Aston Martin GT4 Challenge series in 2011 and is an experienced historic sports car racer, while well-known auto journalist Andrew Frankel has also been racing cars for more than 20 years. With an emphasis on vintage machines, he has raced at all the major historic meetings in Europe including the Monaco Historic Grand Prix, Le Mans Classic, Goodwood Revival and Spa Six Hours. He has raced modern cars throughout, too, and has so far competed in four Silverstone 24hrs races, finishing every one.

Meanwhile, Alice Powell started karting when she was eight years old and has been a motorsport fan all her life. At 22, she has already had some stand out career highlights which include becoming the first female to win the Formula Renault BARC UK Championship. She is the first and only female to score points in the GP3 Series and was crowned champion in the Formula Renault Asia Championship last year.

The 24hr race, to be staged at Silverstone on the weekend of April 23-26 as part of the 2015 Britcar Trophy Championship meeting, makes a welcome return to the UK motorsport calendar after a two-year absence.

One off Paul Smith designed Land Rover Defender, 27 exterior colours and lots of quirks, I like !

• Defender fan and owner, Sir Paul Smith, collaborates with Land Rover on a ‘one off’ creation of the global automotive icon
• Bespoke Defender features hand-finished artwork, specially crafted by Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations
• Sir Paul Smith’s Defender features colours inspired by the British countryside and Defenders used by the Armed Forces, as well as playful design details chosen specifically by the designer

British designer, Sir Paul Smith has collaborated with Land Rover to create a bespoke Defender, which was revealed today at the designer’s shop at No. 9 Albemarle Street in Mayfair.

A longstanding fan of the Land Rover Defender, Sir Paul Smith has owned several of the vehicles over the years. “The Defender is a British icon, which is something I’m exceptionally proud of,” says Paul. “I keep a Defender at my home in Italy which is in the middle of the countryside, so it’s the perfect vehicle to cope with the rugged terrain.”

Paul Smith worked closely with Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) design team – which is able to fulfil individual customer commissions and personalisation. Together they created a unique vehicle, built entirely to Paul Smith’s own specification. With guidance from Land Rover’s Design Director and Chief Creative Officer, Gerry McGovern, he was able to realise his uniquely personal version of a global automotive icon.

The vehicle features 27 different colours used on the exterior panels, all of which were chosen by Sir Paul Smith. Taking inspiration from the British countryside, as well as colours historically seen on Defenders used by the Armed Forces, he says, “I wanted deep rich colours, but at the same time, I wanted them to work together yet be surprising.” In order to achieve the look he wanted, Paul gave the SVO team a set of Pantone colour references, which were then mixed specially for this vehicle.

Further adding to the vehicle’s bespoke design, Paul worked with Land Rover to ensure that the interior stayed true to his vision. “This is a complete one-off; I wanted to give this Defender a feeling of luxury, so I used a mix of leather and fabric for the seats. I actually used the fabric that I design for Maharam, the American upholstery company. The vehicle features lots of special Paul Smith touches.

“Inside, black leather contrasts against blue stitching and there are lots of little hidden details throughout. For example, there is an image of a set of keys printed inside the glove compartment. Then there is a hand-painted bee on the roof, which is another little tongue-in-cheek reference to the countryside and the heritage of the car. Also, the traditional Defender clock has been replaced with a Paul Smith fascia. My designs are known for their attention to detail, so I didn't want this Defender to be any different.”

While Paul has added many playful and personal touches, the Defender retains traditional elements, such as the wing mirrors, door handles and wheels - something that was of paramount importance to the designer. These were then given a satin finish, to create a contemporary feel.

Gerry McGovern, Design Director and Chief Creative Officer of Land Rover, adds: “I felt it would be a fitting tribute to the iconic Defender, that one of Britain's most distinguished designers worked with the Land Rover team to recognise his creative vision.”

This exclusive Defender joins together two icons from the British automotive and design industries and forms part of a year-long celebration of the famous Defender as it enters its final phase of production at the Solihull manufacturing plant.

The new Range Rover Evoque - Can you spot the difference ?

• 2016 model year Range Rover Evoque to make its world debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2015
• Ground-breaking exterior design refined to give even more distinctive appeal
• The most efficient production Land Rover ever: New Ingenium diesel engines deliver best-in-class CO₂emissions of 109g/km* and fuel consumption of 68mpg (4.2 l/100km)
• Sector-leading residual values and extended service intervals (21,000 miles**) contribute to lower running costs with estimated savings of up to approx. £3,700 over three years^†
• 2016 model year Evoque is now 18% more efficient than the top-selling original
• First Jaguar Land Rover to feature full-LED adaptive headlamp technology
• Three trim levels and multiple option packs allow customers even greater personalisation of their Evoque
• 3000 new jobs created at Halewood driven by Evoque over past four years

Land Rover has strengthened its fastest-selling model, the Range Rover Evoque. The luxury compact SUV features a comprehensive range of new design features and technologies to reinforce its status as the market leader.

Range Rover Evoque’s cutting-edge exterior design has been further enhanced with a selection of carefully chosen revisions. These updates include a new front bumper, two new grille designs, all-LED headlamps and three new alloy wheel designs.  These changes will enhance Evoque’s unique design to a broad range of customers.

Interior changes include new seats and door casings, new infotainment system, accessed via an eight-inch touchscreen, and the introduction of new colour and materials such as Lunar Ice, Vintage Tan and Dark Cherry (Autobiography only) complementing Evoque’s bold architectural forms.

Land Rover’s advanced new diesel engine also debuts. The new EU6-compliant four-cylinder Ingenium unit brings a class-leading combination of performance, refinement and efficiency. The cutting-edge engine, which is designed, engineered and manufactured in the UK, provides up to 180PS, fuel economy of up to 68mpg (4.2l/100km) and CO₂ emissions as low as 109g/km*. That makes the class-leading Evoque the most efficient Land Rover ever produced.

Gerry McGovern, Land Rover Design Director and Chief Creative Officer said: “The Range Rover Evoque first established and then dominated the luxury compact SUV sector generating worldwide acclaim and sales success. Our challenge has been to evolve the Evoque design without diluting its distinctive character.”

Jeremy Hicks, Jaguar Land Rover UK Managing Director said: “The Evoque has proven to be an enormous success in the UK with sales of 62,000 since its launch back in 2011. Clever design, class leading residuals and competitive cost of ownership have all been contributors to its success.

“The 2016 model year Evoque builds on this achievement with a new engine line up delivering outstanding CO₂ emissions down to 109g/km and for the first time; an all-wheel drive version under 130g/km. This combined with intelligent and relevant technology will ensure that the Range Rover Evoque is an attractive proposition to both private and fleet & business customers.”

Exterior Design

Evoque’s highly desirable design is a hallmark of this luxurious compact SUV. The introduction of the slimline LED foglamps and a noticeably wider tow-eye cover enhance the new front bumper design. The enlarged air intakes allude to its sporting character and create a more planted stance and further emphasise Evoque’s assertive road presence.

Two new grille designs are available in a range of premium finishes. Evoque’s standard grille is distinguished by two bold horizontal bars and a new fine-mesh grille pattern. Dynamic derivatives feature a hexagonal design, and its more prominent mesh area lends a suitably performance-oriented character to these sporting derivatives.

2016 model year Evoque is the first Jaguar Land Rover to be offered with full-LED adaptive headlamps, providing superior visibility at night. This advanced technology has been pivotal in creating a signature headlamp and tail lamp design, working in harmony with Evoque’s dramatic exterior. 

Enhancing safety and creating an even more striking visual statement, the indicator function is now integrated into Evoque’s distinctive LED daytime-running lights (DRLs), sweeping across the full width of the light clusters. As an additional benefit, energy-efficient LED technology reduces the demands placed on Evoque’s electrical systems.

Elsewhere, the distinctive bonnet vents previously fitted only to coupé models are introduced on five-door HSE Dynamic and Autobiography specification, bringing the sporting character of coupé to the most versatile derivative. A new tailgate spoiler integrates a wider, slimmer high-level LED rear brake light and optional eye-catching new roof fins feature an integrated 3G antenna, for improved mobile phone signal.

With three new alloy wheel designs with two finishes and an extensive palette of exterior colours with available contrast roof designs, the possibilities for creating an Evoque to a customer’s individual specification are now almost endless.

Interior design

New seats and door casings combined with a redesigned instrument binnacle promote a sophisticated ambiance to the overall interior. New premium soft-touch materials create improved levels of quality with a broader specification range than ever before.

Standard models feature Taurus grained leather and powered eight-way adjustment while flagship models feature new unique-in-class front massage seats (optional) with 14-way electric adjustment. 

Owners can choose from up to 12 colourways – two of which are new (Lunar Ice and Vintage Tan) – while customer configurable  ambient interior lighting provides additional visual drama on the inside.

New engines

The new aluminium Ingenium diesel engine brings class-leading efficiency to the 2016 model year Range Rover Evoque, making it the most efficient production Land Rover ever. The new engines are manufactured at the company’s advanced new £500m Engine Manufacturing Centre in the West Midlands, UK.

The all-aluminium Ingenium TD4 engine, 20-30kg lighter than its predecessor with stiff cylinder blocks and decoupled injectors ensuring low levels of vibration and noise intrusion, is available in two power outputs: 150PS (eD4 2WD) offering fuel economy of up to 68mpg* (4.2 l/100km) and class-leading CO₂ emissions of 109g/km*, while the potent 180PS unit offers 59mpg* (4.8 l/100km) and CO₂ emissions from 125g/km*. The 150PS unit is 18% more fuel efficiency versus the Evoque’s previous diesel engines.

A range of advanced features have been applied to the Ingenium engines to ensure outstanding environmental performance, including variable valve timing and a series of low friction technologies. Selective catalytic reduction and a new low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation system significantly reduce NOx emissions.

Service intervals for the TD4 engine have been extended from 16,000 miles to 21,000 miles to reduce running costs on the new lightweight engines.

The 2016 model year Evoque is also offered with Land Rover’s existing advanced 240PS Si4 petrol engine. Delivering strong performance, Si4 derivatives can accelerate from 0-100km/h (0-62mph) in just 7.6 seconds and achieve a top speed of 217km/h (135mph), and return fuel economy of 36mpg* (7.8 l/100km) and CO₂emissions of 181g/km*.

Efficient Capability

The 2016 model year Range Rover Evoque will be the first Land Rover vehicle to be designated as an ‘E-Capability’ variant. The most efficient models will wear a blue ‘Evoque’ badge, applied to the eD4 109g/km (coupe) and 113g/km (five-door) front-wheel drive   derivatives, highlighting the status of Land Rover’s most efficient vehicles.

Advanced consumer-centric technology

The range of improvements engineered into the 2016 model year Range Rover Evoque includes a series of new convenience features, with an all-new eight-inch InControl^TM Touch touchscreen infotainment system providing a more intuitive experience.

InControl^TM Touch is fitted as standard equipment on SE Evoque models, featuring easy-to-navigate menus and allowing users to swipe between screens just like a smartphone. InControl^TM Apps allows owners to access many popular smartphone apps using the centrally-mounted touchscreen on the central console.

Additionally, the six-speaker stereo system can be upgraded to include SD-card based satellite navigation, with DAB radio featuring as standard across the range.

InControl^TM Touch Plus, standard on HSE Dynamic and Autobiography, can also be specified, comprising HDD-based navigation, a rear-seat entertainment system complete with a pair of eight-inch video screens and wireless digital headphones, and an 11- or 17-speaker Meridian audio system.

An innovative hands-free tailgate function also adds a new dimension to the convenience of Evoque ownership. It allows owners to automatically open and close the tailgate by waving a foot beneath the rear bumper, whilst not compromising security. The handy feature is even compatible with a tow bar and greatly improves access to the luggage space when returning to the vehicle with bags of shopping.

Class-leading capability

The 2016 model year Range Rover Evoque’s class-leading capability has been enhanced by the introduction of Land Rover’s innovative All-Terrain Progress Control (ATPC), first seen on the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport.

The stress-reducing technology maintains a pre-determined speed (selected using the cruise control function) in forward or reverse gears between 1.1mph and 19mph (1.8km/h to 30km/h), allowing the driver to concentrate on negotiating tricky terrain. ATPC makes Evoque’s class-leading off-road capability more accessible and enjoyable than ever.

Safety features

A range of innovative new features enhance 2016 model year Evoque’s comprehensive array of safety features. Lane-Keeping Assist uses the stereo digital camera to prevent unintended lane changes by monitoring road markings. If the vehicle begins to drift into an adjacent lane without the driver signalling beforehand, Lane-Keeping Assist applies a gentle steering correction to maintain its lane position.

Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) prevents or greatly reduces the severity of accidents in the event of the driver failing to take preventative action.

Using an advanced forward-facing stereo digital camera, the system can identify potential hazards ahead. If a collision risk is detected, the driver is alerted by visual and audible prompts and, if the driver fails to take evasive action, the system helps to avoid collisions below 32mph (50km/h), and reduces the severity of an impact at speeds below 50mph, (80km/h).

Attention Assist Estimation completes the trio of advanced new safety systems fitted to 2016 model year Evoque. It monitors steering inputs to detect when a driver is at risk of falling asleep at the wheel. Audible alarms and visual warnings signal when drowsiness is detected. 

Evoque: the most desirable luxury compact SUV

The 2016 model year Evoque’s trim levels have been realigned to match those of the Range Rover Sport so customers have the choice of three highly-desirable models: SE, HSE Dynamic and Autobiography.

More than 400,000 Evoques have been produced globally since its introduction in 2011 making the premium compact SUV the fastest-selling Land Rover of all time. Last year, 2014, marked the Evoque’s most successful year to date, with 125,364 global sales.

This sales success has been accompanied by critical acclaim, as Evoque has won more than 165 international awards since launch. The hugely successful model will also be the most efficient car in its class when deliveries begin in August 2015, in over 170 markets worldwide.

Specific pricing by market will be announced closer to launch. Indicative pricing for the 2016 model year Range Rover Evoque will be comparable with the current model.