Thanks to my friends at Aston Martin and Gotham Dream Cars, I wont be blogging much today. I’m on my way to pick up a DB9 Volante for the weekend. You can follow more constant updates of my experience on Twitter.

Being a site widely considered ahead of the curve on both the tech and eco-friendly front has it benefits. One of those perks manifested itself towards the end of last week when we were invited to an exclusive pow-wow with smart USA President Dave Schembri, which included our own smart fortwo test drive. Before hitting the road, however, Mr. Schembri was kind enough to share some interesting tidbits about the company and give an overall update on the state of burgeoning branch of the Daimler automotive family via a question and answer session. READ MORE…

Yesterday, in an event that was surely meticulously planned by event organizers, the long awaited Stile Bertone Mantide (aka Project M), made it’s debut at the Shanghai Autoshow. The bespoke supercar, designed by American wunderkind Jason Castriota (of Pininfarina P4/5 fame), was originally thought to be GT-R based but we now know that the Corvette ZR1 lies at the heart of the beast. The large wheels, fluid body lines, and an aggressive almost angry rear reminds us of something a Dark Knight might drive, and that’s always a plus in our book. The engineers were able to reduce the already lightweight ZR1 by 220 lbs by using a carbon fiber body. It goes 0-62mph in 3.2 seconds with a 217mph top speed. For the latest information, including a series of episodes documenting this exciting car, following Bradley Farrell’s Inside Project M. We’ll take two, thanks.

We gushed about the Aston Martin One-77 last week, and now the second episode of the series exploring the development of this incredible automobile is available for your viewing — here exclusively. Take a peak and see a little bit more from behind the scenes with the CEO of Aston Martin, the designer, modelers and more. “You need to think about every single part, if you x-ray the car, it will look fantastic, and is beautifully engineered…” Stay tuned for more exclusive content, interviews and more.

The Aston Martin One-77 is incredible. Not just because it’s the worlds most expensive ride (clocking in at $2.5 million range), or because I’ve had an obsession with Aston Martin since I was 9, but because each of the 77 cars will be handmade to the buyers specifics. At that price, I’d hope so– but this will be an automotive collectors item for many moons to come. Hand-hammered aluminum body, carbon fiber chassis, 7.3 Liter V12 engine. Excessive maybe, but artful and classic with lines of the original design nonetheless. Longtime design man, Marek Reichman the Director of Design at Aston Martin is responsible for this beauty. Check out a video with more about Project One-77 here and there are a few more pictures after the jump.

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