All posts by Francis Mitterrand

2025 Aston Martin Valiant

A few days ago, Aston Martin presented a track-focused road car that is legal for road driving, the Aston Martin Valiant. Only 38 units will be produced and it will make its debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, which will take place on July 11-14, 2024.

Design-wise, the Valiant looks much more aggressive than the Valour that was introduced in 2023 for the company’s 110th birthday. It is equipped with a number of new carbon details such as a new splitter, a wing near the front wheels, a new full-length front grille, new mudguards, sills inspired by Formula 1, a fixed rear wing and a new carbon diffuser. The interior also features plenty of carbon details while the central tunnel allows a view of the gearbox components. There are also Recaro Podium seats and four-point seat belts, and there is a three-spoke steering wheel in front of the driver.

Aston Martin has also worked a lot on the handling and driving characteristics of the Valiant, so all examples will be equipped with Multimatic Adaptive Spool Valve dampers, which make adjustments in less than 6 milliseconds, recalibrated Sport, Sport+ and Track driving modes, carbon ceramic discs as standard, and massive 410 mm front and 360 mm rear discs. It is mounted on 21″ magnesium rims, which are 14 kilograms lighter.

When it comes to the powertrain, under the bonnet is a 5.2-L V12 engine with 745 hp (556 kW) and 555 lb-ft (753 Nm) of torque. Power is sent to the rear wheels via a 6-speed manual transmission. It should be noted that the Valiant is 30 hp more powerful than the Aston Martin Valour.

Source: Aston Martin

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The new Freelander is an EV but not a Land Rover

From 1997 to 2015, Land Rover produced a compact SUV built on a body-on-frame chassis, the Land Rover Freelander. 14 years later this model is coming back but as a series of electric vehicles that will be produced in China.

Land Rover in China has a partner company and EV manufacturer, Chery, which will produce electric cars based on its own platform but as a separate sub-brand. The goal is mainstream electric vehicles, more affordable than what Land Rover currently offers. Design-wise, the cars will be a combination of Land Rover and Chery.

These two companies have been cooperating for years, since 2012, and the result of that partnership is the Discovery Sport, Evoque, E-Pace, and extended XF and XE models. Little is known about the Freelander, but some media in China say it could be mechanically related to the Exeed, a Chery sub-brand that will arrive in Europe by 2026.

It should also be noted that initially the cars will be sold only in China, but there are plans to export them to the global market.

Source: Land Rover

Defender 130 Valiance based on the Defender 130

After revealing the Valiance Convertible, a soft-top Land Rover Defender 90 earlier in the year, now Dutch company Heritage Customs has revealed its latest project called the 130 Valiance (Pickup Defender) based on the Defender 130.

This 5.35-meter-long car is equipped with a roof rack with additional LED lights, on which a spare wheel is placed, specially designed off-road tires, and the third-row seats have been removed from the cabin. The tuner gives customers the opportunity to customize their car according to their wishes by choosing body elements, rims/tires, colors and materials for the cabin.

Land Rover product program chief Stuart Frith said last year that he would like to see the Defender in a pickup version as well, which would mean a continuation of the tradition. The same was the case with the previous generation of one of the most famous off-road cars of all time.

Heritage Customs has not released information about the powertrain, but it should be noted that the current Land Rover Defender 130 is powered by a 3.0-L inline 6 engine with 296 hp (221 kW), paired with an 8-speed shiftable automatic transmission that sends power to all wheels.

When it comes to the price, the car with the upgrade costs 155,000 euros.

Source: Heritage Customs

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