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Aston Martin V12 Vantage ends & big changes afoot at Aston Martin

Launched as a limited edition V12 Vantage in 2009, by 2010 Aston decided there was enough demand to make the V12 Vantage a proper part of Aston’s standard offerings, and since then it’s been the same. The V12 Vantage has also spawned a Roadster version (which, we think, stays in production – at least for now) and the slightly bonkers V12 Zagato, which conspired to look a bit too extreme for an Aston and cost an arm and a leg. We know that AM sold around 1200 V12 Vantage Coupes, around 100 V12 Vantage Roadsters and a handful of V12 Zagatos, but now the run is at an end and we do wonder if there will be a replacement?

Jaguar readying SUV for Frankfurt motor show

While the next new Jaguar model slated for dealerships is a BMW 3-series fighter rumored to be called the XS, Autoweek sources have confirmed the company will also be showing an SUV at the Frankfurt motor show in September. Likely to be named XQ or Q-type, the Jaguar SUV is expected to ride on a version of the XS platform (itself a variation on the aluminum XJ architecture) rather than share a platform with a Land Rover product. Slated for 2016 production, the new Jaguar XQ SUV will share some powertrain technology with Land Rover, specifically the Ford I-4 engines from the Evoque.

Who's Where: Jason Castriota opens own design consultancy

Former Bertone and Pininfarina designer, Jason Castriota, has opened his own design consultancy based in New York and Turin. CDN recently caught up with Castriota - who is currently in New York - and discovered he's already working on a series of projects, despite having not yet officially launched the company. Castriota told us that it had always been his "dream to have my own consultancy in New York", yet what's clearly pleasing him most is the volume of work he's already accrued, without officially launching the firm.