logo
Aston Martin Celebrates Summertime Cruising with One-Off DB12 Palm Beach Edition

Aston Martin Celebrates Summertime Cruising with One-Off DB12 Palm Beach Edition

Miami Herald31-05-2025
A drop-top in a warm state like California or Florida is never a bad recipe for a good time. Make that drop-top an Aston Martin, and the good times increase tenfold. The British automaker seems to have taken note of this and recently revealed the one-of-one "Palm Beach Edition DB12 Volante," a special edition of their powerful V8 sports car created in collaboration with Aston Martin's Q division and Aston Martin Palm Beach.
"This extraordinary DB12 Volante model perfectly encapsulates the understated elegance of both Palm Beach and Aston Martin," said Pedro Mota, Regional President of Aston Martin The Americas. "Through a collaboration with Q by Aston Martin and Aston Martin Palm Beach, we have created an exceptional sports car that merges stunning performance, artistry, and luxury."
The Palm Beach Edition DB12 Volante sports a unique Frosted Glass Blue paint job with ample shimmer in the topcoat to remind you of the sun at your favorite South Florida beachside spot. Word around town is that Aston Martin hand-sprayed the paint onto the car to get the effect, and that's the kind of attention to detail we can't be mad at.
The interior carries a matching Aurora Blue scheme with Ivory Leather and contrasting Spicy Red stitching. Here's where it gets better, though. The dash, center console, doors, and seatbacks feature book-matched Linear Light Olive Ash wood trim for that perfect beach cabana vibe anywhere you are in the car. The last few special touches include Palm Beach's latitude and longitude coordinates embossed onto the leather dashboard, as well as a palm-leaf motif spread throughout the cabin.
All of this isn't to say that the Aston Martin Palm Beach Edition DB12 Volante is all show and no go. Underneath that gorgeous, long hood is a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 making 671 horsepower through an 8-speed ZF automatic transmission. Aston estimates that the DB12 can sprint from zero to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds and has a top speed of 202 mph, so we'd hold on to our hats if we were you. Yes, we know, the V12 of the DB11 is gone, but hey, at least it's not electric. Aston did not reveal a pricing figure for the bespoke one-off, nor who commissioned it, but given that the regular DB12 Volante starts at $271,825, we'd rather not know its price tag.
It's always fun seeing what automakers' bespoke divisions can create for their most distinguished clients. If you want the most opulent vehicle that money can buy, you'll likely go to Rolls-Royce's bespoke department. If you want a sports car with a color that pops, Porsche's Paint-to-Sample program would likely be pretty high on that list. Aston Martin's Q department doesn't often make headlines, but if they keep making cars like the Palm Beach Edition DB12 Volante, we can see how that would easily change.
Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Lewis Hamilton Issues Apology After Rough Belgium GP Weekend
Lewis Hamilton Issues Apology After Rough Belgium GP Weekend

Newsweek

time4 hours ago

  • Newsweek

Lewis Hamilton Issues Apology After Rough Belgium GP Weekend

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton got eliminated from Q1 at the Belgium Grand Prix after his final lap time was deleted. The shock result comes after Hamilton also got knocked out of SQ1 for the sprint race, where he ended up finishing 15th after only making up a couple of positions. Hamilton had a top-seven lap deleted after he violated track limits at Radillon. He finished just 0.031 seconds away from getting through to Q2. Rookie driver Gabriel Bortoleto made it through instead of the British driver. Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Scuderia Ferrari walks in the Pitlane after not making it to SQ2 during Sprint qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Belgium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on... Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Scuderia Ferrari walks in the Pitlane after not making it to SQ2 during Sprint qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Belgium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on July 25, 2025 in Spa, Belgium. More Photo byThis is the first time that Hamilton has missed out on qualifying in the top 15 for a grand prix this season. After his elimination, the seven-time champion took accountability for the shocking result. "Well it is what it is, that's my mistake, so I'm just really sorry to the team for all the hard work, all the testing, you know, the filming day that we did, and all the preparation, and then you come here and you don't even make it through Q1, which is unacceptable. I'm really sorry," Hamilton added after the session. Hamilton came into this season with high expectations, but he hasn't managed to achieve a podium finish at a grand prix. This race weekend seemed to carry over the poor first half of the season into the first race of the second half. "I was the same as I was for the rest of the weekend. We made some changes, the car didn't feel terrible," the British driver said. "I think it was not so easy to... It was even tough for us; we had to put a second set on just to get through Q1. So, not great. "And then from my side, another mistake. So I really got to look internal. I got to apologize to my team because it's just unacceptable to be out in both Q1s. It's a very, very poor performance for myself." Belgium Grand Prix Qualifying Results Lando Norris (McLaren) Oscar Piastri (McLaren) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) Max Verstappen (Red Bull) Alex Albon (Williams) George Russell (Mercedes) Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) Esteban Ocon (Haas) Ollie Bearman (Haas) Pierre Gasly (Alpine) Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) Carlos Sainz (Williams) Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) Franco Colapinto (Williams) Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) For more F1 news, head on over to Newsweek Sports.

Trump has momentum heading into Aug. 1 ‘reciprocal tariff' deadline after Asian trade deals, experts say
Trump has momentum heading into Aug. 1 ‘reciprocal tariff' deadline after Asian trade deals, experts say

New York Post

time18 hours ago

  • New York Post

Trump has momentum heading into Aug. 1 ‘reciprocal tariff' deadline after Asian trade deals, experts say

WASHINGTON — President Trump has 'leveraged American bargaining power' with three Asian nations this week — and given himself momentum ahead of the looming Aug. 1 deadline for most 'reciprocal tariffs,' experts predict. Trump secured Japan's agreement to pay a 15% tariff on exports to the US while making $550 billion in new investments in America in what he called a 'signing bonus' — while Indonesia and the Philippines said they would accept 19% tariffs on their goods while applying 0% tariffs on US products. 'I was a little bit surprised by the extent to which the US, at least at this stage of the game, has succeeded in striking what seems to me to be quite a hard bargain,' said Pravin Krishna, an economist at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. 3 Experts say President Trump has 'leveraged American bargaining power' with Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines this week — and given himself momentum ahead of the looming Aug. 1 deadline for most 'reciprocal tariffs.' AFP via Getty Images Robert Lawrence, an international trade professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, agreed, saying he was also left stunned that Trump roped in a large Japanese investment in addition to the tariff terms — likening it to his successful demand for a 'golden' US stake in this year's Nippon-US Steel merger deal. 'He's a wheeler-dealer, our president, needless to say, and he's kind of cutting these deals — but he has scared these people, and he's leveraged American bargaining power,' Lawrence said. 'The next one on the block is [South] Korea… for the Koreans, the auto issue is just about as important as for the Japanese.' Wilbur Ross, who served as Trump's commerce secretary during his first term and at one point expressed concern about administration emissaries potentially over-playing their hand, hailed Trump's trio of Asian deals. 'It's very important that people realize why he yoked the three together and announced them at the same time, and I think that's largely to send a message to China that their hope that his tough trade policy would somehow drive the Asian countries to China is simply incorrect,' Ross explained. 'I think the second importance of it is it puts tremendous pressure on the EU to make a deal because they have a great danger of being relatively isolated and relatively stuck with a worse deal.' Trump traveled to Scotland Friday and will meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen over the weekend to discuss averting a threatened 50% tariff. 3 President Trump secured a trade agreement with Japan to pay a 15% tariff on exports, while Indonesia and the Philippines will pay 19% tariffs on their goods, with US products not being tariffed. The president previously announced deals with Vietnam, which agreed to a 20% tariff — or 40% on items sourced in China — while breaking down barriers to US imports, as well as a UK deal that features a 10% tariffs — with British steel and car exports also paying 10% rather than Trump's much higher sectoral tariffs, in exchange for promises to open UK markets to American ethanol, beef and chicken. China, meanwhile, brokered a cease-fire with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent — with the US applying a 30% rate on Chinese goods and China applying a 10% rate on American imports. Meanwhile, the impact of Trump's tariffs — which also include 50% on foreign steel and aluminum and 25% on foreign cars — have been slighter than anticipated thus far on inflation, with the annual increase in consumer prices 2.7% in June. 'The same 'experts' that were loudly spewing doomsday predictions are now quietly looking at their portfolios and planning their early retirement or vacation home purchases,' said Arthur Schwartz, a Republican operative with close ties to the administration. Major challenges remain on the horizon for Trump, however, and academics remain divided on the merits of higher tariffs now padding federal coffers. Krishna, the Hopkins economist, said questions remain about whether the Asian nations that just agreed to steep terms are able to ratify them politically due to the fact that Trump seems to have secured such lopsided terms. He also said that India — initially expected to be one of the first nations to ink a trade deal — faces notable trade-talk road bumps due to the potentially devastating effects on poor farmers who comprise about 45% of the labor force. 'It's a very sensitive sector for India. The Modi government itself, a few years ago, tried some reasonably market-oriented reforms in the agricultural sector.. and they were unable to push that through,' he said. 'That is an extremely challenging thing for the Indian government to manage politically,' Krishna said. 'You're talking about survival-level incomes for a large number of farmers. And to mess with that would be, again, politically challenging and even morally questionable from an Indian standpoint. 3 The US is currently charging China a 30% tariff rate on Chinese goods, while they are charging a 10% rate on American imports. AP Keep up with today's most important news Stay up on the very latest with Evening Update. Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters 'It really is a question of how much of a change the US wants in terms of reduction of protectionism and so on, and how much India's willing to give up,' he added. It's also unclear how talks with China will end — with the temporary deal set to expire in mid-August, though it may be extended. 'There's a real question whether we will make a deal with [China],' Ross said. 'It's hard for me to imagine that they're going to make very big concessions, and meanwhile, we're collecting very high tariffs. So it's not so clear to me that there's a big, compelling motive for President Trump to make a deal.' China also may be politically constrained by an upcoming Communist Party congress next month and a housing crash that has sapped the nation economically, Ross noted. Lawrence, of Harvard, said that the disruption of Trump's trade wars remains worrying for certain US industries — with carmakers General Motors and Stellantis reporting quarterly income slumps this week — and that he's skeptical of an ensuing boom in US manufacturing employment. 'I personally think it's damaging our economy … We have to be competitive to make sales abroad, not to bludgeon people through threats of tariffs. That's not the way you win friends, and it's also not the way you retain customers,' he said. But Lawrence noted that Trump's delays in implementing 'reciprocal' tariffs initially announced on April 2 likely make them more palatable for the American public and less stinging on their budgets. 'By dragging out the process, it's kind of like the famous boiling of the frog who doesn't quite notice it. [If the] net effect of these tariffs would be to raise the consumer price index by one percentage point or even two, that would be a huge increase, right? But if I told you it was take place over a couple of years, it is going to work out to half a point, or less a fraction each month. Are you going to notice it itself?' he said. 'From the standpoint of, 'How do you want to distribute the shocks?' I think… whether it's negotiating strategy or it's dithering or it's intuition, it actually serves to cushion the blow.'

Germany's biggest carmaker suffers £1.1bn hit from Trump tariffs
Germany's biggest carmaker suffers £1.1bn hit from Trump tariffs

Yahoo

timea day ago

  • Yahoo

Germany's biggest carmaker suffers £1.1bn hit from Trump tariffs

Donald Trump's tariffs have dealt a €1.3bn (£1.1bn) blow to Volkswagen after the German car giant's portfolio of luxury brands suffered a drop in sales. Marques such as Porsche and Bentley have been hit by the US president's sanctions on foreign vehicles, which impose a 27.5pc tax on cars imported from Europe. Britain has struck a deal with Mr Trump to reduce the tariff to 10pc, but the larger penalty remains in place for the European Union, which is still locked in talks with the White House. On Friday, VW said the tariffs added €1.3bn to its costs in the first half of 2025 and that it could add billions more still, because there was no guarantee of a deal between Washington and Brussels. Oliver Blume, the carmaker's chief executive, said: 'We cannot assume that the tariff situation is only temporary. 'We are counting on the European Commission and the US government to reach a balanced outcome on the tariff issue.' VW's luxury brands have been hit the hardest by the levies, results published on Friday showed. Profits in the company's 'progressive' stable of marques, which includes Audi, Lamborghini and Bentley, halved in the first six months of the year, while the 'sports luxury' segment – which mainly consists of Porsche – tumbled by more than two thirds. That was after Porsche sales fell by 11pc to around 135,000 cars. 'High uncertainty' VW warned: 'There is high uncertainty about further developments with regard to the tariffs, their impact and any reciprocal effects.' This gloomy outlook has led to the company slashing its prediction for 2025 sales. It now expects no change from last year, compared to an earlier forecast of 5pc growth. The blow from tariffs comes at a difficult time for VW, which is already carrying out a major restructuring to cope with the transition to electric cars. It is cutting tens of thousands of jobs across the group and even contemplated shutting factories in Germany as part of the shake-up. At the same time, VW and other Western carmakers are haemorrhaging market share in China, where domestically made electric vehicles and hybrid manufacturers such as BYD are becoming increasingly dominant. These Chinese rivals are also embroiled in a cut-throat price war at home. The turmoil has been particularly painful for VW, which previously relied on China for one third of its sales and a substantial portion of its profits. As recently as 2019, the German giant controlled 20pc of the country's car market, but that has since fallen to 15pc. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store