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The real Bond car: Aston Martin that inspired 007 for sale

A gadget-packed Aston Martin that’s said to have been the inspiration behind James Bond’s Aston Martin in Goldfinger has been revealed in London prior to going up for auction at Blenheim Palace in July. The 1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 has been expertly restored by its current owners – who actually didn’t know the car could have inspired Fleming until they began restoring it. Years of research – and the nine-month nut and bolt renovation – followed, producing what auctioneers believe is a car that, if the right people are in the auction crowd, could make the owners very rich indeed.

2012 Mercedes SL 65 AMG at New York Auto Show?

Are Mercedes planning a new SL 65 AMG (old model pictured) It looks like Mercedes-Benz has decided that the world still needs a V12 SL and are planning to reveal the 2012 Mercedes SL65 AMG at next month’s New York Auto Show. As you can’t have failed to notice, with a few exceptions from Italy, big cylinder engines are on the way out in favour of more efficient, and more frugal, forced induction engines with fewer cylinders. But it’s starting to look like Mercedes may be bucking the trend with slightly surprising plans to take a V12 version of the new SL to the New York Auto Show next month – the Mercedes SL 65 AMG.

New Ford S-Max Concept at Frankfurt Motor Show

The New Ford S-Max Concept (pictured) will debut at Frankfurt Ford’s sporty take on the Galaxy – the Ford S-Max – has been with us since 2006, so it’s time for a change. But with Ford in Europe not having the best of times and the new Ford Mondeo not expected to arrive until 2014, the all new S-Max – which will have underpinnings from the new Mondeo – won’t be arriving until 2015. But in the absence of anything new to show at Frankfurt, Ford has put together a Concept version of the new S-Max to try and show Europe it really does have new stuff on the way.