Aston Martin V8 2014 News

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has announced its latest round of national safety recalls, with models from Mercedes-Benz, Peugeot, Citroen, Ram and Aston Martin affected.

N stands for Nurburgring heritage at Aston Martin, which has over the years released several special editions celebrating the brand's success racing at the famed German circuit.We've seen the V8 Vantage N400 in 2007 and the N420 in 2010, and at Geneva motor show on March 4 we'll get to see the wraps come off the latest in the N line -- the V8 Vantage N430.Named for the 4.7-litre V8 engine's peak 430 horsepower (320kW in our metrics) delivered at 7300rpm, the N430 offers the choice of a six-speed manual or a seven-speed automated manual with race-style paddle-shifters. Aston Martin is claiming a 0-100km/h time of 4.6 seconds and a top speed of 305km/h.Like its forbears, it adapts track experience and technology -- largely from the Vantage GT4 race car and the GTE endurance racer -- with tweaked suspension and steering, plus some aerodynamic fiddling on the lighter body, which has trimmed about 20kg from the standard V8 Vantage.It also gets a slew of extra features, including machined carbon-fibre doorsill plates and gearshift bezel, black magnesium paddle-shifters, a Bang & Olufsen BeoSound audio system -- and an unmistakeable green and yellow livery that salutes  the icon DBR1 race car.The N430 will be rolled out in both coupe and droptop form, and go on sale in overseas markets in the final quarter of 2014, but there's no confirmation yet that Australia will get a quota.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincottWatch the Aston Martin V8 Vantage N430 video on our desktop site. 

The British-based prestige sports car maker is recalling about 75 per cent of its cars built since late in 2007, after discovering a Chinese supplier was using counterfeit plastic in the accelerator pedals.The recall covers all left-hand drive cars that rolled off the production line since November 2007 and all right-hand drive ones since May 2012, in which there is a risk the pedals may break. The DB9, V8 Vantage, DBS,  Rapide, Rapide S, V12 Vantage, V8 Vantage S and Virage are included in the recall, but the latest Vanquish is not.The recall means thousands of wealthy and celebrity owners around the world will have to return their cars -- including the DBS driven by Daniel Craig in the James Bond movie Quantum Of Solace and a V12 Vantage Roadster he was loaned for his 45th birthday last year.Documents filed with the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration state that a company called Synthetic Plastic Raw Material Co. Ltd. of Dongguan supplied the counterfeit plastic to Shenzhen Kexiang Mold Tool Co. Ltd -- the firm that makes the pedals for Aston Martin.The recall affects 156 cars in Australia, the owners of which are being contacted. "Aston Martin is writing to owners and working through the process of replacing those as quickly as practical," an Aston Martin spokesman said. "However there have been no accidents or instances of the pedal failing here." Aston Martin has announced it will move production of the part to the UK.