There’s something to be said about intuitive and ground breaking design, and there’s also a lot tha can be said about design that’s just nice to look at.  Successful cars usually fall on either one of these categories, but it is the select few, the classics that somehow capture the essence of both design philosophies.   There many people who claim they can tell you, exactly which and what cars can do this, and even come up with awards for them.  With that in mind, does it really give a car manufacturer the excuse to put a $1.75 Million (or £1.2 million) price tag on your little snowflake?  Aston Martin seems to believe that yes, it sure does.

The Aston Martin One-77 debuts in Concorso d'Eleganza, Villa d'Este, Gaydon, Warwickshire

The Aston Martin One-77 was unveiled to the public simultaneous to its winning the Concorso d’Eleganza design award in Warwickshire, England, which we didn’t even know existed.  Probably a society thing in the UK. If that’s not high brow enough for you, it was held in the Villa d’Este, which is probably one of them fancy British hotels that we will never ever visit in this lifetime.  A quick look at this supercar concept will probably give you an idea as to why that just happened.

Nice sleek design and... stitches!? Must be going for the "hand-made" look

There’s really little that can be said about the exterior, and no, it’s not because this blog is only interested in the interiors, but come on look at it, it looks great and sporty.  A supercar that doesn’t even have those two prerequisites has auto fail on it.  Moving on however, the interior is really a little conundrum in a sense that we like it.  Monochrome pallete, leather all around, nice little metal here and there, a futuristic-looking center console which seems to be all the rage nowadays. But the stitches… while exuding that “hand-made” feel just looks a bit… tacky. It might be possible that the finished product will look different, but we’re not really keen on getting rid of the stitches just yet, executed properly it we feel it could give a lot more character than say… adding overpriced crystals on the damn thing.

Oooh... what does this button do?

Overall, the insides of the Aston Martin One-77 does look like the bastard child of luxury car (say, a Rolls Royce) and a sports car (say a Ferrari) but it works. Much can be improved on the seating design, but you have to give props to Aston Martin for at least trying to not use generic black leather seating in this one.  The details as to what else can be found inside this award-winning concept are scarce, so until then, we’ll reserve judgment on whether or not it really is worth the hefty $1.75 million.

The One-77's Interior is confused little thing, but it's lovely

[Source: Jalopnik]

It’s not everyday you see a 4-door sports car that can match the beauty of a Porsche or a Ferrari.  Their 2-door kindreds usuall get all the attention and are sometimes mistaken for mere sedans or family cars.  Of course, there are a few exceptions here and there, and from what is seen so far, the 2010 model of the Aston Martin Rapide is about to fall into such a category.

Images of the upcoming sports car has a lot of critics raving, especially considering the poor showing of Porsche in the 4-door sports car genre.  Besides the sleek and stylish curves of the body, what’s really enticing is the lovely interior.  While details are sketchy as to just what the Rapide will be packing, it’s obvious that it will all have the bells and whistles not only for drivers, but the passengers as well.

In addition, while beige isn’t actually the color of choice for any sports car enthusiast (often sticking to edgier yet ironically safer black), looks absolutely amazing as far as the Rapide goes.  Check out these teaser shots and see for yourself just how sexy a 4-door sports  car can be.

[Source: Car and Driver]