Few automobiles on the road today are as breathtaking as an Aston Martin. But while the resurgent British automaker is known mostly for its two-door sportscars, the company's history isn't without its share of four-door models as well.

Aston introduced its return to the lucrative segment last month at the Frankfurt auto show, and has now followed up with a wide selection of photography, showing the new Rapide in all its glory and from every angle. We've placed all the images in the high-resolution gallery below for your browsing pleasure, so have a look and enjoy.

Offering an advanced driving program is a great way for a performance-oriented automaker to show its customers how to get the most out of their vehicles on the one hand, and promote the brand on the other. Aston Martin chose to keep its program to the former. Until now, that is, as the British purveyor of luxury GTs has opened its Performance Driving Course to the paying public.

Similar to the courses which Aston runs in Belgium and in England, the American program has been running for four years at the Michigan Proving Grounds in Romeo, which it rents out from former parent company Ford on a periodical basis. The $2,500 program takes place over the course of a full day of one-on-one instruction with a qualified expert who can demonstrate for pupils just what a modern Aston is capable of.

Since opening the program to the public, it's already been booked pretty solid with 20 customers a month. In the winter months, however, Aston reportedly plans to take the program down south to various facilities in warmer climates.

Driving an Aston Martin sportscar along a twisting mountain road is our idea of a little slice of heaven. Driving one through downtown city traffic, however, is not. That's what Aston Martin themselves figure with the Cygnet project.

Announced back in June, the Cygnet takes a humble Toyota iQ city car and dresses it up in Aston Martin clothing, offering the British automaker's customers an alternative to driving their sportscars through the city, and saving them instead for a weekend romp through the countryside. Reports now indicate that the car could be ready to go as early as next year. With a price tag of $32,000 – roughly twice as much as the iQ on which it's based – Toyota will reportedly ship the cars pre-assembled from Japan to Aston's facility in England where they will be retrofitted with trademark Aston Martin luxury, only without the big engine up front.

The Pepto Bismol pink Vitesse Rosé Bentley Continental GT by Mansory that we wrote about last week was a truly hideous piece of automotive madness. The exotic auto tuner rescued its reputation somewhat with the carbon fiber version of an Aston Martin it displayed at the Frankfurt Auto Show. The Cyrus as the car is called can be built from either the DB9 or DBS (James Bond's model of choice), with carbon body mods including front and rear wing extensions, side skirts, a front skirt with enlarged air intakes, and a reconfigured bonnet, plus a new rear skirt with an integrated diffuser and quadruple stainless steel exhausts. Interior upgrades include a carbon fiber dashboard and center console elements, a custom steering wheel and two-tone black and red leather upholstery.

An Aston Martin is a beautiful thing. Several Aston Martins, however, start to look the same. At least, that's the objection that critics levy. They're all two-door GTs with the engine up front and the driving wheels in the back, with subtly different by largely the same styling. And while the new Rapide may share familiar design cues with the likes of the Vantage and DB9, it introduces a new body style into the Aston catalogue for the first time in decades.

The four-door coupe originally debuted in concept form way back at the 2006 Detroit auto show, and is only now ready to start production. Along the way a couple of small changes have been made, but by and large it's the same car that wowed the industry three years ago. Think of it as a DB9 with a couple extra doors and you're half way there. Check out the images in the gallery below to go the extra distance.

If you're on the market for an Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster but looking for something a little more exclusive, the V12 version may be on its way, but the Robb Report can help you right now. The luxury lifestyle magazine has teamed up with Aston Martin to create this very limited edition of the two-seat convertible especially for the magazine.

The special edition is characterized by its all-black color scheme. The exterior is black. The fabric roof is black. The interior upholstery is black. Even the veneer trim panels are black. In fact the only thing that isn't is the deliciously contrasting white top-stitching on the black leather. Only seven examples will be made – individually numbered from 001 to 007 (very Aston Martin of them) – and sold at a $23k premium for $153,000 each.

When you love the performance of a particular coupe, it's not often that you get to hop in the convertible version and say to yourself, "So... you mean I can have the same thing with the top down?" But in between the tight and relentless esses of Monterey's Carmel Valley Road, that's what we found ourselves debating. What we settled on was this: While the handling envelope of the DBS coupe is excellent, the envelope of the DBS Volante is, well, excellent.

While traipsing around Carmel during Pebble Beach weekend, we found the Aston Martin One-77 tucked between hospitality tables like a manta ray brooding within a coral reef -- as if it were grudgingly consenting to being looked at. With a roofline that sits about four inches lower than a DBS, the minimal height, exceptional girth, and slew of edged features combine to create one angry car.

Yet it does possess its moments of soft beauty: the engine bay is a case of stupendous craftsmanship; we'd use the mirror-finish twin-spoke wheels to do our shaving every morning; the carbon fiber rear suspension weaving its way through leather-trimmed panels is nothing short of delicious. Inside, the car is minutely detailed, with black leather and white cross-stitching slathering nearly every deeply arced surface -- at least, all those that aren't carbon fiber and aluminum. Everything other than the white-backed center console gauges elicits a slightly intoxicated "Yes" from our hearts. That's the velvet glove side of the One-77.

Its iron fist is much bigger, and it wears brass knuckles in the form of a 7.3-liter V12. Best of all, Even better: there's still time to get one. You can place a call to Aston Martin for an order, after which they'll ask you to wire $1.8 million. Or you can simply enjoy the beast in the gallery below.

As ironic as it may seem, the world of classic automobiles moves at break-neck speed. So while the doors have barely shut yet at Pebble Beach, notable auction house RM is already gearing up for another event in London, where it will be auctioning off a number of notable classics.

Along with a rare 1962 Chaparral 1, the only right-hand drive Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR Roadster built, a graceful 1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 and a 1967 Ferrari 330 GTC Zagato, to name just a few, the Automobiles of London event will feature a rare 1928 Rolls-Royce Phantom I (pictured above) and a storied 1950 Aston Martin DB2 (pictured at right).

Nicknamed the "Jarvis Torpedo", the award-winning Phantom once belonged to the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, and has since gone on to appear at numerous prestigious concours. The Aston, in contrast, raced at Le Mans and the famous Mille Miglia and acted as personal transport to company chairman David Brown. Both are considered highly collectible and very valuable and promise to command high prices when they cross the block at the Automobiles of London event on October 28, 2009.

Jaeger-LeCoultre and Aston Martin have been together for more than fifty years, ever since Aston won its first Le Mans in 1959 with a DBR1 sporting a Jaeger clock. The two companies began to make the most of that partnership only a few years ago, when Jaeger-LeCoultre introduced the AMVOX1.

The second generation timepieces -- easily remembered as AMVOX2 -- begin with this, the AMVOX2 Chronograph. The vertical-trigger chronograph is the first of its kind to dispense with push-buttons: the timing mechanism can be stopped, started, and reset by pressing on the upper and lower edges of the sapphire crystal face. The chronograph functions can also be locked in position with the 3-position slider on the right.

Other details surrounding Jaeger-LeCoultre's Chronograph Caliber 751B include the red lever mechanism between 4 and 8'o'clock, and black applique numbers on a satin-finish dial that mask the white discs of the chronograph. You can peruse the details of Jaeger's AMVOX2 and survey the five years of timepieces the partnership has produced below.

When Aston Martin turned its entry-level V8 Vantage into the top-of-the-line V12 Vantage, they went the decidedly understated route with the car's styling: a few extra air vents here, some more aggressive spoilers there.... And good thing, too, because the Vantage is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful cars on the market. But some may be looking for something with a bit more visual attitude. So along comes Elite with the LMV/R. Starting with the base Vantage, the LMV/R adds a serious dose of testosterone with its widebody carbon-fiber panels. Only 30 examples will be made, with a handsome sticker price of $173,000...plus the cost of a stock Vantage.

RM Auctions has just announced the consignment of a highly-desirable 1955 Aston Martin DB3S racer (above) to its Sports & Classics of Monterey auction event on August 13th - 15th in California. One of just 20 customer DB3Ss built and one of three examples ordered new by Australia's celebrated "Kangaroo Stable" racing team, the 1955 DB3S, chassis number DB3S/104, boasts an unbroken chain of ownership through to the present and an impressive racing history spanning from 1956 through to its last known event in 1997. It's estimated at $1.75 million - $2.25 million, making it one of the world's most expensive Aston Martins.

Painted in the famed Aston Martin racing color of Almond Green metallic with a yellow flash on the bonnet, the car was also driven by racing legends like Phil Hill and Carroll Shelby. "The Aston Martin DB3S in particular is rarely available to the market and when it is, traditionally only changes hands privately," notes RM President Ian Kelleher, "so it is exceptional to find one with such important provenance to be offered for sale publicly." The Aston will be auctioned off along with the $3 million 1952 Jaguar C-Type that The Classicist wrote about last month.

On August 13th - 15th Russo & Steele will stage their Monterey Sports & Muscle sale in California, offering some incredible deals on classic Ferraris and more. We've written plenty about the multimillion-dollar auctions taking place but the R&S sale looks like a great place to grab a bargain. On the high end is this 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4, with an estimate of $1 million – $1.1 million. As we noted earlier this year, this model is widely considered to be one of the world's most beautiful Ferraris. Formerly in the collection of racing legend Skip Barber, the car has not only been impeccably restored but tuned up for maximum driving pleasure.

Somewhat less expensive but no less appealing is a 1960 Ferrari 250GT Series II Cabriolet finished in a deep maroon over tan hides and a black cloth convertible top. It was imported when new by Vilem B. Haan, one of the pioneers of the American sports car aftermarket and known to readers of period automotive magazines for his catchy advertising and unique offerings. The car remains in show-quality condition, most recently on display just this past fall at the Palos Verdes Concours d'Elegance. It's estimated at only $550,000 - $650,000.

For a real steal, how about the 1970 Ferrari 365 GT2+2? Estimated at only $125,000 - $150,000, it sports a fresh full-leather interior and contains all the period correct items including the vintage Blaupunkt radio, owner's manual with pouch and warranty card and a completely-correct and authentic tool kit. It even has period-correct Michelin XWX tires on the gorgeous Borrani wire wheels. The car has won several Ferrari Club of American Concours Class Awards. Read on for more great cars after the jump.

Kids growing too big for the back seat of your Aston Martin DB9? Fortunately the company's Rapide four-door model is just around the corner. But if you were holding out for something a little bigger, you may be waiting a little while longer, or else be advised to look elsewhere. Reports indicate that the British purveyor of luxury GTs has put its plans to relaunch the Lagonda marque with a new crossover utility model on indefinite hold.

The Lagonda name is part of Aston's corporate identity, but has remained dormant for years. A few months back at the Geneva auto salon, Aston Martin shocked members of the press with an ungainly crossover concept. Reaction was so cold that the company took it off the show stand by the second day, keeping it away from the public. Now the company's chief executive has reportedly confirmed that the model has been postponed indefinitely, meaning that it could come back in another form or it could never come back at all. Considering that Aston is known for more beautiful design work than it exhibited with the Lagonda concept, we're hard-pressed to mourn its passing.

If you're visiting the famed Nurburgring race track in Germany and looking for a souvenir or two, a recent expansion of the facility includes a shopping mall called the Grand Ring Boulevard. That's where Ferrari opened its new merchandise store – its first in Germany and its first track-side store – just the other day, and it's also where rival automaker Aston Martin has set up its very first shop.

Boasting the same 2,400 square meter space as the Ferrari Store, the Aston Martin Store Nurburgring is stocked with all manner of merchandise from clothing and accessories to models and artwork. Aston brought in the first production model of its upcoming One-77 million-dollar supercar for the grand opening, but if you couldn't make it then and aren't planning a trip to Germany any time soon, you can always check out the full Aston Martin Collection at astonmartin.com.