Indholdsfortegnelse for Issue 6 i Aston Martin Driver

IT’S 25 years since I first drove a DB7, when, as a fresh-faced, 25-year-old aspiring journalist, I helped a well-known motoring magazine with a four-car photoshoot on the Suffolk coast. Pitched against a then new Lotus Esprit V8, Ferrari 355 and Porsche 911 Carrera, in terms of performance and interior packaging, the Aston was overshadowed by all three and the feature’s writer, Jason Barlow, placed it last. “Whatever its aspirations, the DB7 is outclassed in this company.” Yet, while I remember little about the other cars, the DB7 left an indelible impression on me, and not just because the early satellite navigation didn’t have any of Norfolk’s roads mapped, leaving me lost. Despite my inexperience with such cars, even I could recognise it was the most elegant looking of the…

To be held on Sunday, 6 August 2023, not only will there be a timeline of cars representing Aston’s long history plus an autojumble and live workshop demonstrations, but an inaugural soapbox downhill gravity race. The team with the fastest outright time over the 500m course will be crowned the winner while prizes will also be awarded to the team that records the highest top speed plus a judges’ choice prize. For anyone interested in entering the race, please email thehill@aston.co.uk or for more information visit www.aston.co.uk/thehill…

MANUFACTURED BETWEEN 1967 and 1972, the first generation of the DBS paved the way for a new style of Aston Martin that became a success well into the Eighties. The American muscle car inspired shape was penned by designer William Towns and wasn’t intended to replace the DB6 (the two were produced together until the DB6 ended in January 1971). The original plan was to install an all-aluminium V8 engine, but this had been unreliable at Le Mans in 1967 when installed in a couple of Lola T70s, so it was postponed, and the DBS was launched with the familiar 3,995cc straight-six engine that powered the DB6. It wasn’t until the spring of 1970 that the V8 was finally installed and both engines were fitted until the model was revised…

OF ALL the ways to travel from Tokyo to London, driving a first generation of V8 Vantage wouldn’t be high on anyone’s list. With poor ground clearance, lack of interior room and a thirsty engine, it would make an already gruelling journey close to impossible. But that’s exactly what this example achieved in 2007 when it became the first car to be driven from one side of the newly completed Asian Highway Network to the other. Yet incredibly, this mammoth journey is only one of the car’s many achievements. Built in August 2005, the car is the 41st example produced and was originally used by Aston’s then CEO, Ulrich Bez, as his company car. Left-hand drive and German registered, he regularly drove the grey Vantage between the company’s Gaydon headquarters…

ALTHOUGH THE trend for unique coach-built cars was in decline by the mid-Fifties, the rich and famous (mainly the rich) still preferred such vehicles over production models. People like the 24-year-old King Baudouin of Belgium, who in 1954, commissioned the Italian coachbuilder, Carrozzeria Alfredo Vignale of Turin, to transform an Aston Martin DB2/4 into something more glamorous. Baudouin (Boudewijn in Dutch) was no stranger to such cars since his father, King Leopold III, owned several Bugattis and Ferraris plus a Packard convertible which he crashed in 1935 while driving along the banks of Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, killing his wife, Baudouin’s mother, Princess Astrid of Sweden. After surrendering to the Germans in May 1940, Leopold wasn’t overly popular with the Belgian population and following growing post-war social unrest, he abdicated in…

TO DESCRIBE Chiltern Aston Centre Ltd as just another specialist would be like calling James Bond just another spy film or The Beatles just another pop group. With its origins going back to the late Sixties and its wide range of services including a renowned and officially approved Body Repair Centre; a highly experienced engineering department; a Heritage Parts department and a well-stocked showroom, Chiltern Aston Centre Ltd is one of the UK’s leading marque experts. “We are fairly unique in that we are an official Aston Martin Heritage Partner and an Aston Martin Approved Body Repair Centre” explains Guy Wyles, “our technicians have also been factory trained, and have the correct manufacturers tooling for the Gaydon Era and Heritage cars”. The company’s foundations began in 1968 when the now…

Carroll Shelby’s victory at the 1959 Le Mans 24 Hours for Aston Martin firmly cemented the American’s place in the history of European racing. Yet this was only one highlight in a highly illustrious career that saw success on both sides of the Atlantic and the cockpit. Born in Leesburg, Texas, on 11 January 1923, Shelby’s interest in cars began at a young age, learning how to drive in a Willys. “I raced everybody who wanted to race,” he said years later. Following graduation from high school in 1942, Shelby enlisted in the Army Air Corps that saw him take to the skies in B-17 Flying Fortresses and many other heavy bombers throughout the second world war. After leaving the army, he started his own truck business before becoming an…

Available in both open and closed form, the DBS 770 Ultimate will be built in strictly limited numbers – 300 coupes and 199 Volantes – with all examples sold ahead of release. The Ultimate is powered by Aston’s 5.2-litre V12 engine that, thanks to modified air and ignition pathways together with a seven percent increase in maximum turoboost pressure, results in 770PS (760bhp) and a colossal 664lb ft of torque giving the car a top speed of 211mph. Power is fed through a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission that’s been given a unique calibration to improve shift speeds. Front end lateral stiffness has been improved by 25 percent to provide maximum performance feel and response. This increase has been achieved with an enhanced front cross member, and a thicker rear undertray,…

“We’re excited to push the limits of the incredibly successful Vantage GT3 in a new racing discipline,” said Andy Williamson, commercial director at Venture Engineering. “We also look forward to working with our technical partners over the coming months and years to develop this project into a winning entry.” The contender will be based on the Vantage GT3 race car and powered by the same 4.0-litre turbocharged V8 engine which has been optimised by Aston Martin Racing in conjunction with Venture specifically for the challenge of Pikes Peak. Additional technical developments will include engine mapping, damper work, an upgraded aero bodykit and reduced weight package from existing and development parts, as well as bespoke gearing. Huw Tasker, head of Aston Martin Partner Racing said, “This is an exciting, adventurous and…

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WITH THE throttle as perfectly balanced as the steering, I exit the corner quickly and cleanly, ready for the long straight that follows. The road ahead of me is as empty as the view and, as I floor the throttle, the 3.9-litre engine delivers its power in one raspy, snarling lump, turning the car into a golden blur against the similarly coloured countryside. It’s the long straights and fast, swooping corners such as these, together with its isolation, that makes the A169 one of the UK’s best driving roads. The 21-mile section that snakes over the top of the North York Moors between Pickering and Whitby is especially exciting. And how better to explore this fantastic stretch of tarmac than in one of Aston’s best but underrated sports cars; a…

Following the coach-built heydays of the Fifties and early Sixties, Vignale’s services were soon in decline and he sold his company to Alejandro de Tomaso in 1969, dying in a car crash soon after. De Tomaso then offloaded the company to Ford five years later which already owned rival coachbuilder, Ghia. But while the latter’s studio continued albeit integrated into Ford’s, Vignale was discontinued and largely forgotten. In 1992, Ford commissioned Ghia Design to develop a large, four-door saloon concept that could potentially be put into production. It would see the return of the Lagonda name which had been dormant since production of the William Towns-designed model had finished in 1990. “Although we have no firm programme for the production of a car of this type,” said Aston Martin Lagonda’s…

So competitive was the car that the Heart of Racing was also the first GT car to finish the race. Plus, with another Vantage team, Magnus Racing, finishing second in GTD and the third GT car home, it was a double podium finish for Aston Martin. With the focus firmly on making it through the night unscathed, in a race that is notorious for high attrition, both GTD Vantages started steadily with James (Heart of Racing) and John Potter (Magnus Racing) staying out of trouble in the early running. But strong stints ensured both cars were firmly established in the top five by the evening. Heart of Racing was never out of the top three throughout the long night and, for a long period until about two hours before dawn,…

The milestone anniversary will also take centre stage at this year’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Goodwood Festival of Speed, Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and other major events across Aston Martin’s key regions, as part of a global marketing campaign entitled ‘Intensity: 110 Years in the Making’. Amedeo Felisa, chief executive officer of Aston Martin Lagonda, said, “In 1913 Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford came together with a shared vision of racing cars and using learnings from the racetrack to push the boundaries of automotive innovation. “110 years and a little over 110,000 cars later, that spirit continues. Our 110th year promises to be just as exciting as our first, as we turn a new chapter in Aston Martin history with the launch of our next generation of sports cars…

2003 DB7 GT 5.9 Engine: 5,935cc V12 Power: 435bhp Torque: 410lb ft 0-60mph: 4.8secs Max speed: 185mph Transmission: 6-spd manual Weight: 1,622kg Price new: £104,500 Value now: £40k-£60k 1997 DB7 3.2 Engine: 3,228cc 6-cyl SC Power: 335bhp Torque: 360lb ft 0-60mph: 5.5secs Max speed: 165mph Transmission: 4-speed auto Weight: 1,825kg Price new: £82,500 Value now: £20k-£25k DUE TO its elegant and handsome design, the DB7 is easily one of the best-looking Aston Martins from the last three decades. It was also – at the time – the company’s most successful car and helped the brand to become more affordable and accessible, paving the way for the even higher volume Gaydon-built models. Yet the DB7 hides a secret – from the engine to the body, the chassis to the suspension, the…

THE TERM ‘Oscar India’ might sound like a codename Richard Burton would have used during a Seventies war film, but for those in the know, it relates to a specific model in the long history of the Aston Martin AMV8. Although an unofficial designation, the updates behind it resulted in arguably the best version of the model so far and certainly the most luxurious. As Motor magazine said in its 3 March 1979 issue, “Few can match the finish of this fine example of British craftsmanship.” And 45 years since the unusually named V8 Oscar India made its debut, that’s still the case. Following Aston Martin’s bankruptcy in 1974 and subsequent rescue two years later, by the late Seventies its sole product, the AMV8 was suffering from a lack of…

MOTORSPORT in association with There were some very forthright words coming from the Aston Martin Formula 1 team at the recent launch of its 2023 challenger, the AMR23. While most other grand prix squads have chosen to adopt an approach of evolution rather than wholesale revolution for the season ahead, the engineering brains trust at Aston was throwing around phrases like “bold” and “aggressive”. There are some pretty solid reasons why the Silverstone-based squad will be reaching even further up the grand prix order this term following its seventh-place finish in 2022. Huge investment from the brand’s owner, Lawrence Stroll, has bankrolled a recruitment drive which has bolstered the engineering strength at the team and taken staff levels from 400 to 800, while Aston Martin is also only weeks away…