Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 34 i Vantage

THIS ISSUE of Vantage marks a pivotal moment in Aston Martin’s history. One we’ll remember for the point CEO Tobias Moers showed his hand in terms of future model strategy, but also for the Victor: one of the most spectacular Aston Martins ever made. Of course, in the grand scheme of things, and especially in the face of the new boss’s vision, the Victor is something of an irrelevance. Yet to overlook what makes this breathtaking one-off so special would be to waste the wonderstuff that Aston’s aspirational rival Ferrari manages to sprinkle so effectively over everything it does. Since the arrival of Moers there have been the inevitable clashes of both culture and personality that come with a fundamental change in management. There’s no doubt that Moers brings a…

Sports/Super Sports 1920-1925 SPECIFICATION Engine 1.5-litre in-line 4 Power 55bhp Torque n/a 0-60mph n/a Top speed 90mph Although the first ‘Aston-Martin’ had been created in 1915, the Great War meant production didn’t actually start until 1920. And because the early years were all about motorsport, it wasn’t until 1923 that cars went on sale to the general public. The Sports was advanced for its time, with four-wheel brakes and a fully floating rear axle, and in Super Sports form it got a twin-cam, 16-valve four with a lusty 55bhp. Business was tough, though, and after around 60 cars had been sold, the company went into receivership in 1925. First Series/International 1927-1932 SPECIFICATION Engine 1495cc, in-line 4 Power 56bhp Torque n/a 0-60mph n/a Top speed 80mph With new financial backers, a…

Lagonda (Series 1) 1974-1976 SPECIFICATION Engine 5340cc, V8 Power 280bhp @ 5500rpm Torque 301lb ft @ 3500rpm 0-60mph 6.2sec Top speed 149mph Based on the AM V8 but with a stretched wheelbase, the 1974 Lagonda saloon was the first car since the 1961 Rapide to wear the Lagonda badge, and it was not a success. Most of the blame can be attached to the 1974 oil crisis, which seriously limited the appeal of any V8-powered supersaloon, let alone one that would rarely see mpg in double figures. In fact the Lagonda was an impressive and capable machine, but during the two years of production just seven were sold (though another was later assembled from parts). V8 Vantage 1977-1989 SPECIFICATION Engine 5340cc, V8 Power 375bhp @ 5500rpm Torque n/a 0-60mph 5.3sec…

VIGNALE ASTON AT AUTO ROYALE The stunning DB2/4 Vignale, the restoration of which was recently completed by Aston Workshop and which features in this issue of Vantage, will be one of the star attractions among ten Aston Martins at the Auto Royale concours d’elegance at Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire, on July 16-18. The other Astons range from a 1924 1.5-litre side-valve model through to a 1985 V8 Vantage Zagato prototype. More at autoroyale.org. ASTON RACING ACADEMY RETURNS Aston Martin has renewed its search to uncover the next generation of GT endurance racing superstars, with the news that the AM Racing Driver Academy has returned for 2021. Fifteen young racers from a range of championships around the world have signed up for the programme, which in previous years has uncovered rising British…

Captain George Edward Thomas Eyston was one of those utterly infuriating people who appears to have excelled at everything to which he turned his hand. And that was a lot of things. What’s more, as if being a war hero, accomplished yachtsman, successful racer on two wheels and four, hydroplane champion, aviator and three times Land Speed Record holder were not enough, he was by every account I have read a thoroughly charming individual too. Renowned motor racing historian Doug Nye has said: ‘I never heard anyone with a bad word to say about him.’ Today if he is remembered at all, it is for his battles with fellow Briton John Cobb to raise the Land Speed Record in the 1930s. Driving his 4700bhp, twin-engine, seven-ton leviathan Thunderbolt, in 1937…

It’s a December day in 1966. Monty, your agent, flicks the ash from his cigar out of the window onto Shaftesbury Avenue and turns to you. ‘You’ve had a good year, love’ – he calls everyone love – ‘very good. It’s time you splashed out on a new motor. I don’t mean a Jag – everybody’s got one. You want one of them Austin Martins. That says you’ve hit the big time.’ Through the 1960s, a new Aston had steadily become a must-have for a new breed of people. Talented, suddenly famous, suddenly rich British youngsters. The DB4 was even advertised as the ‘ultimate symbol of success’. Here to open the ’60s showbiz Aston Martin motor show comes Peter Sellers, the actor and comedian who would change his motors as…

As Covid recedes and Britain opens up, for this Bulldog restoration update we’ve spent time with the engineers and craftspeople at Classic Motor Cars to see, at close quarters, what they have been doing since our last report. And they have certainly been busy First, CMC boss Nigel Woodward takes me to the Bulldog’s kennel within the company’s extensive workshops, to reveal the supercar in its temporary return to nakedness. ‘We had all the panels on it to check for fit. It was the first time we could see something of how it will look when finished, and it looked fantastic. Now that we’ve made any necessary adjustments and we know the panels fit as they should, we’ve taken them off again so work can continue on the chassis beneath.’…

15/98 1937-1939 SPECIFICATION Engine 1949cc, in-line 4 Power 98bhp Torque n/a 0-60mph n/a Top speed 85mph Using the new 2-litre engine in wet-sump form, the 15/98 range (15 from the RAC rating, 98 the peak bhp) included saloons and tourers, but they were heavy and hence slow (slow-selling, too: a planned run of 100 cars was slashed to 50). Better was an attractive short-chassis roadster (pictured). There was also a unique ‘monoposto’ streamlined single-seater designed to go for the 2-litre outer circuit record at Brooklands. The outbreak of war meant it was put into extended storage before its potential could be realised. 2-litre Sports (DB1) 1948-1950 SPECIFICATION Engine 1970cc, in-line 4 Power 90bhp Torque n/a 0-60mph n/a Top speed 93mph Retrospectively known as the DB1, the 2-litre Sports was the…

DB7 1994-1999 SPECIFICATION Engine 3228cc, in-line 6, s/c Power 335bhp @ 5750rpm Torque 361lb ft @ 3000rpm 0-60mph 5.8sec Top speed 157mph Aston couldn’t survive building handfuls of handbuilt supercars; a more affordable model was needed. Ford, who had bought a majority share in AML in 1987, knew this and in 1994 launched the Ian Callum-styled DB7 – evoking memories of the 1960s DB cars – with a supercharged 3.2-litre straight-six and a steel monocoque that had its origins at Jaguar. A Volante followed in 1996. Sales of all variants (including the Vantage) eventually topped 7000, making it by far the most numerous Aston at that point. Buying guide, issue 3. V8 Coupé 1996-1999 SPECIFICATION Engine 5340cc, V8 Power 349bhp @ 6000rpm Torque 369lb ft @ 3700rpm 0-60mph 5.9sec Top…

Vanquish (VH3) 2012-2018 SPECIFICATION (2015MY) Engine 5935cc, V12 Power 565bhp @ 6650rpm Torque 465lb ft @ 5500rpm 0-60mph 3.6sec Top speed 201mph The original Vanquish was a landmark car, and it was a brave move to resurrect the name for a new series-production flagship. If the new car wasn’t quite the same game-changer, the combination of aggressively shaped carbonfibre bodywork, a 565bhp V12, adaptive damping and carbon brakes was still an intoxicating one. A Volante arrived in late 2013, and in late 2014 both versions got a refresh that included an eight-speed gearbox. Uprated Vanquish S with 592bhp (and similarly potent Zagato derivatives) launched late 2016. Lagonda Taraf 2015-2017 SPECIFICATION Engine 5935cc, V12 Power 540bhp @ 6650rpm Torque 465lb ft @ 5500rpm 0-60mph 4.4sec Top speed 195mph The Lagonda name…

Older Aston Martins often have a tale to tell. They tend to have lived interesting lives and been owned by colourful characters, but rarely can an Aston have lived quite such a rollercoaster existence as chassis DB5/2266/L. In its six decades, it has passed through the hands of an international adventurer, a NASA scientist and a salt-flat racer, among others. It has survived engine transplants and fire. And it is now in the custody of award-winning TV director Hamish Hamilton, who has spent several years piecing together its remarkable story. In-between directing assignments and lockdowns, Hamilton, 55, welcomes me warmly into his North London home. Six foot five, with a rock-star shock of hair and enough energy to light up a small town, he speaks with passion and infectious enthusiasm,…

‘Time for some changes in the department.’ So said Steve Coughlin, then Aston Martin engineering manager. ‘I want you to be chief executive of the Bulldog project and finish it.’ It was March 27, 1979. AML chairman Alan Curtis had decided that the Bulldog would be a showpiece for Aston Martin skills to attract future specialist project work, and now it was all systems go. The project had been put on hold after initial work by Mike Loasby (see previous issue). Now, following Mike’s departure, and to see it to completion, I was to have my own workshop within the factory with eight staff – two engineers, two draughtsmen, two sheet-metal workers and two fitters. Steve Hallam was in the team already and had the existing technical information; he would…

DB4 GT/GT Zagato 1959-1963 SPECIFICATION (Zagato) Engine 3670cc, in-line 6 Power 314bhp @ 6000rpm Torque 278lb ft @ 5400rpm 0-60mph 6.1sec Top speed 154mph In 1959, Aston introduced the DB4 GT, a lighter, short-wheelbase competition version of the DB4 with a twin-plug 302bhp engine. A number of chassis were also sent to Zagato to be clothed in even lighter aluminium bodywork, while further tuning lifted peak power to 314bhp. These Zagatos today command vast sums at auction. Incredible to tell, then, that the original planned run of 25 was reduced to 20 because of lack of take-up. The unused chassis numbers were eventually recycled in the ’90s as the ‘Sanction’ cars. Lagonda Rapide 1961-1964 SPECIFICATION Engine 3995cc, in-line 6 Power 236bhp @ 5000rpm Torque 265lb ft @ 4000rpm 0-60mph 9.0sec…

DBS (VH3) 2007-2012 SPECIFICATION Engine 5935cc, V12 Power 510bhp @ 6500rpm Torque 420lb ft @ 5750rpm 0-60mph 4.2sec Top speed 191mph Engine 5935cc, V12 Power 510bhp @ 6500rpm Torque 420lb ft @ 5750rpm 0-60mph 4.2sec Top speed 191mph Resurrecting a name from the late ’60s, the DB9-derived DBS replaced the early-noughties Vanquish as the flagship production car in 2007 and gained extra cachet when it was adopted as 007’s company car when Daniel Craig debuted as Bond in Casino Royale. With power ramped up to 510bhp, aggressive styling and harder-edged dynamics, the DBS was Mr Hyde to the DB9’s Dr Jekyll. Early cars were manual only, and a Volante appeared in 2009. In all, 2534 coupés were built, and 845 Volantes. Buying guide, issue 18. V12 Vantage 2009-2018 SPECIFICATION Engine…