Prefer your supercars tailored rather than off the peg? Aston Martin might have just the thing.
To celebrate 60 years since Aston Martin production began at Newport Pagnell (the firm as a whole celebrated its centenary in 2013), six special versions of the Vanquish are being created, called, catchily, the Aston Martin Works 60th Anniversary Limited Edition Vanquish. With Aston Martin’s production relocated to Gaydon in 2007, Newport Pagnell remains home to Aston Martin Works, the company’s heritage restoration and customisation centre.
This is the first of the six cars, an open-topped Volante. The remaining five, including Coupe versions, will be built and delivered to customers through 2015.
What makes these Vanquishes different?
The six cars are the product of Aston’s design team at Gaydon and the company’s ‘Q by Aston Martin’ personalisation service. Each will be subtly different.
Aside from various trim and paint details, the cars also feature their own – wait for it – metal knobs for the air-con controls. Not just any old metal, though. Implausibly, they’re cast from metal that was once part of a piston in an Aston engine in each decade.
The sacrificial pistons in question come from a fifties DB 2/4, sixties DB5, a trio of V8s from the seventies to the nineties and the original Vanquish in the noughties. Aston Martin does stress that each piston was sourced from rebuilt or reconditioned engines, so they didn’t die in vain.
All Works Anniversary cars will feature yellow side strakes and alloys, bespoke seat panels and unique leather and carbonfibre trim.
Any mechanical upgrades?
No, this is purely a cosmetic job. So you get the same 6.0-litre V12, eight-speed transmission and 0-60mph time of 3.6 seconds. Sorry.
Not all of them are sold yet, so if the regular Vanquish’s air-con controls don’t quite cut it for you, prices are available on application from Aston Martin Works.
This won’t be the last you hear of Aston Martin’s 60th anniversary – expect plenty more marketing activity over the next 12 months.
Click here to read Anthony ffrench-Constant’s review of the Aston Martin Vanquish