I think everyone who has a passion for cars has that one brand they really, truly love. A marque that creates pieces of mechanised artwork that gives you what James May would refer to as the ‘fizz’.
I’ve done a show on my appreciation of Ford in the past - more specifically the RS sub-brand - but in that case it has always been about attainable performance. Aston Martin is something else entirely. There’s something about an Aston that simply oozes class and respectability. When I see one in town I always note some passers by giving the driver a little nod of respect. A nod that says ‘yes, I acknowledge you as a classy gent with taste’. Now set the same scene with a Ferrari. I bet there’ll be looks of great disdain that say - ‘Pfft! Knob’.
MHAn Aston simply oozes class and respectability
I suspect a lot of this has to do with the James Bond effect. The feeling that the driver is a well to do, savvy gentleman with a licence to kill and the ability to snap knicker elastic from 80 feet. The Bond relationship is quite possibly one of the most successful movie/car partnerships in film history. (Not bad considering the books has our hero driving a Bentley!) The tie in probably has a reasonable amount to do with why Aston Martin has been voted Coolest Brand since at least 2006 (only losing out recently to the likes of Apple).
Aston still trades with its suave, sophisticated shaken-not-stirred reputation to this day. It’s race team used 007 as an entry number for one of the cars until 2011 and of course the latest Bond film enjoyed the presence of the simply gorgeous DB10.
In the post-Ford days Aston Martin has produced some terrific cars like the million pound V12 powered and almost bespoke One-77. However it’s quite clear that a new angle has been needed for a few years as the factory churns out slightly different variants of the same Vantage year after year and it’s the same story with the DB9 becoming the DBS, (totally a different car you know) the Rapide and the Virage. We won't mention the Cygnet. Like the AMR 001 it just doesn't exist...honest!
MHIn the post-Ford days Aston Martin has produced some terrific cars.
The current model range highlights the company’s desire to produce excellent cars with a unique character and that’s what I love about them the most. Yes, no doubt there will be some variants of the new DB11 given time but in terms of visual clout, the new design direction is eye catching and demanding of your attention. Even the Vanquish has some serious presence. Though for awe inspiring visuals and aural clout you need look no further than the V12 powered, track only Vulcan which, in my opinion blows the La Ferrari and McLaren P1 into the weeds despite its Industrial Revolution era tech (relatively speaking!).
It's an Aston Jim but not as we know it.
At the close of 2016 we see a brand looking to the future with rumours of a Vantage replacement coming online around 2018 and also the completely mad AM-RB 001 hypercar. Designed by Adrian Newey this F1 inspired machine has looks that defy contemporary car design. I think it’s no coincidence that a couple of months after this project was revealed back in July, Mercedes too, hinted at its own F1-inspired hypercar coming to a Middle East garage near you soon. An enticing battle of the next-gen hypercar seems to be close at hand!
Aston Martin Racing became a fan favourite and took a 1-2 victory at Silverstone
My appreciation of the racing team goes back to their UK debut in 2005 when the brand new DBR9 arrived at Silverstone for the Tourist Trophy and took an emphatic one-two. The sound of the screaming V12 in full race trim, the day-glo lipstick, the not-quite-BRG livery all added to a stunning image that stuck with me throughout. The race team achieved much in the eleven years that followed including 3 class wins and seven podiums at Le Mans and in 2016 took the GTE Pro category in the WEC against - let’s face it - much newer competition. This alone shows the strength and depth in the base design of the Vantage and the cleverness of the engineers at Prodrive to extract even more speed and efficiency our of what is essentially a ten year old road car design.
MHThe race team took the GTE Pro category in WEC against much newer competition
So what about my own link with AMR? Back in 2012 I learned of a new team at Prodrive headed up by the AMR team manager, John Gaw and Production Glassfibre owner, Phil Dryburgh called Cyber Racing. The concept was simple, build a team that allowed Prodrive to show off it’s technical partners through its racing activities and compete at the highest level of GT racing, the British GT Championship. "Technology - Full Throttle" was the tagline.
The first race for this new entry was the Silverstone 500 and I just happened to be there. You know when things happen for a reason? That was totally what happened that day. I was stood with a fellow TORA member and happened to mention the name of one of the main guys at Prodrive who was overseeing partnerships at the time. I'd been given his card as a point of contact at the WEC but had never actually met the guy. An engineer passing by overheard us and pointed us in the direction of a hospitality awning across the paddock.
Before we knew what was going on we were sat down with drinks talking to the very interested AMR bigwigs about TORA and the idea of bringing the Cyber Racing concept into it somehow.
In 2013 the virtual team was set up with squad of Cyber Racing liveried DBR9’s (no Vantage GT3 in Forza) and three Beechdean examples as well. The season was broadcast on Motors TV and saw the Cyber Racing guys finish 1-2 in the championship and win the Team’s title as well. Not a bad start!
Cyber Racing took the TORA GT World Championship on its first attempt.
Since then, with a number of driver changes and even - shock horror - using cars that weren’t Astons the team has run steady campaigns in a number of sim racing competition culminating in 2016 with a fourth place class finish overall in the TORA Endurance Championship in partnership with the Ax4x team and a majority run in Corvettes...ya know, Aston Martin Racing’s nemesis during the GT1 days at Le Mans (awkward!) The team has also picked up support from a number of new sponsors allowing the livery designers to move away from the original 'replica' sponsors. The livery itself has also developed over the years though the traditional black, white and blue (the colours of Prodrive) remain.
Back in the real world and I’ve had more than one opportunity to visit the home of Aston Martin Racing in Banbury as well as be in the garage for WEC at Silverstone during the 2015 race and test the simulator at Base Performance. I’m getting closer to the action than I ever thought I would when I set up this pokey little sim racing group nearly ten years ago. I wonder if I can convince Prodrive to let me play with one of the real cars next year...
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