All Entries in the "ASTON MARTIN" Category
For Your Eyes Only: Aston Martin Virage
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img SportsCarShop.com ::: 1991 Aston Martin Virage
AT least a decade behind its time and featuring enough borrowed parts from Audi, Chrysler, VW and Ford that you could be forgiven for thinking it a kit car, the Aston Martin Virage coupe remains nonetheless a very special red herring for Aston.
Only 365 coupes were produced between 1989 and 1995 and despite prodigious power: a 5.3 L V8 producing 330 hp and 364 lb-ft torques, a Chryco sourced three-speed slush box and hefty 4,000 pound saddle ensured grand-touring rather than sports car performance (0-60 in 6.5 seconds).
This Virage is hold up in Oregon (pronounced Ore-GEHN, never Ore-GON), is offered @ $48K and has a sly Roger Moore twinkle in its Audi 200-sourced-eye. For those, clearly, of particular taste.
Thanks, Jim!
Ricky You Ain’t Never Gettin That Car! Aston Martin Music
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: YouTube ::: Aston Martin Music
SIXTEEN million and counting viewers have watched Rick Ross’ Aston Martin Music video. As you might expect, there’s a lot of Gaydon on film. Set in Miami, tops down, rhyming about the struggle and Aston Martins from a flawless 80s V8 Vantage to gloriously fresh Rapide. Why should Bentley and Lamborghini be the pin-up cars for a generation of would-be, could-be hip-hop artists? All this production is a few choice words (the 10 year-old @ 0:21), nice shots, fine rides, and beautiful girls with our friend Rick Ross as our story telling guide. It’s escape. It’s simplicity. And for Aston Martin, it’s marketing gold.
That Oh So Familiar Face: Aston Martin Virage
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img Aston Martin ::: Aston Martin Virage Coupé
IT’S beautiful. Achingly so. Aston Martin is proudly trumpeting its new Virage as, among other things, a “contemporary design icon.” Trouble is, it’s quite difficult to tell the subtle differences of Aston’s beautiful new GT from that fabulous original, the DB9. So, what’s the point?
Taking The Bride For A Ride In Dad’s Aston
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img BBC ::: HRHs William & Kate in The Prince of Wales’ Aston Martin
IN so much that today’s royal wedding festivities in London were a global media sensation and great advertising for the British car industry – and – given that there isn’t a great deal that’s truly “normal” about the royals’ lifestyle, it was a sweet and common touch that Prince William chose to take his fair bride Catherine for a short victory lap ’round Queen Victoria’s memorial in his father’s Aston Martin DB6 Volante.
This is the same formerly gas guzzling classic Aston that Prince Charles contemplated selling so as to appear more “green”. I bet he’s glad he didn’t. The car now runs on bioethanol.
All the best to the newlyweds.
Our German CEOs Are Better Than Your German CEOs
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img Kevin Kusina for ADLX ::: Dr. Ralf Speth, CEO Jaguar-Land Rover
CREDIT Dr. Ulrich Bez, the former Porsche engineer and current CEO of Aston Martin for providing the sharp, unsentimental, efficient leadership that the UK based bespoke car maker needed to transform itself into a global success story. So, how much credit can be given to the fact that Dr. Bez is German? Difficult to say, but you might ask the current heads of Bentley, Jaguar-Land Rover, MINI, and Rolls-Royce.
Vintage Bond: DB5 v. F355 Chase
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: YouTube ::: Golden Eye Aston Martin v. Ferrari F355
LOOKING back on Bond movies of the Pierce Brosnan era, the production values now seem a little cheesy. That doesn’t stop us from enjoying a good car chase through the South of France, though.
On The Jaguar XKR-S…
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img Jaguar Cars ::: Jaguar XKR-S
IT’S a sorry bit of irony that in marking the anniversary of possibly the world’s sexiest car – the Jaguar E-Type – the designers at Coventry have given us the rather tawdry bit of kit now known as the Jaguar XKR-S.
Aston’s Modern Homage To Mies Van Der Rohe
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img Aston Martin ::: Mies Van der Rohe
MIES Van der Rohe was right, less is so often more.
When we think of the great designs in art, architecture, furniture and, yes, automobile design , so often we find that the best concepts share a leanness of execution following thorough deliberation.
No car manufacturer today exemplifies this rationale, in an automotive context, better than Aston Martin. For Aston, it extends past the tight GT and into the space in which a Vantage or DBS is sold.
Aston Martin’s Heritage Service Is The Dog’s Bollocks
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img Aston Martin ::: Aston Martin Works Service
ASTON MARTIN Works Service is the factory’s maintenance and restoration program. Incorporated therein is what Aston Martin calls their “Heritage Service.” It’s a crafty means to catering to classic models and a way of keeping past clients current. It principle, it makes brilliant business sense.
To boot, Aston backs their service up with a compelling proprietary argument:
All our restorations take cars back to shot-blasted bare metal, e-coating is applied to the chassis to protect against corrosion. Body panels are still hand beaten the traditional way and we still use the tools, which originally built the car, ensuring the utmost authenticity [...] Every detail of the restoration will be documented. Not only does this add to your cars history but it gives you the confidence that the restoration is the last word in quality workmanship and authenticity.
In other words, if you want to have the factory install a USB connection to hook your iPod up to a modified (B&O?) sound system in your ’65 DB5, not only will they oblige but they’ll add it to your car’s record as a factory installed option.
There are similar programs at Bentley, Mercedes-Benz, and Ferrari, to name a few. That said, due to Aston’s size and bespoke nature, they’ve been at this game longer than most. And it shows.
