It's not often I get excited about the prospect of crawling through London in a fast car at 3mph. It can't be too enticing to many people really. But when it's for the Lord Mayor's Show, it was rather more appealing.
Rain didn't dampen anyone's spirits!
Aston was involved as part of its ongoing centenary celebrations, with six journos joining the parade. We were allocated the
Centenary Edition Vanquish
After a massively in-depth 'briefing' that did nothing to allay my fears of driving an Aston through throngs of people, we were hurried to the cars. And then waited. And waited. Then the rain came...
It's fascinating what you can learn about a car when stationary or moving very slowly. The Vanquish, for example, as the most beautiful and slender sun visors. They're useless at shielding the sun but lovely things nonetheless. There were lots of little things I discovered as the time ticked away. The seat warmers aren't quite as bum-meltingly effective as in the Fiesta ST. The numbers on the speedo are a bit too small. The infotainment screen should be bigger.
Looked good, sounded even better
But there's so much to love also. The (One-77 sourced) leather smells gorgeous, the gearbox paddles have a great feel and the B&O stereo is just fantastic. I've never been happier to be sat in a car going nowhere!
The rain didn't subside until after the lunch break, but a bit of sunshine (and not being followed by horses) allowed us a little immature indulgence. Screams of 'rev it!' shot from the crowd, and who could deny the rain-soaked masses? I can only hope the Vanquish looked as spectacular from outside, gently rocking on its springs and V12 blaring, as it felt from the interior (heated seats still on, of course).
It was a real privilege to be involved so thanks to Aston. And to all of those who braved the weather to see the parade, hope it was worth it!
Vanquish very good above 3mph too
But hitting a maximum of 6mph in a Vanquish is really rather exquisite torture. As luck would have it, Aston had sent us a Vanquish coupe for a few days. Paul had been furiously guarding the key since its delivery, but after a few cups of tea and some compliments about his beard, I managed to lure the Emotion Control Unit away.
I spent £80 in fuel yesterday afternoon. There was no real destination or aim, I just set off down the M3 and went wherever looked interesting. Of course that V12 dominates the Vanquish experience but, to an Aston novice, the surprise came from it being so engaging elsewhere. It's exciting on minor roads and relaxing on motorways, every aspect of the dynamics and drivetrain are perfectly suited to its role as a super GT. After yesterday, choosing between it and an SLS in my dream garage just got a whole lot harder...