V12 Vantage S 'Blade Edition'
Discussion
https://twitter.com/astonmartin/status/68470863795...
I'm not quite sure that taking a V8 then sticking the V12S grill on and painting a few bits orange makes it a V12S
I'm not quite sure that taking a V8 then sticking the V12S grill on and painting a few bits orange makes it a V12S
V8V Pete said:
Hyperlink doesn't work for me??
Looks like someone pointed out to marketing that it wasn't a V12, they replaced the tweet 
https://twitter.com/astonmartin/status/68471183281...
Still don't understand why they do silly "editions" like this.
I like it.
The Vantage has been on sale for 10 years now, it's looking dated against the competition so why not spec-up some of the run-out models whilst we await the new design. Nothing on the 'blade edition' that you couldn't replicate from the spec / parts list so what's the problem?
Paul
The Vantage has been on sale for 10 years now, it's looking dated against the competition so why not spec-up some of the run-out models whilst we await the new design. Nothing on the 'blade edition' that you couldn't replicate from the spec / parts list so what's the problem?
Paul
The Surveyor said:
I like it.
The Vantage has been on sale for 10 years now, it's looking dated against the competition so why not spec-up some of the run-out models whilst we await the new design. Nothing on the 'blade edition' that you couldn't replicate from the spec / parts list so what's the problem?
Paul
Ditto. I think it looks good for a change. Much better than all these cars with lipstick and pink interiors. Hopefully Aston have finally learned to produce showcase cars in specs that people will actually want to buy, rather than showcase cars that are simply an expression of what 'could' be achieved. I think well done is in order. The Vantage has been on sale for 10 years now, it's looking dated against the competition so why not spec-up some of the run-out models whilst we await the new design. Nothing on the 'blade edition' that you couldn't replicate from the spec / parts list so what's the problem?
Paul
Check this video out it contains more detailed info https://www.facebook.com/astonmartincambridge/vide...
Thanks for posting the video link which explains the story well.
The car looks thoroughly great, the handover day and links to the planes all seem thoroughly great too, but surely only if a buyer has a wider affiliation or link to the plane more than just, well, liking it - are these 5 cars for the 5 pilots? I cant see why anyone without such affiliation would want such a closely related / such a themed car? If no affiliation with aircraft, wouldn't it be better to create the same spec car from robbing the parts bin, paint it in your own colours and then instead of aircraft silhouette on headrest, pop your own family crest on there? Interesting too that is appears entirely dealer lead and not a factory project, well done Cambridge
The car looks thoroughly great, the handover day and links to the planes all seem thoroughly great too, but surely only if a buyer has a wider affiliation or link to the plane more than just, well, liking it - are these 5 cars for the 5 pilots? I cant see why anyone without such affiliation would want such a closely related / such a themed car? If no affiliation with aircraft, wouldn't it be better to create the same spec car from robbing the parts bin, paint it in your own colours and then instead of aircraft silhouette on headrest, pop your own family crest on there? Interesting too that is appears entirely dealer lead and not a factory project, well done Cambridge
Edited by BamfordMike on Wednesday 6th January 20:30
The Blades represent the best of British and the aircraft the fly are amongst the best handling in the world. I think it's a great match but I agree you have to have an interest in aviation to really appreciate it. 4 of the five cars are sold and yes one of the pilots is among the customers.
Simon Lane said:
The Blades represent the best of British and the aircraft the fly are amongst the best handling in the world. I think it's a great match but I agree you have to have an interest in aviation to really appreciate it. 4 of the five cars are sold and yes one of the pilots is among the customers.
well done for selling 4, the 5th I'm sure wont hang around for long.I have an interest in aviation, i have had a PPL since 1997 and the engineer in me holds in awe Harrier, Concorde, Typhoon and Vulcan. Yet personally i wouldn't want to pay homage to my love of planes on a car, or equally my love of cars on the inside of a plane. The exterior of car looks fab, the interior links stated on video seem, well, a bit odd / peculiar placement for anyone not directly on the team.
Also, and dont shoot me down, its just the engineer in me that examines every avenue - Stunt planes are dangerous even when piloted by the best, anything can happen at any time. Forbid this ever happens but what if one of the 5 planes had a horrific accident at an airshow. Would you really want to be reminded everytime you drove the car (wing number of plane reported to be on dashboard) that the plane being paid homage to caused upset?
But hey, you have thought of an initiative which has sold 5 cars in a very tough time for V8 sales, so well done. The spirit of the affiliation is great idea, the car looks great on the outside, I'm just saying that the representation on the inside is at worst intriguing even to an aviation and car nut like me!
The Surveyor said:
The Vantage has been on sale for 10 years now, it's looking dated against the competition so why not spec-up some of the run-out models whilst we await the new design.
Exactly. Lamborghini did it with the Gallardo too. Par for the course when you are stuck with an ageing model.A10 said:
The Surveyor said:
The Vantage has been on sale for 10 years now, it's looking dated against the competition so why not spec-up some of the run-out models whilst we await the new design.
Exactly. Lamborghini did it with the Gallardo too. Par for the course when you are stuck with an ageing model.If it had been factory, and V8 can come specified with that design level grill, apart from bonnet vents, perhaps minor wheel changes, what in reality would separate the V8 in looks from a V12VS to a layman? So yes, par for the course when you are resigned to tarting up a car already iterated to great extent is that its spruced up with the bits off halo cars at the risk of annoying halo product owners
Simon Lane said:
The Blades represent the best of British and the aircraft the fly are amongst the best handling in the world. I think it's a great match but I agree you have to have an interest in aviation to really appreciate it. 4 of the five cars are sold and yes one of the pilots is among the customers.
Well done Simon. I'm sure the new owners will be thrilled.....BamfordMike said:
But this particular car is nothing to do with a wider factory lead model launch - its a dealer with an idea to sell 5 cars.
I know, but whether it's initiated by the factory or just one dealer, it's just trying to renew interest in an aging model. As you say, good on them.Thanks all for your kind comments.
I've personally worked on this project from inception 8 months ago. A huge amount of work has gone into it both from me and the 'Q by Aston Martin' team at Gaydon.
The connection came via one of our existing clients who is CEO of one of the sponsors of the team and invited me to attend one of his company's corporate days. I grew up with aviation as my father was an RAF pilot on Canberras and Buccaneers in the 60's & 70's so I have always had an interest in aviation. I spent a day with The Blades and was quite taken aback at their level of professionalism. They are all former Red Arrows pilots. To date they have flown over 500 displays and carried over 2,500 passengers as they are in fact certified by the CAA as an 'airline'. Their safety record is exemplary and safety lies at the core of everything they do.
I showed photos of the day to one of the senior team at 'Q by Aston Martin' and he had the idea of using the aircraft as a 'theme' to make 5 special cars. This really is a great demonstration of what the Q team are capable of. It was impossible to put the full details of the Blades Edition in a couple of photos on Twitter so in order to let you see what this is really all about I have detailed below the full package included with each car and the 'On the Road' price:-
Vantage S ‘Blades Edition’
This very special car comes with a unique package of bespoke tailoring and an unforgettable handover event. Just 5 Vantage S ‘Blades Edition’s will be built and each will come with its own unique identifier linking it directly to one of The Blades aircraft:-
1. G-ZEXL - Reserved
2. G-ZXEL - Reserved
3. G-OFFO - Reserved
4. G-ZXLL - Reserved
5. G-ZXCL
Full details as follows:-
Base Car – Vantage S Coupe 6 Speed Manual 2016MY
• 4.7 Litre V8 Engine
• 430 bhp
• 0-60mph in 4.8 seconds
• 190mph top speed
• Updated Dashboard & Multimedia Interface from Vanquish
Standard Vantage S Equipment
• Sat Nav
• Bluetooth
• Rear Parking Sensors
• HID Headlamps
• Electrically Adjustable Sports Seats
• Powerfold Electric Heated Door Mirrors
• Climate Controlled Air Conditioning
• Tyre Pressure Monitoring System
• Ipod Connectivity
• USB Socket for Audio Files
• Carbon Fibre Front & Rear Diffusers
• Sports Exhaust System
Factory Fitted Options
• Lightning Silver Exterior
• Obsidian Black Leather Interior
• Carbon Fibre Side Strakes
• Black Meshes
• Black Headlamp Bezels
• Black Textured Tailpipe Finisher
• Front Parking Sensors
• Glass Switches
• Reversing Camera
• 600W Premium Audio System
• Cruise Control
• Auto Dipping Interior Rear View Mirror
• Second Glass Key
• Heated Front Seats
• Memory Seats
• Umbrella
Bespoke ‘Blades Edition’ Tailoring from Q by Aston Martin
• Jet Black painted rear decklid dropdown with graphic pinstripe in Gulf Orange
• Jet Black painted rear lamp infills
• Jet Black Lipstick
• Jet Black Roof Panel
• V12 Vantage S Carbon Fibre Front Grille painted in Gulf Orange
• All Satin Black Painted Forged 10 Spoke Lightweight Wheels with Satin Carbon Fibre Wheel Centre Caps
• Brake Calipers Painted in Gulf Orange
• Monochrome Union Jack Fender Badge
• Body Colour Painted Wing Mirror Caps with Gulf Orange Pinstripe
• California Poppy Stitching with Jaffa Orange Welts inside the car to match Gulf Orange exterior detailing
• Jaffa Orange Leather Shift Paddles (Sportshift II Gearbox Only)
• Jaffa Orange Leather Carpet Binding
• N430 DIM and N430 Instrument Binnacle Hood & Steering Column Cowl upper/lower in Pure Black Alcantara
• Jaffa Orange Leather Centre Stripe in seats
• Centre AMi Toggle to be laser etched with propeller detail
• ‘The Blades’ logo to be embroidered on front seat headrests in California Poppy thread
• Union Jack to be embossed onto centre armrest
• Passenger airbag embroidered with unique aircraft identifier i.e. G-ZXEL etc
• Etching on near side top of both Carbon Fibre Front Splitter and Carbon Fibre Side Strake with relevant aircraft identifier
• ‘Q by Aston Martin’ Enamel infill badges x 2
• Matching car cover with monochrome Union Jack on roof and The Blades logo on side to be made from parachute silk
• Jaffa Orange/Obsidian Black Leather ECU Pouch
• Jaffa Orange/Obsidian Black Leather Handbook
• Jaffa Orange/Obsidian Black Leather Photo Album featuring photos of the car being built with space at rear for further photos of handover day
Handover Event for Owner + 3 Guests
• Handover day in late March (exact day to be confirmed)
• Full day of activities with The Blades team
• All 5 cars to handed over on the same day in The Blades Hanger at Sywell Aerodrome (cars to be parked 'in formation' under silk parachute car covers ready for handover)
• Driving experience in car with Aston Martin Pro Driver (to include drive on runway)
• Aerobatic flight experience with The Blades, flying in formation together in a group of 4
• Photo shoot with car being overflown by the matching aircraft
• Any other shots the owners want on the day i.e. with the team, with the other cars etc
• Helicopter lesson including learning to hover
• Team activity - Bombing Mission with the Blades (prize for best team)
• ‘Hover Off’ competition for best hover from top performance in each team as selected by instructor
• Complimentary food & drink all day
• Full Blades display as per their airshow performances for all owners & guests before departure
Price £119,950 On The Road including all of the above
Option Sportshift II Gearbox at £5,000
As a reference point on this price a V8 Vantage S Coupe Sportshift II with only the factory options fitted costs £109,590. Given the level of bespoke tailoring, totally unique design and the unforgettable shared experience on offer I think this is a compelling package for customers interested in Aston Martin and aviation. It costs £1,300 per head just to fly with The Blades.
I hope this puts a bit more perspective on the project. There is still a huge amount of work for us to do in organising the handover event. I am awaiting high resolution images of the final design both inside and out and will post these for you to see when I have them.
Thanks again for the encouragement its really nice to read after all the work that has gone/is going into this!
Regards
Simon
I've personally worked on this project from inception 8 months ago. A huge amount of work has gone into it both from me and the 'Q by Aston Martin' team at Gaydon.
The connection came via one of our existing clients who is CEO of one of the sponsors of the team and invited me to attend one of his company's corporate days. I grew up with aviation as my father was an RAF pilot on Canberras and Buccaneers in the 60's & 70's so I have always had an interest in aviation. I spent a day with The Blades and was quite taken aback at their level of professionalism. They are all former Red Arrows pilots. To date they have flown over 500 displays and carried over 2,500 passengers as they are in fact certified by the CAA as an 'airline'. Their safety record is exemplary and safety lies at the core of everything they do.
I showed photos of the day to one of the senior team at 'Q by Aston Martin' and he had the idea of using the aircraft as a 'theme' to make 5 special cars. This really is a great demonstration of what the Q team are capable of. It was impossible to put the full details of the Blades Edition in a couple of photos on Twitter so in order to let you see what this is really all about I have detailed below the full package included with each car and the 'On the Road' price:-
Vantage S ‘Blades Edition’
This very special car comes with a unique package of bespoke tailoring and an unforgettable handover event. Just 5 Vantage S ‘Blades Edition’s will be built and each will come with its own unique identifier linking it directly to one of The Blades aircraft:-
1. G-ZEXL - Reserved
2. G-ZXEL - Reserved
3. G-OFFO - Reserved
4. G-ZXLL - Reserved
5. G-ZXCL
Full details as follows:-
Base Car – Vantage S Coupe 6 Speed Manual 2016MY
• 4.7 Litre V8 Engine
• 430 bhp
• 0-60mph in 4.8 seconds
• 190mph top speed
• Updated Dashboard & Multimedia Interface from Vanquish
Standard Vantage S Equipment
• Sat Nav
• Bluetooth
• Rear Parking Sensors
• HID Headlamps
• Electrically Adjustable Sports Seats
• Powerfold Electric Heated Door Mirrors
• Climate Controlled Air Conditioning
• Tyre Pressure Monitoring System
• Ipod Connectivity
• USB Socket for Audio Files
• Carbon Fibre Front & Rear Diffusers
• Sports Exhaust System
Factory Fitted Options
• Lightning Silver Exterior
• Obsidian Black Leather Interior
• Carbon Fibre Side Strakes
• Black Meshes
• Black Headlamp Bezels
• Black Textured Tailpipe Finisher
• Front Parking Sensors
• Glass Switches
• Reversing Camera
• 600W Premium Audio System
• Cruise Control
• Auto Dipping Interior Rear View Mirror
• Second Glass Key
• Heated Front Seats
• Memory Seats
• Umbrella
Bespoke ‘Blades Edition’ Tailoring from Q by Aston Martin
• Jet Black painted rear decklid dropdown with graphic pinstripe in Gulf Orange
• Jet Black painted rear lamp infills
• Jet Black Lipstick
• Jet Black Roof Panel
• V12 Vantage S Carbon Fibre Front Grille painted in Gulf Orange
• All Satin Black Painted Forged 10 Spoke Lightweight Wheels with Satin Carbon Fibre Wheel Centre Caps
• Brake Calipers Painted in Gulf Orange
• Monochrome Union Jack Fender Badge
• Body Colour Painted Wing Mirror Caps with Gulf Orange Pinstripe
• California Poppy Stitching with Jaffa Orange Welts inside the car to match Gulf Orange exterior detailing
• Jaffa Orange Leather Shift Paddles (Sportshift II Gearbox Only)
• Jaffa Orange Leather Carpet Binding
• N430 DIM and N430 Instrument Binnacle Hood & Steering Column Cowl upper/lower in Pure Black Alcantara
• Jaffa Orange Leather Centre Stripe in seats
• Centre AMi Toggle to be laser etched with propeller detail
• ‘The Blades’ logo to be embroidered on front seat headrests in California Poppy thread
• Union Jack to be embossed onto centre armrest
• Passenger airbag embroidered with unique aircraft identifier i.e. G-ZXEL etc
• Etching on near side top of both Carbon Fibre Front Splitter and Carbon Fibre Side Strake with relevant aircraft identifier
• ‘Q by Aston Martin’ Enamel infill badges x 2
• Matching car cover with monochrome Union Jack on roof and The Blades logo on side to be made from parachute silk
• Jaffa Orange/Obsidian Black Leather ECU Pouch
• Jaffa Orange/Obsidian Black Leather Handbook
• Jaffa Orange/Obsidian Black Leather Photo Album featuring photos of the car being built with space at rear for further photos of handover day
Handover Event for Owner + 3 Guests
• Handover day in late March (exact day to be confirmed)
• Full day of activities with The Blades team
• All 5 cars to handed over on the same day in The Blades Hanger at Sywell Aerodrome (cars to be parked 'in formation' under silk parachute car covers ready for handover)
• Driving experience in car with Aston Martin Pro Driver (to include drive on runway)
• Aerobatic flight experience with The Blades, flying in formation together in a group of 4
• Photo shoot with car being overflown by the matching aircraft
• Any other shots the owners want on the day i.e. with the team, with the other cars etc
• Helicopter lesson including learning to hover
• Team activity - Bombing Mission with the Blades (prize for best team)
• ‘Hover Off’ competition for best hover from top performance in each team as selected by instructor
• Complimentary food & drink all day
• Full Blades display as per their airshow performances for all owners & guests before departure
Price £119,950 On The Road including all of the above
Option Sportshift II Gearbox at £5,000
As a reference point on this price a V8 Vantage S Coupe Sportshift II with only the factory options fitted costs £109,590. Given the level of bespoke tailoring, totally unique design and the unforgettable shared experience on offer I think this is a compelling package for customers interested in Aston Martin and aviation. It costs £1,300 per head just to fly with The Blades.
I hope this puts a bit more perspective on the project. There is still a huge amount of work for us to do in organising the handover event. I am awaiting high resolution images of the final design both inside and out and will post these for you to see when I have them.
Thanks again for the encouragement its really nice to read after all the work that has gone/is going into this!
Regards
Simon
Simon Lane said:
...
• ‘The Blades’ logo to be embroidered on front seat headrests in California Poppy thread
• ...
Not Jaffa Orange?• ‘The Blades’ logo to be embroidered on front seat headrests in California Poppy thread
• ...
Simon Lane said:
...
• Passenger airbag embroidered with unique aircraft identifier i.e. G-ZXEL etc
• ...
Is that to remind your passenger what you're in as you hit the tree • Passenger airbag embroidered with unique aircraft identifier i.e. G-ZXEL etc
• ...
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