Aston 'Heritage Edition' collection launched
An ideal time to have something lovely to look at - in more ways than one...
While its current lineup may be as glossy as an advert for posh aftershave, Aston is not enjoying a completely frictionless time of it beneath the surface. What’s new, you might ask - but even for a famously profit-shy carmaker, the machinations behind its latest £550m debt deal, which might or might not have been secured against assets already promised as collateral elsewhere, does appear to take the biscuit and the cup of tea with it. ‘Completely ludicrous’ is how one portfolio manager described it to the FT.
Of course, PH hasn’t had time to reflect on any of that because we’ve been too busy staring at the five cars that make up its new ‘Heritage Edition’ collection. As the name suggests, each one-of-one commission ‘pairs an iconic heritage exterior paint finish – remastered for the collection with the brand’s latest paint technology – with handcrafted Q by Aston Martin details, creating a modern interpretation of Aston Martin's rich design legacy’.
Which is a long-winded way of saying that Q by Aston Martin (the company’s somewhat fussily named bespoke division) has dug around in the archives and unearthed some pretty colours, while at the same time deploying its bespoke perforated fluted seats - used for the first time in the new Vantage and new Vanquish - and adding Q logo embroidery on the centre armrest, and ‘Heritage Edition’ sill plaques. As you can see, some get Dark Walnut Open Pore Wood Inlays, too.
The car that comes up smelling of roses in this process is arguably the terrific-looking Tudor Green Vanquish, which is perhaps no great shock based on Aston’s enduring relationship with dark green over tan. The firm reckons the metallic finish is associated with ‘70s-gen cars, and recalls the ‘elegance and grandeur suggested by England’s historic Tudor era’. Okay. It is on firmer ground with the DB12 in Pacific Blue, a colour offered on the DB4, 5 and 6 and apparently reproduced from the latter’s configuration brochure.
Elsewhere, there’s a Vantage in Winchester Blue (again, a ’70s thing), a Vantage Roadster in Mink Silver - a DB6 speciality - and finally and perhaps most eye-openingly, a DB12 Volante in Pale Primrose, a DB4 colour that so impressed Corgi it used it for its subsequent model car. If you’re similarly impressed with the results, you’ll need to get yourself over to Aston Martin Newport Beach, which is the official purveyor of the entire collection (you’d hardly guess that all eyes are about to turn California-ward for Monterey Car Week).
"Every Aston Martin tells a story, and these Heritage Edition commissions celebrate some of the colours that helped define the marque during one of its most celebrated eras," said Jeff West, General Manager, Aston Martin Newport Beach. "Working alongside Q by Aston Martin allowed us to honour these historic finishes while pairing them with today's most advanced sports cars, creating a collection that bridges Aston Martin's extraordinary heritage with its uncompromising future." Let’s just hope there’s sufficient compromise in the market to help the firm smartly navigate the present, too.
Wow.
I really do wonder how long Aston Martin, and Lotus, can keep going?
As for these, yes, very lovely I’m sure, but not my cup of Darjeeling, somehow I get the vibe of the last days of Austin Rover, where new ‘limited editions’ seemed to roll out of the factory monthly in a desperate hope that they could keep the company afloat in the short term.
They all look pretty though and with such a great range now it's a shame they won't recognise that the low sales are due to high prices and subsequently big depreciation.
Instead they just put the prices up further and borrow more money to keep the company running. madness.
Aston's finances might be in dire straights, but at least this collection looks beautiful.
That said I really don't like the instrument binnacle, it just looks like someone has shoved in an XL iPhone
Instrument packs - given loaded people like watches I am amazed they stand for the endless instrument screens - dials are one of the best parts of (any) older car IMO. I’m amazed a premium carmaker hasn’t paired up with one of the watch makers to offer an option pack of ‘dials by X’ with traditional, mega expensive clocks.
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