Hidden Car Collection incl. Aston Martin

[Jon39]

Predumably never seen before.








Article;
https://www.autoblog.com/news/the-brunei-royal-fam...

[Simpo Two]

Went past there in the 1990s when working (indirectly) for one of the princes.

The AM4 is interesting; didn't know about that.

[LTP]

The part of the article about Bentley is just a small fraction of the story, but it is true that Prince Jefri's wallet was keeping Rolls-Royce and Bentley Motors alive (Rolls-Royce and Bentley were the one company back then, but Jefri liked Bentleys more). The truth about just how much was kept from the "regular" RR&BM employees.

I had some direct involvement, and I've seen the sun rise over MIRA many, many times, but I don't have a full picture of the whole programme as it was all on a "need to know" basis.

Other European car companies were also snuffling at that particular trough, and it kept the automotive subcontract industry alive in the UK, as many of these cars were subbed out. When it all came to an abrupt end many engineering subcontractors didn't survive the cash being turned off.

[paulrog1]

The AM04 doesn't look a million miles away from the DB9, mainly front end.

I know Ian Callam got the inspiration for the DB9 from his rear engined project vantage and 1st gen vanquish but can't help thinking this car helped also?

[Simpo Two]

LTP said:

When it all came to an abrupt end many engineering subcontractors didn't survive the cash being turned off.

Nor video production companies! Was that after the Aspreys scandal?

paulrog1 said:

The AM04 doesn't look a million miles away from the DB9, mainly front end. I know Ian Callam got the inspiration for the DB9 from his rear engined project vantage and 1st gen vanquish but can't help thinking this car helped also?

https://www.carrozzieri-italiani.com/listing/aston-martin-am4/

[Jon39]

Simpo Two said:

paulrog1 said:

The AM04 doesn't look a million miles away from the DB9, mainly front end. I know Ian Callam got the inspiration for the DB9 from his rear engined project vantage and 1st gen vanquish but can't help thinking this car helped also?

https://www.carrozzieri-italiani.com/listing/aston-martin-am4/

Thank you.
Your linked article revealed another car;


Aston Martin AM3



Aston Martin AM4

[LTP]

Simpo Two said:

Nor video production companies! Was that after the Aspreys scandal?

I wasn't aware of any video production company involvement (doesn't mean it didn't happen) nor of an Aspreys "scandal". So I Googled "Aspreys scandal" and had a flash of horrible deja vu as I discovered that a certain Lawrence Stroll was involved in buying the venerable store and, through (alleged, m'lud) arrogance and incompetence, ran it into the ground.

Women's Wear Daily said:

From the beginning, Stroll and Chou, who declined to be interviewed for this story, vowed they were committed to Asprey, no matter how long it would take to build the business.
....
But less than two years after Asprey’s Bond Street extravaganza, Stroll, Chou and the deep-pocketed shareholders they’d brought in to help finance their dream disappeared entirely from the company’s books.
...
So what went wrong? Observers both inside and outside Asprey describe a venerable company whose new shareholders were arrogant, insensitive and naive about how to build a luxury brand.
...
Indeed, Asprey was springing new leaks every day. A few months after the Bond Street sale, Asprey confirmed it had hired Citigroup to hunt for new investors to pump another $50 million into the brand to fund further retail expansion.
...
Sources say that, by that time — just a year after the Bond Street opening — Asprey’s shareholders had had enough. They’d begun bickering about who would inject the next round of cash into the ailing business. “No one was going to move unless the other did,” said one insider.

That sounds horribly familiar, with an additional F1 racing team. I read the article (and the source of the above quotes)
https://wwd.com/business-news/financial/dissecting...
with the thought I may be looking into a crystal ball. It's worth a read

Edited by LTP on Monday 2nd December 10:51

[Jon39]

LTP said:

That sounds horribly familiar, with an additional F1 racing team. I read the article (and the source of the above quotes)
https://wwd.com/business-news/financial/dissecting...
with the thought I may be looking into a crystal ball. It's worth a read.

Thank you.
I have archived the page. Now visible.

https://archive.ph/v4A7K

[Simpo Two]

I had no idea Stroll was involved with Aspreys. Small world!

[LTP]

Simpo Two said:

I had no idea Stroll was involved with Aspreys. Small world!

If you've read the article the parallels are worryingly uncanny

[Simpo Two]

LTP said:

Simpo Two said:

I had no idea Stroll was involved with Aspreys. Small world!

If you've read the article the parallels are worryingly uncanny

The bit that struck a chord with me was 'With three royal warrants; a posh clientele dripping with titles and country estates, and a dusty, utterly British brand name full of potential, the brand was going to be their next cash cow.'

[LTP]

Simpo Two said:

The bit that struck a chord with me was 'With three royal warrants; a posh clientele dripping with titles and country estates, and a dusty, utterly British brand name full of potential, the brand was going to be their next cash cow.'

As well as the previous extracts, for me it was also:

“The new attitude was: ‘We don’t want that type in the store anymore,'” said one source who worked for Stroll and Chou. “They had the cream of British society coming into Asprey and they wouldn’t connect with them. They were myopic in their vision of who, exactly, that customer was.”

and

True, both men were luxury goods consumers, but they had little expertise in Asprey’s type of products. Still, that didn’t stop Stroll from injecting himself into the creative process at Asprey.
...
Then Stroll would come in and scrap months of work in an instant. ‘Where’s the logo?’ he’d inevitably ask.

[TarquinMX5]

I'd forgotten about the Asprey story; it doesn't read well.

[Jon39]

Simpo Two said:

The bit that struck a chord with me was;

[Asprey] 'With three royal warrants; a posh clientele dripping with titles and country estates, and a dusty, utterly British brand name full of potential, the brand was going to be their next cash cow.'

Compared to;

[Aston Martin] With one royal warrant; a posh (25%) clientele dripping with spare money for options, although we are told a not quite so posh (75%) clientele use PCP, and a dusty, utterly British brand name full of potential, the brand is already a cash cow by attracting wealthy sponsors to a privately owned F1 team (coincidentally) of the same name.

The F1 team is, we are reliably informed by LS, watched by an audience of billions (that is the live and TV audience of one race, multiplied by 24 races) who have all been spotted using the configurator and are expected to soon be buying new Aston Martins, so that is going to be their next cash cow.

Edited by Jon39 on Monday 2nd December 22:13

[Apollya]

Jon39 said:

The F1 team is, we are reliably informed by LS, watched by an audience of billions (that is the live and TV audience of one race, multiplied by 24 races) who have all been spotted using the configurator and are expected to soon be buying new Aston Martins, so that is going to be their next cash cow.

I’m one of the billions who have watched the F1, and played around with the configuration, but I def won’t be ordering a new Aston anytime soon, unless somehow I won the lottery.

[Simpo Two]

Apollya said:

I’m one of the billions who have watched the F1, and played around with the configuration....

I believe that is called 'engaging with the brand'... just the sort of twaddle they like, but which is about as far from a sale as I am from the moon.