German invests in SEVEN bespoke Aston Martin Vanquish Coupe's by AM's Q Division.

• Seven bespoke sports cars commissioned by collector
• Carbon fibre-themed personalisation pushes manufacturing boundaries
• Painstaking process to design, engineer and build the luxury models      

The Q by Aston Martin bespoke personalisation service is celebrating the fulfilment of a longstanding ambition for sports car enthusiast and businessman Markus Storck.

Dr Matthew Bennett, General Manager of VIP sales and Q by Aston Martin personalisation service, delivered the first of seven uniquely built Vanquish Coupes to the German collector at an event held at the luxury marque’s headquarters in Gaydon.

Mr Storck, founder and head of German hi-tech bicycle manufacturer Storck Bikes, commissioned the Q by Aston Martin team to develop the special ‘One of Seven’ Vanquish sports cars for himself, and six fellow sports car aficionados.

Boasting a broad array of bespoke features including an exclusive exterior finish that sees multiple layers of carbon fibre cleverly interwoven to a perfectly smooth finish – a result that required Aston Martin to develop an entirely new addition to its manufacturing process – the seven Vanquish are sure to become collectors’ items in years to come.

Matthew Bennett said: “The process of creating these sports cars has been typical of what Q by Aston Martin can deliver.

“From a blank canvas we have made the client’s vision for the cars a reality and, today, we saw the first of these special new Vanquish models handed over.”

Aside from the multi-layered carbon fibre body, with its elements of exposed carbon and satin Jet Black paint finish, the bespoke Vanquish sports cars also include an array of luxurious and custom-made additions such as diamond quilting on the seats, machined carbon Aston Martin wings badges, ‘One of Seven’ logos perforated into the head restraints and a variety of gloss black styling additions.

Markus Storck said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to see my vision for a series of bespoke Aston Martin Vanquish come to life like this.

“The attention to detail, service and dedication I have seen from the Q team has been exceptional – and the result is outstanding.”

Matthew Bennett concluded: “Developing the capacity of our Q by Aston Martin service to deliver these truly bespoke luxury sports cars has been a great achievement.

“Our Design, Manufacturing and Commercial teams have worked seamlessly together to produce these cars, and we are all very much looking forward to taking on more complex and challenging projects in the future.”   

Aston Martin takes radical DBX Concept to Villa D'Este.

• Entered in renowned Design Award for Concept Car and Prototypes
• DBX Concept signals bold new thinking and exciting design direction
• Brand’s previous winners at Villa d’Este include One-77 and V12 Zagato      

Aston Martin is once again returning to the shores of Lake Como in Italy this weekend as it showcases the stunning new DBX Concept in the esteemed 2015 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.

Entered in the event’s prestigious Concept Cars and Prototypes class, the DBX Concept defies conventional thinking about the high luxury segment and points to a bold new future for GT travel in the 21^st Century.

Unveiled at the Geneva International Motor Show, the DBX Concept widens the appeal of the iconic British luxury brand and reaches out to a more diverse global audience than ever before.

Ahead of its appearance this weekend, Aston Martin Chief Creative Officer Marek Reichman said: “As we explained when we debuted the car, the DBX Concept is designed to challenge the existing status quo in the high luxury GT segment. 

It promises to make luxury GT travel stylish and more comfortable than ever before, but also more practical, more family-friendly and more environmentally responsible.”

Marek and his team at the brand’s global headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, created the DBX Concept to showcase cutting edge engineering as well as a major evolution of Aston Martin’s highly-regarded design language.

Capable of accommodating four adults in comfort, the concept also carefully considers day-to-day practicality. It boasts generous luggage capacity, while the exterior metal work emphasises the brand’s approach of using authentic materials and is made of machined billet aluminium with visible milling lines in a piece of exquisite craftsmanship intended to be seen as the car’s jewellery.

The unique paint finish – Black Pearl Chromium – has been specially created to mimic the look of a genuine black pearl, and comprises a micro-fine layer of chrome to deliver a level of reflectivity that cannot be obtained through normal paint finishes.

Inside, the deliberate use of non-automotive standard materials generates a uniquely soft, cocooning ambience.

Marek Reichman explained: “The exceptional craftsmanship displayed on this car – with detailing more typically seen on luxury consumer goods or fine jewellery – really showcases the best of what Aston Martin can be.”

He added: ‘I know the enthusiastic and knowledgeable visitors to this world-renowned Concorso d’Eleganza will appreciate seeing such a radical concept that undoubtedly signals a bright future for Aston Martin.”

The DBX Concept will make its debut at the Villa d’Este Concorso d’Eleganza on Saturday 23 May.

Lightweight & extreme, that will be the New Aston Martin Vantage special edition limited to 100 cars

• Lightweight and extreme Vantage special edition limited to 100 cars
• Motorsport-derived chassis, aerodynamics and handling
• Bridges the gap between road and race track driving

Aston Martin is today revealing the first details of its most potent and uncompromising Vantage to date: the track-inspired Vantage GT3 special edition. With production strictly limited to just 100 examples, the new model combines all of Aston Martin’s learning from its years of sports car competition around the globe to produce its most performance focused road-going Vantage.

Equipped with a new iteration of the brand’s 6.0-litre V12 engine which is capable of generating up to 600 PS¹, the car weighs in at 100kg less than a standard V12 Vantage S.

Comprehensively re-engineered, as well as significantly restyled, the GT3-inspired special edition is lower and wider than any of its siblings in the Vantage family. A broader track – front and rear – brings even more composed cornering thanks to a reduction in lateral load transfer, while the use of Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres provides even more assured handling.

Thoroughly equipped with cutting edge motorsport-inspired features, from the extensive use of carbon fibre inside and out to the track-focused aerodynamics pack – which includes a prominent rear wing and pronounced front splitter – the race-derived new Vantage brings more focused and uncompromising capability and styling to a road-going Aston Martin.

The aerodynamics package in particular has a profound effect, producing significant downforce to provide even greater levels of grip and stability at higher speeds.

Inspired by Aston Martin Racing’s successful campaigns, this new GT3-derived Vantage has been designed and engineered exclusively at Aston Martin’s Gaydon Headquarters in Warwickshire, England, to be the most overt expression of everything that defines Vantage: an inspirational sports model offering supreme driveability on the road, and uncompromising dynamic performance on track.

New flared carbon fibre front wings, carbon fibre bonnet, a lithium ion race-derived battery, carbon-fibre door casings, optional carbon fibre roof, optional weight-saving polycarbonate rear window and rear quarter windows are just a few of the measures which illustrate the engineers’ determination to eliminate mass wherever possible. That determination has paid off, too, as the new car weighs in at only 1,565 kg².

Under the skin lie a number of bespoke engineering upgrades, aside from the new 600 S¹ V12 engine. Magnesium inlet manifolds with revised geometry, a lightweight magnesium torque tube and a full titanium exhaust system with centre outlets are just a few of the features that underline the rigorous re-engineering of this exclusive new Vantage.

The car’s interior is comprehensively reworked, too, with a full carbon fibre centre stack and touch-sensitive control array; race-derived carbon fibre sports seats; Alcantara trim and the option of numerous bespoke features courtesy of the brand’s popular personalisation service: Q by Aston Martin.

Announcing the arrival of the Vantage GT3 special edition, Aston Martin CEO Dr Andy Palmer said: “Motorsport is in our blood at Aston Martin. The Vantage is the car we campaign in top level sports car racing around the world and so it seems only fitting that we offer an exclusive, limited edition Vantage that expertly fuses our motorsport know-how with our road car prowess.”

He added: “The Vantage GT3 special edition is an uncompromising example of our design and engineering expertise and I’m sure the 100 owners who secure one of these cars will savour every second behind the wheel; whether on the road or on the track.”     

     

The Vantage GT3 special edition will make its public debut on 3 March at the 85^th Geneva International Motor Show (Hall 5, Stand 5253), with first customer deliveries beginning in the third quarter of 2015.

¹ Predicted power output

² Predicted kerb weight