ASTON’S HERITAGE wedgeofLagonda,theAstonMartinLolaLeMansracerfrom 2009,apairofmodernZagatos,theCC100concept,ablack manualVanquish(whatasweetie);behindmearedVulcan squeezes out of a transporter with barely an inch of clearanceeithersideofitswing.Iwander further: GT8, DB2, Valkyrie, DB11, V12 VantageS,Taraf,Virage,there’sevena Cygnet kicking around. Over the courseoftheday,Idriveabouta dozen, but none means as much to measthe1980V8Vantage. Ihavealottothank<strong>Top</strong>Trumps for–primarilymyjob,butalsoa recollectionforcarstatsthatdidme preciselynofavourswiththeopposite sexduringmyformativeyears.Thiswas Britain’s first supercar: 324kW, 274km/h, 5.3 secondsto100kph(didn’thavetolookthoseup).Better acceleration than a Ferrari Daytona, more power than a LamborghiniCountach,themostpowerfulcarinthepack,in fact.Whatabruiser.Thatsolidgrille,theextradrivinglights,the small, deep-dish steering wheel, a naturally aspirated 5.3-litre V8 that rumbles and roars, filling these halls with echoes, a dinosaur in more ways than one. It’sabounder’scar,perfectlyattunedtoitspre-yuppieera,and it’sawholeheapoffuncareeringaroundahangar,imagining you’reinsomeupmarketSweeney-stylechase,probablyescaping afurioushusband.Aftertenminutesafugoffumeshas permeated every cubic inch of the hangar to the extent that our eyesstarttowater.Timeforachange. Idrivethe6.3-litreVirage(themightyV600isoff-limits becauseaprivatebuyerhasjustpaidthethickendofhalfamillion poundsforit),andthat’sahootbuthasissueswithcoolingand endsuppiddlingoutaloadofcoolantfromitsexpansiontank. I’mconcernedforitswelfare,butAstonhasitsowncar whisperer, Paul Spires, the director of Aston Martin Works, who assuresmethisisnoissue.Hisabilitytocoaxlifeintothe more reluctantmembersoftheensembleisastonishing. Avast447kWoftwin-turboV12makestheDB11danceand glidearoundherelikeOreOduba,likewisethe2001Vanquish withitslovelysteeringfeelandprecisionpowerdelivery.Turns outthegearboxintheOne-77isasbadaseveryonesays,butwhat asensationalobject,and7.3litresofV12makesanoise to rival anyaircraftthatoncecalledthishangarhome. There’slessroomtoplaythefollowingday.Thehangarsare nowreferredtoasa“set”,andthey’reon“lockdown”.Aston’spro racing drivers, Darren Turner and Nicki Thiim, plus Matt Becker, thechiefvehicleattributeengineer,aregettingintotheswingof “acting”. Not just “driving”, but actual “walking” and “talking”. They take to it pretty quickly, despite the repetition needed for different camera angles, lighting, sound, etc. They’re having fun. Well,uptoapoint. There’sabitwhereI’vebeenpromisedasmallrole–dosome skidsoutsideinaRapideandfilmDarrenandNickibeingthrown aroundinthebackseats.Troubleis,Matthadagoatpitching themaroundfirst,andthey’rebothlookingabitgreen. Undaunted I go and have a play anyway, hopeful that a fraction of Drone was captivated by the way DB11’s lights reflected off the floor “‘What did you say? Come round here where I can see you...” asecondofsmokecreation might make it intothefinalcut. Elsewhere, synchronised drifting happensinhangartwo,whichhashadits floor swept and cleaned of all marks ready tohavealoadmorefreshblacklinesetched intoit,whileanothersequencecallsforthe threeV8s–Virage,V8VantageandV600– to charge through all three connected hangarsat,well,speedswhichmusthave made those doorways feel very small indeed. It’s safe to say St Athan’s super-hangars haven’tseenanythinglikethisbefore–and neverwillagain.Bythetimeyoureadthis, thelovelypolished,squealingfloorwillbe nomore.Butthat’sfine,becauseit’sgetting ready for something even more exciting andfarmoreimportanttohappen–the next stage of Aston Martin’s future. 1991 Virage proves ballet dancing has run in the Aston family for years 76 JUNE <strong>2017</strong> Bruising V8 Vantage makes abreakforthedoors,“and no Virage is gonna stop me”
Olympic swimming pools are a standard measurement, aren’t they?Youcouldpour91 and a bit into each hangar before it overflowed. Though I expect there would be some leakage CC100conceptwasbuilt to celebrate Aston’s 100th anniversary in 2013 “The noise when the R14millionDB5firesup is instant Connery” Darren Turner: more a Vulcan man than a Cygnet man, we reckon Nicki Thiim is from Denmark. Apparentlytheyallhave hair like this over there
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