issue.14 - The Seen
Transcription
issue.14 - The Seen
ISSUE.14 MEE SPEAK Running at full bore Despite the unusually wet summer, we’re enjoying what can only be described as the busiest period in the company’s history. Looking back to the summer of 2011, when the decision was made to expand the company by taking on additional premises and staff, there was always the niggling doubt that we had made the right decision to invest heavily in the future during a recession. However, since then we’ve been through an extraordinary period of growth during difficult economic times as car sales and servicing revenues have never been greater. So, to all our clients, suppliers, staff and fellow directors I owe an enormously a big thank you for sharing the vision and making the expansion such a success. Continuing the theme of success... In this issue is the story of this year’s trip to Le Mans for the 24hr race. Organised by our events company CTR Events, and in conjunction with Aston Martin Lagonda, we developed a new programme for our guests this year. Despite the less than perfect weather, judging by the feedback received the weekend was perhaps our most enjoyable to date. Also in this issue we have a feature on Aston Martin’s long association with our royal family. As supporters of the marque since the 1950s there’s no doubt the Windsor connection has positively influenced Aston Martin’s success story, in particular with overseas owners. Along with the building momentum towards Aston Martin’s centenary, NM&Co will celebrate 20 years in business next year and we’re planning a special event to mark the occasion, so watch this space! Looking to the immediate future, may I wish all our readers a pleasant motoring summer and remind you, if you’ve not already visited, to drop by our showrooms when next in town. There’s always a warm welcome and a broad selection of interesting cars to view. Nick FULLBORE : ISSUE 14 Join us on Facebook Sales Nicholas Mee & Company Ltd Brackenbury House, 158-160 Goldhawk Road, West London, W12 8HJ The official e-magazine from Nicholas Mee & Co Ltd // JULY 2012 Workshop Operations Nicholas Mee & Company Ltd Brackenbury Garage, 12, Wellesley Avenue, London, W6 0UP Contacts T: +44 (0)208 741 8822 F: +44 (0)208 741 7422 [email protected] http://www.nicholasmee.co.uk 04 NEWS The stunning new Vanquish is revealed, plus reports on the Nürburgring 24hr and Le Mans Festival races 07 RIGHT ROYAL ASTONS It’s not all Rolls-Royces and Land Rovers for our Royals. There have been a few Aston Martins too 11 FULLBORE CENTREFOLD V8 Vantage GTE, at speed, at Le Mans, at night. Bootiful 12 SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW They’re both Zagato-bodied, but that’s where the similarity ends 13 ASTONS AT AUCTION A concise review of the Bonhams Works Service Aston Martin sale in May 14 ASK THE TECH TEAM How to keep ‘Tracker’ of things... 15 WHAT’S IN STOCK If you’ve a fluid ounce of petrol in your veins, there’ll surely be a car here for you 18 WHAT’S IN STORE A solar powered battery conditioner? Whatever next? 18 READERS’ COMPETITION A previous winner is announced, a new question is posed and a super prize could be yours 19 CTR EVENTS A review of CTR’s recent Le Mans weekend, including what happened in the race if you missed it! 24 ASTON MARTIN ARCHIVE IMAGE RIP Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori © Nicholas Mee & Co Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the copyright owner. Design : www.theseen.biz FULLBORE NEWS NEW VANQUISH IT’S OFFICIAL! On display at the Villa d’Este concours in Italy in late May was Aston Martin’s Project AM310 concept car. With scarlet bodywork featuring a number of One-77 and Rapide influences, this was the first sighting of the successor to the DBS – the new flagship model to celebrate Aston Martin’s centenary next year. Soon after, other prototype and pre-production versions were spotted out and about in Italy, testing on the Nordschleife and near Gaydon, with the near-production versions featuring a softened grille treatment, more subtle alloys and – scotching media speculation regarding the new model’s name – a Vanquish badge affixed to the rear. Aston Martin was keeping tight lipped about the project, other than posting a couple of teaser ‘AM310 coming soon’ videos on its website. But then, in the small hours of Wednesday 20th June, the company issued a press release and official photos. Aston Martin is today unveiling a stunning new luxury sports car – the Vanquish. Sitting proudly at the pinnacle of the luxury British carmaker’s sports car line-up, this breath-taking new super grand tourer represents the zenith of current Aston Martin design and engineering. Powered by a significantly revised 5,935cc V12 mated to the existing Touchtronic 2 six-speed auto, the new Vanquish produces 565bhp at 6,750rpm, making it “Aston Martin’s most potent production model yet”, (barring the 750bhp One-77 and built-to-order 600bhp Vantages of the late ‘90s). With 620Nm of torque at 5,500 rpm, the 2013 Vanquish outmuscles the 2001 Vanquish and 2004 Vanquish S, although all this extra power isn’t fully reflected in the new car’s quoted 04 performance – 0-62mph in 4.1 seconds, top speed of 183mph – the latter being a lower figure than those quoted for both the first generation Vanquishes, plus at least eight other more recent models. However, Aston’s engineers have been “working towards economy and emissions improvements, too”, so that might explain it. Designed in-house, the new 1,739kg Vanquish is underpinned by a new-generation bonded aluminium and carbon-fibre VH structure, with an aluminium, magnesium alloy and carbonfibre composite body. Torsional rigidity has been improved by more than 25%. It also features a newly designed and significantly more spacious cabin with a 368-litre boot – over 60% larger than that of the DBS, while infotainment includes a 1,000-watt B&O 15-speaker audio system, Garmin satnav, iPod/iPhone audio/ phone streaming and a wi-fi hub. In our experience, recent models such as the V12 Vantage, Virage and DBS are all extremely accomplished driving machines. With its dynamic and aerodynamic improvements, the stunning new Vanquish is sure to be an amazing drive. The new car will also put the hallowed Vanquish name back in the spotlight again. Already much appreciated by the Aston Martin enthusiast fraternity, the original Vanquish and Vanquish S models (2001-2007), tipped by ourselves some time ago as a future classic, will surely benefit from this and we may well see a rise in values as a result. Priced from £189,995 RRP, first deliveries of the new Vanquish are expected to begin in late 2012. FULLBORE NEWS PODIUMS AT THE ‘RING Late May saw the annual endurance fest that is the Nürburgring 24hr race. Having competed in every year since 2006, Aston Martin Racing and long-standing partner team, Young Driver AMR, entered the SP9 class with a pair of V12 Vantage GT3s. The drivers were works pilot Stefan Mücke partnered by Tomas Enge, Fredy Barth and Oliver Mathai in car 006, and factory driver Darren Turner teamed with Dennis Rostek and Johannes and Ferdinand Stuck – sons of triple Nürburgring 24hr winner Hans-Joachim Stuck – in the 007 car. Both GT3 Aston Martins suffered early setbacks on their fourth lap of the 16.1-mile circuit with car 006 losing 16 laps to its GT3 rivals due to a clutch issue, and 007 suffering a tyre blow-out which left it stranded out on the circuit costing it 13 laps. From then on they both ran largely fault-free, but having covered some 3,000 miles between them over 20 hours, the team decided to rest both cars until the final lap of the race. Aston Martin also fielded a V12 Zagato and a V8 Vantage GT4 in the SP8 category, run by the engineering department with a 100 per cent finishing record in the Nürburgring 24hr over the previous six years. The V12 Zagato was driven by Dr. Ulrich Bez, Chris Porritt, Wolfgang Schuhbauer and Richard Meaden, 05 while the no.85 Vantage GT4 was piloted by Mal Rose, Robert Thomson, Jürgen Stumpf and Peter Cate. Neither the V12 nor V8 Astons suffered any significant technical maladies during the race, and none of the eight amateur drivers made any errors either, despite persistent rain on the Sunday morning. After 137 laps the V12 Zagato finished second-in-class and 26th overall, while the Vantage GT4 completed 135 laps to finish third-in-class and 33rd overall, so the department can now proudly boast a 100 per cent finishing record over seven years of 24hr racing at the Green Hell. Aston Martin’s third podium came courtesy of Team Mathol Racing. Winner of the SP10 class in 2010, TMR was on course to repeat its success until an accident soon after the mid-way point. The team’s technicians were able to repair the damaged bodywork, enabling their Vantage GT4 to rejoin and battle on to second-in-class. Outright victory went to the Team Phoenix Audi Sport R8 GT3 driven by Marc Basseng, Christopher Haase, Frank Stippler and Markus Winkelhock. FULLBORE NEWS DBS Ultimate LE MANS FEST V12 VANTAGE ROADSTER IN THE NEWS We may not have been called to the witness box at the Leveson enquiry, but that doesn’t mean NM&Co hasn’t been in the news. As its name would suggest, the new DBS Ultimate represents the end of the line for the DBS – Aston Martin’s flagship model soon to be replaced by the new Vanquish. At the time of writing the company hasn’t issued a press release to announce the Ultimate, or shown it in public, but as of early May it has revealed snippets on its website and Facebook page. Available as either a Coupé or Volante, DBS Ultimate has a choice of three exterior colours; Carbon Black II, Quantum Silver or Silver Fox. All cars feature a uniquely coloured DBS badge, a unique number plate surround and a painted rear decklid – both with a choice of gloss or satin finish. Diamond Quilt stitching throughout is accentuated by the use of either red or silver contrast thread. Carbon fibre wing mirrors, a dark front grille, smoked rear lamps and Zircotec-coated tailpipes are complemented by yellow, red or black brake calipers. Powered by the existing 510bhp 6-litre V12 with either manual or auto transmissions, no more than 100 of the £186,582 DBS Ultimates will be produced. 06 Aston Martin’s presence at Le Mans was heightened this year by the Aston Martin Racing Festival – a 45-minute, single-marque race running in support of the 24-hour endurance epic. Having qualified in second position, the Filippi/Lavio Vantage GT2 took the win after 10 laps of the 8.5-mile Sarthe circuit. It finished just over a minute ahead of a GT1 DBR9 in second that had started from the back of the 31-car grid, while third overall went to the pole-sitting Vantage GT3. The 19-strong GT4 category was won by AMR Team Principal John Gaw with Phil Dryburgh who finished seventh overall. Partnered by James Appleby, American Rob Nimkoff – who codrove Nicholas Mee Racing’s Vantage GT4 to second overall in last year’s Silverstone 24hr – finished second in class and ninth overall. AM Chairman David Richards finished fifth of the GT4s (14th overall), while Rowan Atkinson drove his GT4 to seventh in class (16th overall). Fresh from its class podium at the Nürburgring 24hr in May, AM CEO Dr Ulrich Bez and Chief Engineer Chris Porritt drove their V12 Zagato to 11th overall. Having started from 10th, Porritt had battled up to an impressive fourth place before handing over to his team-mate. Just as we were metaphorically ‘going to press’, leaked official images and news stories of the new Vantage V12 Roaster started appearing all over the web. Word is that the new model will be powered by the now three-year-old V12 Coupe’s 510bhp 5.9-litre V12 with the rear-mounted six-speed manual transmission. External features that distinguish the existing V12 Coupe from the V8 Coupe, such as wheels, a carbon fibre front splitter/lower intake, larger and more bonnet vents plus a more pronounced boot lid spoiler, are carried over onto the V12 Roadster. Apparently the new Roadster will have re-tuned suspension to compensate for the extra weight caused by the necessary chassis strengthening required when the hardtop roof is removed. At present there’s only speculation regarding the new model’s weight and price (c.£150,000), but it’s likely that production will start later this year, and that just 101 will be built. PistonHeads.com Following the announcement of the new Vanquish, on June 20th motoring journo Chris Harris revealed his long held appreciation of the original Vanquish and glowingly describes one of our cars in stock. His blog piece is illustrated by one of our photos, it carries a link to our ad elsewhere on the site and it ends with “Off to research finance options…”. We await your call, Mr. Harris. Click for more » Square Mile magazine Okay, so it’s not editorial, but we thought you’d be interested to hear that we recently placed a slightly tongue-in-cheek full page ad in issue 69 of Square Mile magazine – ‘the voice of the City’. With the main strapline being “Invest in an alternative bond”, the price of our 1970 DB6 Mk II Volante was described as “Reassuringly expensive”. AutoTrader.co.uk The UK’s ‘leading motoring website’ has recently posted a video review of one of NM&Co’s V8 Vantages by the site’s Editor-inChief Jon Quirk, a former FullBore contributor. All the exterior footage was gathered on location at NM&Co’s new showroom on London’s Goldhawk Rd. Click for more » FEATURE RIGHT ROYAL ASTONS With Queen Elizabeth II’s recent Diamond Jubilee celebrations attracting global interest, we thought we’d rummage through the archives for information on the Royal family’s often high-profile relationship with the Aston Martin marque... 9 07 FULLBORE FULLBORE FEATURE : RIGHT ROYAL ASTONS Happy times for Charles and Diana in DB6 Volante Prince Charles steps from his Virage Volante Although the Royals obviously drive other famous brands such as Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Jaguar, Land Rover and even Ducati, there’s a relationship with Aston Martin Lagonda and its cars that dates back to the earliest days of the Queen’s reign. This arguably reached its zenith at the wedding last year of Prince William and Catherine Middleton when Prince Charles lent his DB6 Volante to the young Prince to drive from the reception at Buckingham Palace to the nearby St. James’s Palace. The Duke of Edinburgh was frequently seen out and about in his Tickford-bodied Lagonda DB 3-Litre drophead, with period photos showing him arriving back at Buckingham Palace with the Queen by his side having holidayed at Sandringham, driving a much younger Prince Charles to his first term at Cheam School near Newbury, again with the Queen, and relaxing by the car at a polo match. And in 1953 Prince Philip visited the Goodwood circuit and while there he tried out the controls of an Aston Martin DB3S racer, probably having driven there in his Lagonda... This DB6 Volante Mk II was given by the Queen to Prince Charles on the occasion of his 21st birthday in 1969. In 2008 the car was converted by Aston Martin Works Service to run on bioethanol fuel produced from waste wine and whey, a bi-product of cheese making. Decorated by Prince Harry, it was famously driven from Buckingham Palace to St James’s Palace by Prince William, with his new bride Catherine, The Duchess of Cambridge, at his side during the late afternoon of their wedding day on April 29th 2011. As mentioned, the Royal’s associations with Aston Martin Lagonda comfortably predate Charles’ DB6. In the early 1950s In 1966 the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visited Aston Martin’s Newport Pagnell factory. James Bond’s DB5 was on display, while the 6 year-old son of the Works Manager demonstrated a gadget-laden DB5 convertible toy car, which was presented by David Brown to Her Majesty for the 6 year-old Prince Andrew. This steel-bodied miniature took 30 men 12 weeks to complete. It’s powered by two 12v batteries giving a top speed of 10mph and it features many of the gadgets featured on the movie car including electrically-operated revolving number plates, concealed dummy machine guns, a pop-up bullet-proof shield, a smoke discharger, a radar system, two-way transistor radios, a Prince Philip gets acquainted with a DB3S at Goodwood in 1953 » 08 FEATURE Princess Margaret and the Earl of Snowdon with their children David and Sarah ArmstrongJones in DB5 Convertible. 9 FULLBORE FULLBORE FEATURE : RIGHT ROYAL ASTONS The Prince of Wales at the wheel of his Prince of Wales spec Vantage Volante Aston CEO Dr Ulrich Bez poses with his company Rapide, sold to David Linley starting pistol with silencer and electric water jets hidden in the rear reflectors. (Only one other was ever made, as a present for the Shah of Iran’s son, Reza.) In 1982 Aston Martin was granted the Royal Warrant of Appointment to His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales for motor manufacture and repair, and in 1986 Prince Charles took delivery of a built-to-order V8 Vantage Volante with more reserved body styling. Twenty-seven further Prince of Wales spec V8 Vantage Volantes were subsequently built during the late 1980s, including one in 1988 for Prince Michael of Kent. Prince Charles’ ‘PoW’ was later sold by Sothebys with the proceeds going to The Prince’s Trust. This junior DB5 was on display in this year’s Cartier Style et Luxe at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, although it was Prince Charles’ DB6 Volante, also present, which took overall honours. Having been an Aston owner at such a tender age, Prince Andrew was photographed in 1999 driving a V8 Volante and has owned a DB7 Vantage Volante and a DB9 Volante among others. Lord Snowdon owned a DB5 Convertible while married to Princess Margaret during the 1960s. This car was subsequently handed down to his son Viscount Linley and it remained in the family until 1996. Meanwhile, Lord Snowden’s son, cabinet maker and marque enthusiast David Linley has produced Aston Martin inspired furniture, and he recently paid £100,000 for Dr. Ulrich Bez’s Aston Martin Rapide company car. This was auctioned in this year’s Bonhams Works Service sale, and Dr. Bez later handed the proceeds to Toyota’s Akio Toyoda at the Nürburgring 24hr race to assist charities providing aid to victims of the recent earthquakes and tsunami that devastated Japan. In the early 1990s Prince Charles took delivery of a manual Virage Volante 6.3 which, though owned by Aston Martin, he kept for the best part of 20 years. The car was sold by Bonhams in this year’s Aston Martin Works Service auction (£119,100). Unlike that car, it’s highly unlikely that Prince Charles’ DB6 Volante will ever come to market, not least because his mother probably wouldn’t be amused. Words: Tom Stewart « The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh arrive back at Buckingham Palace in the Duke’s Lagonda DB 3-Litre 10 A : the the fb 11 centrefold ston Martin racing V8 Vantage GTE roars into the night on route to a class podium at the 2 e Mans 012 L 24 Hours FULLBORE GARRARD’S GEMS + something old, something new GARRARD’S GEMS SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW Founded in 1919, Carrozzeria Zagato of Milan has had its hand in a few Aston Martins over the years including the 1960-63 DB4 GT, the one-off Vanquish Roadster of 2004 and the current V12 Zagato. Here’s the low-down on TWO more. 12 Significant news of late from Aston Martin has been the revealing of its latest model. For the new car the company has chosen to reintroduce the Vanquish name – a decision that has caused some controversy within the enthusiast community for whom the original Vanquish (2001-2008) is held in very high esteem. Hopefully the weather will brighten up for at least some of the events that I plan to visit this summer, including the Hackett-sponsored ‘Rundle Cup’ polo and the Silverstone Classic festival in July, plus the always-amazing Goodwood Revival in September, not to mention the most important event of the summer – my wedding! I’ve been lucky to have driven many recent Aston Martins, including a sublime V8 Vantage S en route to Le Mans and back last month, so I’m confident that the new Vanquish will be mind-blowingly good to drive, with terrific build quality. However, I’m personally a little disappointed that the marketeers haven’t been a little more imaginative and come up with a new model name. But hey, a similar strategy hasn’t exactly hindered Porsche with its continuation of the 911 brand, so maybe I’m being too critical? Despite the weather attempting to put a dampener on proceedings, I’m delighted to announce that the spring/early summer period has been a busy one for Nicholas Mee & Co. The benefits of our new Brackenbury House showroom are really taking effect as we’re now able to offer a wider range of stock than before, and this has naturally led to a higher level of enquiries. The tech team are also enjoying the additional space at our Brackenbury Garage workshop and we’ve been very busy with general servicing and some interesting longerterm restoration projects. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy this latest FullBore and our feature on the Royal Family and its long association with Aston Martin. Thinking of ‘New Era’, I wonder whether, in years to come, the next generation of Royals will continue to support the marque. I do hope so. Bon route! Neal SOMETHING OLD - ASTON MARTIN VANTAGE ZAGATO SOMETHING NEW - ASTON MARTIN DB7 ZAGATO Drawings and a scale model of the Vantage Zagato were first shown at the 1985 Geneva motorshow and deposits were taken on all 50 cars planned (52 were subsequently built). Featuring a shortened wheelbase and a completely redesigned and much more contemporary 2+0 interior, the 5,341cc V8 was boosted to 432bhp which made the V8 Zagato one of the world’s fastest cars, if not the fastest, with 0-60 in 4.8 secs and a 186mph top speed. Just 99 DB7 Vantage Zagato coupés were built in 2003 with their aluminium bodies made in Italy and final assembly at Bloxham. The famous ‘double-bubble’ roof and large radiator grille were unmistakably ‘Zagato’, while the body – mounted on a shortened DB7 Vantage Volante platform – offered a 60kg weight advantage over the standard car. Other enhancements included 18” Zagato-styled wheels with revised offset to give a wider track, up-rated brakes, revised suspension and gearing, and a special interior. Powered by the standard 420bhp 6.0 V12, top speed was a quoted 190mph. A convertible Volante version followed the Vantage Zagato hardtop coupe in 1987 and, although an even more limited run of 25 was initially intended, 37 Zagato Volantes were eventually made from 1986-88. Of those just six were factory retrofitted with the 432bhp Vantage engine and, nestled beneath the hardtop’s bonnet power bulge, this engine made it the world’s fastest convertible with a sub 5 second 0-60 time and a 180mph+ top speed. Well maintained examples are a driver’s delight, and their distinctive styling is becoming increasingly popular. Current prices are firm with upward movement quite likely, but now begin at around £120k with fine, low mileage examples exceeding that figure. Revealed in early 2003, the DB American Roadster 1, or DB AR1, was also based on the DB7 Vantage Volante and boasted revised and roofless Zagato coachwork. Available only as a two-seater, the rare 6-speed manual DB AR1s produced 435bhp, or 420bhp with the 5-speed auto. Of the 99 built, most were delivered new to Florida and California, with just one going to a UK customer. The DB7 Zagato is now a highly-prized collectors car. The price for a well presented example with the right provenance and condition is currently circa £120k, and it’s unlikely to depreciate from there. Click here to view current DB7 Zagatos in stock » Click here to view current V8 Vantage Zagatos in stock » FULLBORE ASTON’S AT AUCTION ASTONS AT AUCTION The Aston Martin Sale - Aston Martin Works, Newport Pagnell ‘The star of the show – DB4 Zagato Santion II that sold for £1.23 million’ On Saturday 19th May Bonhams came to the Aston Martin Works for the 13th annual auction of Aston Martin Heritage cars and associated automobilia. Over 200 lots including a selection of documents, parts and other automotive memorabilia, plus 47 Aston Martin cars, came under the hammer. The sale was attended by around 2,000 bidders and enthusiasts and achieved a record total of over £6.5 million, including automobilia. The star attraction, a DB4GT Zagato Sanction II Coupe, was sold for £1.23 million – this is the second £1m plus car ever sold at the Aston Martin sale. The second highest price achieved was £611,900 for a 1962 DB4 Vantage Convertible, followed by the third highest, £488,700 for a 1963 DBS Convertible. 13 A unique 1971 DBS Estate with coachwork by FLM Panelcraft carried an estimate of £50,000-£70,000 but it exceeded that handsomely by going for a surprising £337,500 – a price also achieved by a 1975 Lagonda Series 1 7-litre saloon. Another surprising result was achieved by the ex HRH The Prince of Wales 1994 Virage Volante 6.3-litre which sold for £119,100 – almost double its estimate, while the 1955 DB2/4 Drophead Coupé ‘barn find’ that featured prominently on page 16 of the last issue of FullBore (estimate £70,000-£90,000) sold for £113,500. Click here for full results of the auction » FULLBORE TECH TEAM NEWS ASK THE TECH TEAM From left to right – Gary Walker, David Swadling, Andrew Weller, Paul Hill, Roy Willis. Over the winter, Nicholas Mee & Co expanded its operations with the addition of a dedicated showroom, Brackenbury House, located on Goldhawk Rd, West London. Our previous home, Brackenbury Garage, has since been refitted as a dedicated workshop and parts environment offering full maintenance and restoration facilities for all post-war Aston Martins including the DB7, Vanquish, DB9 and V8 Vantage ‘new era’ models. In addition to regular servicing, we’re currently busy working on a number of exciting restoration projects including a DB4 Series V that’s currently being prepared for a body restoration, a repaint and an interior re-trim. We’ve also taken on a 7-litre engine upgrade and an automatic-to-manual gearbox conversion to a V8 Vantage Zagato, as well as the re-painting and re-trimming of a 1979 V8 Volante. Updates and images of these projects will feature in future issues of FullBore. On this page we regularly answer a technical question that has been asked by owners, and the issue this issue is: Q: I have recently purchased a 1987 V8 Vantage and my insurance company requires that the car is fitted with a ‘tracking’ device. Please can you tell me what this is and are you able to supply and fit such a device? 14 A: Certainly! A tracking device is a small electronic gadget fitted invisibly to your vehicle with a sophisticated movement sensor which notifies the tracking company if the vehicle is illegally moved. When alerted of an unauthorised movement the customer is contacted to confirm whether the vehicle has been stolen. TRACKER’s proven VHF technology will then be used by the police to locate and trace the stolen vehicle to its exact location, even if it’s hidden in a lock-up or shipping container. Some Aston Martins are supplied with a tracking system already fitted, and in that case you’ll need to contact the tracking company and take out a personal subscription. For cars that aren’t fitted with a tracking device, we recommend the ‘TRACKER Locate’ system. Our price, supplied and professionally installed is £575. Should you wish to discuss further please contact our Parts department on 0208 741 8822 or [email protected] FULLBORE WHAT’S IN STOCK More stock available online » ASTON MARTIN DB5 £375,000 1964. Superb condition DB5 finished in Silver Birch with Burgundy hide. Fitted with Air con and power steering. 5 speed. A beautiful condition example, chassis, body and interior trim restored and fitted with rebuilt unleaded 4.2 litre engine. Restoration and maintenance has been carried out by recognised marquee specialists, recorded in an extensive file. 15 Every car Heritage-quality prepared, multi-point checked, serviced and MoT’d prior to delivery. ASTON MARTIN DB5 £365,000 1966. A beautiful ‘body off’ restored example of the coveted DB5. Fitted with lead free 4.2 litre Vantage specification engine, original 4 speed manual gearbox and suspension upgrade. Finished in its original and popular period colour scheme of Dubbonet Rosso and black hide, this superbly finished and presented early DB5 is accompanied with a highly detailed photo history of the restoration and original factory build sheet. Superb in every detail. Further details on request. FULLBORE WHAT’S IN STOCK ASTON MARTIN DB6 MKII VOLANTE ASTON MARTIN DB7 ZAGATO ASTON MARTIN VIRAGE VOLANTE ASTON MARTIN VANQUISH S 1970. 2004. 9.5k 1995. 46k 2005. 26k Aston Martin V8 Vantage ASTON MARTIN V8 Vant’ Zag’ Volante Aston Martin DB9 ASTON MARTIN DB7 VANT’ VOLANTE 2006. 5.6k 1989. 14k 2007. 87k 2000. 27k POA £39,950 £132,500 £150,000 16 Every car Heritage-quality prepared, multi-point checked, serviced and MoT’d prior to delivery. £34,950 £54,950 £89,950 £34,950 FULLBORE WHAT’S IN STOCK ASTON MARTIN V8 VANQUISH S AM V8 VANTAGE GT4 RACECAR ASTON MARTIN VANQUISH S ‘MANUAL’ Am VIRAGE VOLANTE 6.3l ‘WIDE BODY’ 2006. 15k 2007 2005. 45k 1992.1k ASTON MARTIN DB9 ASTON MARTIN V8 VANTAGE 4.7L ASTON MARTIN DB4 Series IV ‘Special Series’ 2005. 29k 2008. 21k 1962. £89,950 £39,950 £65,000 £53,950 17 Every car Heritage-quality prepared, multi-point checked, serviced and MoT’d prior to delivery. £79,950 £220,000 £110,000 FULLBORE WHAT’S IN STORE + COMPETITION WHAT’S IN STORE COMPETITION In this section we review new or popular items that are available from our e-commerce store: www.astonstore.co.uk SOLAR BATTERY CHARGER One of the few but perennial problems with ‘new era’ Aston Martins is that, without regular use, their batteries can run flat every ten days or so. This is easily cured if the car is stored in a garage with electricity as simply plug in a battery conditioner, but obviously not so easy if you store the car with no convenient power point. But here’s the solution! Designed to be placed on the top of the dashboard, this new solar conditioner connects to your car’s 12 volt accessory socket and maintains the car’s battery condition where no external power source is available – very handy if you park on the street or if you leave your car in an airport car park. 37 18 It works best in direct sunlight, however the powerful panel will pick up ambient light from lights in car parks or dealer showrooms. The panel comes complete with a branded Aston Martin storage case and connection leads (in addition to the 12 volt connection, another lead is provided to connect directly to the battery). £181.90 inc. VAT and delivery. Click to buy online » In the last issue we asked how many Virage Volantes were built in the 1990s. The answer – 235 – could be found on pages 7 and 10 of that issue. The first name drawn with the correct answer was Jean-Louis Peschard who wins a copy of Le Mans 24h, a hardback book telling the complete story of the world’s most famous motor race. The prize for this issue’s competition is one of our popular DBS wireless computer mice, and to be in with a chance of winning you only have to answer this simple question: For which birthday did Prince Charles receive his DB6 Volante as a gift from his mother, Queen Elizabeth? Answers on an email please to [email protected] (or call 01243 755055). As usual, the first name to be drawn with the correct answer will be the winner. FULLBORE CTR EVENTS 2012 The fans favourite - the V8 Vantage GTE Robert Nimkoff describes his Le Mans debut! AMR drivers Darren Turner, Stefan Mücke and Adrian Fernandez enjoy their podium finish A SHORT RACE, A LONG RACE AND ENDLESS ENJOYMENT This year Club Tertre Rouge welcomed a party of 32 guests on our Le Mans weekend hospitality programme. Among those on the usual fun blast down to Le Mans were a number of Vanquishes, a 1980s V8 Vantage Volante, a DB7 GT, a V8 Vantage S and a Rapide. With the cars all safely parked up for the weekend at our La Gite de la Ferme HQ, a champagne ‘welcome’ was held, but by way of a change, this year we altered the format for the Friday night’s entertainment with the CTR party heading off to an excellent local restaurant adjacent to the La Sarthe circuit’s Mulsanne straight. After a fine dinner, guests were entertained by two racing drivers who gave a talk and hosted a Q&A session, the first 19 being Robert Nimkoff. Rob, who co-drove Nicholas Mee Racing’s Vantage GT4 to second overall in the 2011 Silverstone 24hr race, was participating in the Aston Martin Festival, a 1hr Aston Martin-only race that was to take place the following day before the main 24hr race. Competing again in a V8 Vantage GT4, he gave us some insight into the challenge of driving at Le Mans and what it meant to him, as an American driver, to be competing at such an historic European event. Following Rob on stage was Le Mans legend Jan Lammers. As a driver Jan has enjoyed one of the most illustrious careers in motorsport with 41 Grand Prix to his name, a European F3 crown and a win in the Daytona 24hr. He’s also competed in the gruelling Paris-Dakar rally and, most significantly for our event, has driven at Le Mans no less than 18 times, standing on the CTR EVENTS 2012 ‘CTR guests en route to Le Mans’ 20 FULLBORE FULLBORE CTR EVENTS 2012 The AMR V8 Vantage GTE pits during the Le Mans 24hr podium on four occasions, including the top step in 1988 when he was part of the winning Silk Cut Jaguar team. A highly entertaining but frank and modest speaker, Jan captivated the audience with some fascinating tales and insight into his long career, which included his amazing first experience of Le Mans in 1970 during the filming of the iconic Le Mans movie with Steve McQueen, and his famous Le Mans outright victory in which he drove for 13 hours, including the last three hours with only 4th gear. The following morning we were up early and over to the circuit for the ‘Aston Martin Festival’ support race. Preceded by a parade lap featuring the legendary 1959 Le Mans-winning DBR1 driven by Aston Martin CEO Dr Ulrich Bez, this 31-car singlemarque race was a fantastic showcase of Aston Martin racers which included a fabulous DBR9 GT1, a V12 Zagato and various 21 other GT1, GT2, GT3 and GT4 cars (see our report on page 6). After taking in the Festival and soaking up the pre 24hr race atmosphere, the CTR party headed over to the ACO Panoramic restaurant for lunch and the start of the main event. Like many others among the 240,000-strong crowd, we were enthralled during the first few hours of the race by the threeway nose-to-tail battle between the Corvette, Ferrari and Aston Martin teams for GTE Pro class honours. This breath-taking scrap reminded us of the Aston Martin v Corvette duels of 2007 and 2008 that are now the stuff of Le Mans folklore. A pit-stop for CTR guests back at La Gite de la Ferme and a superb BBQ supper was followed by a visit to the Arnage and Indianapolis corners at dusk, and then our traditional rendezvous at the Crepe Grand Marnier tent in the circuit village. As ever, the 24hr race was full of incident and drama. The experimental Nissan DeltaWing completed 635 miles before contact with a Toyota LMP1 car forced it to retire after six hours. This highly unusual car enjoyed an enthusiastic following, captivated by its striking shape and its pioneering but unfulfilled mission to complete the race using half the fuel and tyres of any other car on the grid. Meanwhile, TV commentator and former F1 driver, Le Mans winner and World Sportscar Champion Martin Brundle, driving with his son Alex and Spaniard Lucas Ordoñez, brought their Zytek home in eighth place in the LMP2 class. For the second year in succession the LMP2 class was won by Brit Tom KimberSmith, this year partnered by Potolicchi and Dalziel, who completed 354 laps in their Honda-powered machine. Following its earlier battle, the Mücke, Turner and Fernandez Aston Martin Racing Vantage GTE lapped consistently and reliably, although at almost three-quarter distance Mücke lost control at Indianapolis, damaging the car. Fortunately the damage was largely cosmetic, repairs were soon affected and Fernandez rejoined the race 10 minutes later, still third in class. Keen to make up for lost time, at around 11am on the Sunday Mücke set the fastest GTE-class lap time of the entire race, but the gap couldn’t be closed on pace alone, and so the team focused on maintaining its podium position, finishing third-inclass on 332 laps, just one lap behind the second-placed Ferrari 458, and four laps behind the GTE Pro-winning 458. At the front, the big-budget LMP1 teams were having their own scrap, although on its 83rd lap the Davidson/Buemi/Sarrazin petrol hybrid Toyota TS030 was biffed, while in the lead, by a much slower GTE-Am Ferrari on the approach to the Mulsanne CTR EVENTS 2012 FULLBORE ‘the gite de la Ferme – CTR weekend headquarters’ 22 FULLBORE CTR EVENTS 2012 Le Mans legend Jan Lammers The CTR crowd CTR tourers at rest at La Gite corner. This launched the Toyota high into the air, whereupon it landed heavily, fracturing Anthony Davidson’s back in the process. (At the time of writing, Davidson is recovering at home, although he’s only able to lie flat or stand bolt upright for the next month or so. We wish him well.) The debuting LMP1 Toyotas had certainly shown their pace, but with the other Toyota hybrid retiring after 134 laps, the way was left clear for the pair of diesel hybrid Audi R18 e-Tron quattros to battle it out. Despite British fans gunning for the McNish/ Capello/Kristensen Audi, it was the Lotter/Fassler/Treluyer R18 that, after 378 laps and 3,201 miles, took outright victory, finishing just one lap ahead of the McNish car. After the race, – which this year saw 19 changes of lead (eight of those in the last 79 laps), three safety car periods totalling 2hrs 22mins and an eventual 41% retirement rate – on the Sunday evening we held our annual CTR awards presentations. These included our Best Presented Car award which went to Ian McWilliams and his stunning Vanquish, and the Spirit of Le Mans awarded to two fantastic South African guests who truly left ‘no stone unturned’ during their visit to Le Mans. The CTR weekend then drew to a close with our traditional ‘movie night’ on the big screen, which this year featured the car-based Driver, a 2011 ‘neo noir’ crime thriller starring Ryan Gosling (not to be confused with 1978’s The Driver starring Ryan O’Neal!). With another hugely enjoyable CTR Le Mans weekend now behind us, we’ll soon be getting to work on our 2013 programme, so anyone interested in registering their interest or reserving places for next year should contact us on info@ nicholasmee.co.uk. See you there! For more images visit our Facebook image library » Pit stop for lunch in Normandy 23 FULLBORE ASTON MARTIN ARCHIVE SALVADORI & SHELBY, LE MANS 1959. 10th May 2012 brought the sad news that Carroll Shelby had died in hospital in Dallas, Texas, aged 89. Then less than a month later we learned that Roy Salvadori had also died – on 3rd June at the age of 90. The pair famously drove a works DBR1 to victory in the 1959 Le Mans 24hr race, giving Aston Martin its one and only outright win at the la Sarthe circuit. The DBR1 racer was designed by Aston Martin’s Chief Engineer Ted Cutting, who also sadly passed away in March this year. Before his racing career Shelby, from Leesburg in Texas, fought in World War II with the US Army Air Corps, where he served as a flight instructor and test pilot. After returning home in the 1950s he began competing in motor racing and joined Aston Martin in 1958. Shelby later achieved further recognition with the Cobras and high-performance Mustangs that bore his name. Essex-born Salvadori made his Formula 1 debut in 1952 and went on to race in 50 Grands Prix, achieving two podiums prior to his famous Le Mans victory. He later retired from motorsport and went on to run a car dealership before returning to motorsport to manage Cooper Racing’s Formula 1 campaign in the mid 1960s. Click on the image above – it’ll be two minutes well spent. 24