ASTON MARTIN ACCELERATES TOWARDS GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED

ASTON MARTIN ACCELERATES TOWARDS GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED

70 years since Aston Martin first raced at the Goodwood Motor Circuit, the luxury British manufacturer returns to Goodwood Festival of Speed as this year’s featured marque. There have been many significant moments in Aston Martin’s long-standing relationship with Goodwood and this year will be no different with Aston Martin showcasing its bold new future and highlights from its past. 

Included in this year’s event will be the global dynamic debut of the DBS Superleggera Volante and the limited edition, Vantage AMR. Unveiled earlier this year, Aston Martin has introduced a 7-speed manual transmission to its true sports car, Vantage. Also featuring dynamic tweaks inspired by motorsport, Vantage AMR delivers a heightened driving experience while commemorating Aston Martin’s 1-2 win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a limited edition ‘Vantage 59’ livery.

There will also be an opportunity to see the Rapide E dynamically for the first time in the UK with the high-performance battery electric sportscar driving up the hill from the First Glance paddock. The first electric Aston Martin, driven at Festival of Speed by Aston Martin Racing works driver Darren Turner, is powered by an 800V electrical architecture battery with a 65kWh installed capacity. The battery system powers two rear-mounted electric motors that produce a combined target output of just over 610PS and a colossal 950Nm of torque.

Festival of Speed will also be the first time that Aston Martin’s first SUV, DBX, will be heard as it runs up the hill from the First Glance paddock. Due to be unveiled at the end of 2019, the camouflaged pre-production will be driven by Aston Martin’s Chief Engineer, Matt Becker, who will put the SUV through its paces as it nears its global launch date.

Included in the Supercar Paddock will be the Lava Collection which features each of the four Vanquish Zagatos in the now iconic paint colour, Lava Red. Between the four V12 engines there is almost 2,400bhp with only 99 Volantes, Coupes and Shooting Brakes built – only 28 Speedsters were made. The project was announced in 2016 with the final car in the series, Vanquish Zagato Shooting Brake delivered to customers this year. The four models will be joined by the DB4 GT Zagato Continuation which will be on display in Aston Martin hospitality, adding to the celebration of 100 years of Zagato. Aston Martin Vulcan AMR Pro will also be running, and the current World Endurance Racing Vantage GTE will also be driven up the hill by Aston Martin Racing works driver Jonny Adam who has just returned from competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Other nods to Aston Martin’s rich history will be made with attendance from great racing cars from pasts successes at Brooklands, Circuit de la Sarthe and Silverstone. Each car will feature in the Aston Martin moment which will occur each day of the Festival of Speed honouring 106-years of racing history.

Aston Martin President and Group CEO, Andy Palmer, said: “We are a business that is currently experiencing a momentous period of growth. Attending the Festival of Speed allows us to showcase our latest developments in electric and SUV technology while celebrating the rich history of our past.

“Aston Martin is proud to have been involved in the Festival of Speed since it began in 1993. It’s a nerve-wracking experience every time I drive up the hill in front of the crowds, the margin for error is tiny, but there is such an extraordinary atmosphere that it is like no other motor show on earth. It’s this excitement that keeps both participants and visitors returning year after year.”

For more information on the attractions at the Goodwood Festival of Speed please visit https://www.goodwood.com/motorsport/festival-of-speed/.

A NEW AUTOMOTIVE ICON TO DEBUT AT LE MANS – FIRST DB4 GT ZAGATO CONTINUATION SET FOR UNVEIL AT CIRCUIT DE LA SARTHE

A NEW AUTOMOTIVE ICON TO DEBUT AT LE MANS – FIRST DB4 GT ZAGATO CONTINUATION SET FOR UNVEIL AT CIRCUIT DE LA SARTHE

The first Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato Continuation – part of the Aston Martin DBZ Centenary Collection – to make its public debut at the world’s most famous endurance motorsport event later this week.

Breaking cover at Aston Martin’s VIP hospitality facility alongside the famous French circuit, the first complete DB4 GT Zagato Continuation – one of just 19 cars being made – will be on show throughout the gruelling 24-hour race.

The production model of this track-only sports car, the latest in Aston Martin’s hugely successful Continuation programme which began with the DB4 GT Continuation series in 2017, represents the culmination of around 4,500 hours of painstaking and meticulous artisan craftsmanship.

As with all the Continuation cars, the Zagato has been created at Aston Martin’s globally renowned Heritage Division headquarters in Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire. Now the largest, best equipped and most knowledgeable Aston Martin restoration centre in the world, the invaluable and highly specialist skills nurtured at Aston Martin Works are perfectly suited to the brand’s celebrated Continuation projects.

The car on show in France this weekend represents the pinnacle of Aston Martin’s Continuation projects to date, and proudly continues the brand’s 50-plus year association with world-renowned Italian coachbuilder and design house, Zagato.

Finished in Rosso Maja red paint, the car’s exterior colour has been matched to original masters created by Max Meyer & ICI, the paint suppliers for the original cars. Inside, the car is trimmed in Obsidian Black leather, which covers the pads in the carbon fibre race seats; door cards, headliner and rear environment. Black Wilton carpets bound in Obsidian Black leather trim cover the floor, stitched in matching Obsidian Black thread.

The new model boasts a larger capacity 4.7-litre version of the straight-six cylinder petrol engine found in the DB4 GT Continuation and, in this guise, is producing in excess of 390 bhp. This is transmitted to the rear wheels through a four-speed manual transmission and a limited-slip differential.

Continuation specification instrumentation and interior equipment such as a full FIA-approved roll cage is standard, as are the Borrani silver painted wheels and polished lips.

Originally built to race against the might of Ferrari in the 1960s, the DB4 GT Zagato was a thoroughbred machine. Evolved for the rigours of motor racing and blessed with a rare and incontestable beauty, just 19 were made. Drawing on the unrivalled knowledge and expertise of the team at Aston Martin Works the 2019 DB4 GT Zagato Continuations are meticulously crafted, staying true to those original Zagato-bodied DB4 GTs produced by Aston Martin and Zagato in the 1960s.

Each car is being constructed to the highest possible quality using a blend of Sir David Brown-era old-world craftsmanship and the sympathetic application of modern engineering advancements and performance enhancements.

A digital body buck has, for instance, been created to allow Aston Martin engineers to examine minute details of the Continuation cars. In contrast, hand-finished body panels of the new cars are each worked from flat sheets of 1.2 mm thick aluminium and representing hundreds of hours of world-class craftsmanship, are created using techniques that were commonplace almost 60 years ago. 

Originally built as an evolution of the short-chassis DB4 GT, the DB4 GT Zagato Continuation follows the same recipe, with those thin-gauge aluminium body panels dressing a lightweight tubular frame in a chassis optimised for track work.

This latest continuation car follows the success of the 25 Aston Martin DB4 GT Continuation models that sold to enthusiast collectors in 2017 and precedes what will perhaps be the most ambitious continuation to date: the Aston Martin Goldfinger DB5 Continuation cars that will come to market in 2020. 

Andy Palmer, Aston Martin Lagonda President & Group CEO, said: “The development and successful creation of this latest Continuation car is an achievement that should not be underestimated. Indeed, it could well be argued that we are making history with these new cars.

“Celebrating our brand’s deep and enduring partnership with Zagato in this, their landmark year, by launching the DBZ Centenary Collection has been a mammoth undertaking and I’m personally extremely proud of the results in the shape of this new DB4 GT Zagato.”

Paul Spires, President of Aston Martin Works, said: “Like Andy, I’m incredibly proud of what the team have achieved in making the DB4 GT Zagato Continuation a reality.

“After the unprecedented success of the DB4 GT Continuation cars, we are once again bringing to life the stuff of Aston Martin folklore.”

The DBZ Century Collection will be priced at £6m plus taxes. First deliveries to customers will commence in QTR 3 2019 for the DB4 GT Zagato Continuation and in QTR 4 2020 for the DBS GT Zagato.