It is a convertible Virage, named as all open Astons have been since the DB6, a ‘Volante’.
The word might imply a fleetness of foot, perhaps the mythological flight of a wood-sprite… but the reality of a standard 5,340cc fuel-injected Virage coupé was hardly magical: ‘stately progress’, little more. And adding the extra weight of chassis strengthening and a power-operated hood to the Volante did not help.
Alternatively, you could flick through the programme for Louis Vuitton's Serenissima Run held at the end of April in which just 44 cars took part – with a combined value of, you guessed it, £200 million.
The building has only been open for six weeks or so, having had an extensive re-fit, yet Julien Sumner (Sales Director) reports much interest both from those ‘in the know’, as well as passing trade and the internet (via Classic Driver and Landmark’s own, just-launched website).
That sounds a sorry scenario to anyone with a love of cars as individual pieces of engineering expression, but the building blocks are there.
The new facility, a stunning modern design in the manner of Aston Martin worldwide dealership and factory presence, is the result of months of painstaking planning by Riding-Felce and his team. Work has been proceeding apace for many months and the result – as all observers agreed – captures the modern look of Gaydon and its high-tech supercars, yet still maintains the links with tradition of what’s soon to be a hundred-year-old company.
Also, while I’m at it, what really does make the Woking workforce tick? I was able to spend some time with the car’s designer, Frank Stephenson, as well as admire Executive Chairman Ron Dennis’s new steel, glass and white-tiled McLaren Production Centre, now in full swing with the most perfect cars now gliding effortlessly off the production line.
It'll be the second year that the festivities take place in the grounds of the Duke of Northumberland's London pad, following its migration from the Hurlingham Club to cope with swelling attendances year-on-year. It will, however, be the first time that the event has taken place so late in the summer, with renovation works to the house nudging the date back to 5-7 September.
In recent years he’s carved an enviable reputation presenting F1 on television and been a ‘natural’ at historic racing, most notably behind the wheel of Nick Mason’s Ferrari 250 GTO. This year he will share a Greaves Motorsport Zytek Z11SN-Nissan LMP2 car at Le Mans with his son, Alex.
When were you more nervous on the grid at an F1 race? Behind the wheel, or in front of the TV cameras, starting your now famous grid walkabout?
Saguaro cactus, desert flowers, eucalyptus groves, big sky and remnants of the Old West. Great roads, great cars, and one nice bunch of people. And no rally clocks. What’s not to like? Well… nothing. (We were warned about the occasional infestation of javelinas on the road – if you don’t know what they are, look them up – but no sightings were reported.)
