The car was announced to the media in January 1970 and bore Lagonda badges (on a new model for the first time since the early 1960s) - though it did retain the attractive four-headlamp chrome grille of the standard Aston Martin DBS. The idea of a full five-seater Aston Martin, able to transport Brown, a lady companion, two guests and a chauffeur had always appealed to the company’s MD.
It’s got a new ‘face’: a fresh take on Aston’s trademark grille that is larger than before, with a different radius on the curve on its upper segments. While the initial studio shots when first announced might not have shown the design at its best, in the metal, complete with number plate, it looks superb. The grille is just one part of the company’s thorough re-engineering work on the front of its cars to ensure they meet the latest EU pedestrian safety regulations.
The idea of adding extra practicality to a performance-focused car isn’t exactly a new one – Aston Martins and Ferraris were being modified by independent coachbuilders such as Harold Radford and Vignale back in the 1960s.
We know that impressions from the passenger seat are not the real thing, not like grappling with a car with your own two hands; but this model is so important that we are happy to squeeze a first driving impression from the small chance we’ve been given. Since the world premiere of the new Jaguar F-type last year in Paris, we have been waiting with bated breath, but it was only recently that an invitation to the first official press trip to Spain arrived on the editorial table.
As you might expect from two children of the same parents, the SM and Khamsin have identical blood running through their veins. That blood is called LHM (liquide hydraulique minerale), a fluid pressurised by an engine-driven pump and contained in a system of pipes. It’s used to activate the Khamsin’s brakes, clutch, power steering (and even the seat height adjustment), with the result that the lightest touch on any of these controls has a frighteningly huge effect.
Lombardi’s creation was based on the running gear of the Fiat 850, although the ‘Grand Prix’ part of the name could almost have been seen as a witticism – it took 16 seconds to reach 60mph from rest. Carlo Abarth saw the potential offered by the petite coupé, and immediately swapped the 843cc engine for the MkII 850 coupé’s 903cc unit with 52bhp.
Created in 1957, the Tornado Car Company built its own sports cars, mainly on the foundations of Ford products common at the time. After seven years of doing so, the company went into liquidation – but this wasn’t the last chapter in the brand’s history. Accomplished racing driver John Bekaert had monitored the success Carlo Abarth was enjoying by producing reworked and tuned 600s (among other Fiats), and hence he acquired the rights to the defunct marque with the aim of concocting a similar recipe; albeit with a distinctly British flavour.
François Windeck, Managing Director of Automobiles BMC, has been working in the automotive business for over 25 years. Visitors to his 2,500sqm facility in Vienne, near Lyon, are first met by the sight of a giant-size London phone box, and once through the doors are rarely disappointed by the scope and sheer ‘Mini-ness’ of the whole operation.
Under one roof, Mini enthusiasts will find everything to make their Mini-centred lives complete. Old and rare parts, new parts and more than 200 Minis serving as donor vehicles: all are carefully catalogued and stored.