Aston Martin Cape Town DBS launch, and chatting to Dr. Bez
Discussion
So I went to the launch here last night, very nice event, etc.
On to the car then, pics will follow below... the DBS which was unveiled is actually the one used in Casino Royale for the static scenes, close-ups, interior shots, non-stunt driving, promo work, etc, so it is in effect the first fully finished off prototype built on the DB9. I believe it was on it's way back from Frankfurt.
It doesn't look or feel like a prototype though, the entire car is meticulously detailed and finished in typical Aston fashion, inside, outside, and under the bonnet. In an unusual twist the production car is basically going to be exactly the same as the concept car built for the movie.
It looks far less overstyled in person than in the pictures, in fact most of the styling and functional extras have been done very nicely (although I'm not sure I'm sold on the clear rear lights)... it feels rather just like an M or RS version of the DB9 -- same body shape, but with some extra aggressive bits and some carbon fibre added here or there, a lower stance, an extra inch on all the wheels, alcantara literally everywhere (no leather in sight in fact, which I don't think is all that great to be honest), solid metal gear shifter... I'm not entirely sure if I'm convinced that it's worth the hefty price tag though, but I guess we'll see!
Here's a video clip of it being revved... I'm not sure if it's just a DB9 engine under the bonnet or if this is how the actual car will sound, but it was sure an angry sounding V12... fantastic!
-- 2.2mb WMV - DBS revving
I also had the great pleasure of meeting and chatting to Dr. Ulrich Bez, a man who is, quite honestly, a hero amongst car company CEOs. Not only has he gotten Aston to where it is today, but he must be the only major-league CEO to actually be one of the company's racing drivers!
I've followed his on-going exploits and it's just brillant that he is one of the four drivers on their Nurgburgring 24-hour racing team for example, among other races he drives in... what other CEO gets behind the wheel of his own racing cars? He'd never even raced before, until he got this idea into his head... bloody marvellous. And what a nice, chilled out guy, relaxed, easy to chat to and more than willing to talk about his company and where it's going.
And it's fascinating chatting to him... his confidence in the company is clearly very high. He says basically nothing has changed since the ownership switch, other than he is even more closely involved in the company now. This can only be a good thing. And he is going to continue racing for the company too, although I couldn't press him to try his hand at LeMans!
Rapide is likely due in 2009/2010, and Aston will not build an SUV a la Porsche Cayenne, and if they ever were to, it would be under the Lagonda name -- phew. I asked him if they had secured the supply of Ford Motor Co parts needed to build current AMs, and he made an interesting point... all of the "Ford" parts fitted to the car, are not supplied by Ford at all, they are supplied directly from the individual suppliers who manufacture them.
They may have been originally designed for Ford, Range Rover, Volvo, etc, but AM have their own supply agreements directly, and are not dependent on Ford at all. They are steadily being replaced by Aston bespoke designs, such as the new key/starter unit in the DBS.
He says if you take the approach of thinking that AMs have Ford parts, then in actual fact, there are far more Audi parts in an Aston than there are Ford!
I asked him where to next for Aston Martin, after DBS and Rapide, and he just shrugged, laughed, and said "Ve vill decide zis sometime, later I suppose!". He couldn't say if there would be any kind of upgraded Vantage beyond the current limited edition N400, but he did say that, like with all models, there will be on-going development of any given model, and I took this to mean that some sort of facelift or upgrade may be due within the next 2 years, likely based on lessons learnt with the N400.
Herewith a flood of, largely useless, pics:
On to the car then, pics will follow below... the DBS which was unveiled is actually the one used in Casino Royale for the static scenes, close-ups, interior shots, non-stunt driving, promo work, etc, so it is in effect the first fully finished off prototype built on the DB9. I believe it was on it's way back from Frankfurt.
It doesn't look or feel like a prototype though, the entire car is meticulously detailed and finished in typical Aston fashion, inside, outside, and under the bonnet. In an unusual twist the production car is basically going to be exactly the same as the concept car built for the movie.
It looks far less overstyled in person than in the pictures, in fact most of the styling and functional extras have been done very nicely (although I'm not sure I'm sold on the clear rear lights)... it feels rather just like an M or RS version of the DB9 -- same body shape, but with some extra aggressive bits and some carbon fibre added here or there, a lower stance, an extra inch on all the wheels, alcantara literally everywhere (no leather in sight in fact, which I don't think is all that great to be honest), solid metal gear shifter... I'm not entirely sure if I'm convinced that it's worth the hefty price tag though, but I guess we'll see!
Here's a video clip of it being revved... I'm not sure if it's just a DB9 engine under the bonnet or if this is how the actual car will sound, but it was sure an angry sounding V12... fantastic!
-- 2.2mb WMV - DBS revvingI also had the great pleasure of meeting and chatting to Dr. Ulrich Bez, a man who is, quite honestly, a hero amongst car company CEOs. Not only has he gotten Aston to where it is today, but he must be the only major-league CEO to actually be one of the company's racing drivers!
I've followed his on-going exploits and it's just brillant that he is one of the four drivers on their Nurgburgring 24-hour racing team for example, among other races he drives in... what other CEO gets behind the wheel of his own racing cars? He'd never even raced before, until he got this idea into his head... bloody marvellous. And what a nice, chilled out guy, relaxed, easy to chat to and more than willing to talk about his company and where it's going.
And it's fascinating chatting to him... his confidence in the company is clearly very high. He says basically nothing has changed since the ownership switch, other than he is even more closely involved in the company now. This can only be a good thing. And he is going to continue racing for the company too, although I couldn't press him to try his hand at LeMans!
Rapide is likely due in 2009/2010, and Aston will not build an SUV a la Porsche Cayenne, and if they ever were to, it would be under the Lagonda name -- phew. I asked him if they had secured the supply of Ford Motor Co parts needed to build current AMs, and he made an interesting point... all of the "Ford" parts fitted to the car, are not supplied by Ford at all, they are supplied directly from the individual suppliers who manufacture them.
They may have been originally designed for Ford, Range Rover, Volvo, etc, but AM have their own supply agreements directly, and are not dependent on Ford at all. They are steadily being replaced by Aston bespoke designs, such as the new key/starter unit in the DBS.
He says if you take the approach of thinking that AMs have Ford parts, then in actual fact, there are far more Audi parts in an Aston than there are Ford!
I asked him where to next for Aston Martin, after DBS and Rapide, and he just shrugged, laughed, and said "Ve vill decide zis sometime, later I suppose!". He couldn't say if there would be any kind of upgraded Vantage beyond the current limited edition N400, but he did say that, like with all models, there will be on-going development of any given model, and I took this to mean that some sort of facelift or upgrade may be due within the next 2 years, likely based on lessons learnt with the N400.
Herewith a flood of, largely useless, pics:
I went up the hill in that car at the Goodwood Festival 
I know it is only on technicalities (sp?), but it is not even a DBS. Frankfurt had a 'proper' DBS, whereas this is just a DB9 made to look like a DBS, hence it seems unusual to have used it for a 'launch' as such ? Mind you, short of a few interior differences, they are pretty much the same.
As for Dr Bez and Le Mans, IIRC, he raced the DBR1 in the Le Mans Historic a few years ago with Pete Hardman ?? Maybe someone could confirm or deny ?
I know it is only on technicalities (sp?), but it is not even a DBS. Frankfurt had a 'proper' DBS, whereas this is just a DB9 made to look like a DBS, hence it seems unusual to have used it for a 'launch' as such ? Mind you, short of a few interior differences, they are pretty much the same.
As for Dr Bez and Le Mans, IIRC, he raced the DBR1 in the Le Mans Historic a few years ago with Pete Hardman ?? Maybe someone could confirm or deny ?
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