Aston Martin to up production, supply James Bond with DBS
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There is good news on two fronts for lovers of British luxury sports car maker, Aston Martin. Recently, Aston has announced that it will be supplying the world's favorite secret agent, James Bond, with another Aston Martin DBS for his upcoming film, while the BBC reports that production is about to be ramped up at the Gaydon plant with the unveiling of a new design studio, slated to help reduce waiting lists for new models.
Of course, James Bond films have a storied history with Aston Martin, with a vintage DB5 featured in some of the most iconic movies in the series. A DBS and Vanquish have also been featured, and most recently, a DBS for the last Bond flick, Casino Royale -- a movie which afforded the DBS a Guinness World Record for "The Most Cannon Rolls in a Car." Fortunately, it looks as if the DBS has been treated to some much-needed servicing for its return in the next Bond film (currently under the working title Bond 22) scheduled for release in November 2008.
Also fortunate is news from a BBC report that Aston Martin chief executive Ulrich Bez is seeking to increase production from the current 7,000 cars it produces annually. Bez acknowledges that wait times can be lengthy for his company's sports cars, especially with the recent grand openings of the first Aston showrooms in Shanghai and Moscow. A Beijing showroom is scheduled to follow later this month.
Bez states that in addition to an increase in production volume, an increase in design quality will stem from the Gaydon plant. Currently, there are 1,500 employees at the state-of-the-art facility, where Aston Martin produces its own engines, underframes, and chassis. The Gaydon site opened its doors in 2003 in Warwickshire, England as the successor to the recently closed Newport Pagnell plant, a historic facility that produced Aston Martins for over 50 years.
Aston Martin DBR9 to wear classic Gulf livery at Le Mans
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Aston Martin will be back at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for 2008 with some familiar colors to motorsports enthusiasts. The two Aston Martin DBR9s that will be defending their 2007 GT1 class win will don blue the classic blue and orange Gulf Oil livery worn by such Le Mans-winning cars as the Ford GT40 in 1968 (more than a little ironic now that Aston has been sold by Ford). No doubt, the 40th anniversary of the first Le Mans victory of a Gulf sponsored car has played a part in the company's decision to sponsor this year's DBR9 efforts.
The two Aston Martin DBR9s are numbered 007 (fittingly) and produce around 600 horsepower each. Aston Martin will also provide a DBR9 V-12 engine for use in a LMP1 prototype race car fielded by Charouz Racing Systems at Le Mans this year. The Charouz entry uses a closed Lola chassis and Aston Martin Racing engineers will provide support to the team for the 24 hour race as well as during the Le Mans Series racing season. The effort is made possible by new LMP regulations that allow for the use of a GT1 class engine in a prototype chassis.
Aston has also announced that it will be contesting the GT2S class in the American Le Mans Series for the 2008 season with its recently announced bio-ethanol-powered Vantage GT2.
