Aston Martin is one the world’s great motoring names. The brand perfectly combines style, performance, exclusivity and unique racing heritage. We drive one of the last hand-built Aston Martins on a road with no speed limits.
If there is one thing that Great Britain is steeped in, it is tradition. From the Royal Family to the Houses of Parliament, every aspect of life here on these islands is coloured by the times that have gone before. Even a comparatively recent activity such as motoring has not escaped this tendency to have a regular backward glance. Maybe that is a good thing, as it said to know where you are going, you have to know where you have come from. The Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy was first held in 1905 and is still awarded to this day. This makes it the oldest motor race currently in existence. If one looks at the roll of honour of past winners, some of the greatest names in motorsport history are present, Rudolf Caracciola, Tazio Nuvolari and Sir Stirling Moss for example, it is a genuine achievement to join this list. In 1905 there were no permanent racetracks, the early races were held in Continental Europe on public roads, sometimes between two cities, sometimes on a circuit layout around a number of towns. The world’s first permanent race track, Brooklands, just to the South of London, was opened in 1907. At that time racing motor vehicles on the highways of England was illegal, so the solution that the RAC came up with to enable them to organise a race was take the proposed event halfway across the Irish Sea to the Isle of Man, where a different set of laws applied. The net result of this idea was the creation of the Tourist Trophy. The RAC Tourist Trophy was held on various circuits around the Island between 1905 and 1922, including in 1906 a win by Charles Rolls, co-founder of Rolls Royce, in a car bearing his name. The final race in 1922 had three cars entered from a fledgling car company, Aston Martin, a brand that was to become famous in the years that followed. Two of the entries did not show up and the third, driven by the splendidly named Bertie Kensington-Moir, did not manage to complete a lap. Aston Martins did return to contest the RAC Tourist Trophy, though it had moved on to the Northern Island road circuits of Ards and Dundrod. Like the Isle of Man Snaefell Mountain Course these circuits eventually were classified as being too dangerous for racing cars, so the Tourist Trophy relocated to purpose built tracks such as Goodwood, Oulton Park and Silverstone. During these later years Aston Martin would take five victories in the RAC Tourist Trophy, making up for poor Bertie’s inauspicious debut. Although the cars moved on in 1922, the Manxmen had caught the speed bug from the first sound of engines fired in anger and organised motorcycle races as well as the sportscar events. This quickly developed into the greatest motorcycle festival of speed in in the World. The Isle of Man TT Races are easily the most famous two wheel contests, even if the Moto GP circus no longer competes. The Island is packed in early summer with thousands and thousands of bikers who cheer on their heroes over the 37.73 mile Snaefell Mountain Course. Like most great sporting events the spectators are not merely passive observers but participate, especially on “Mad Sunday” when any member of the public can ride their bike on the Mountain section of the track which is open in one direction from Ramsey to Douglas. The course is blindingly fast, the current lap record stands to John McGuinness who rocketed round in 2009 recording a time of 17:12.3, an average speed of 131.578 mph. The high speed combined with the proximity of walls, buildings and other street furniture on the narrow roads makes the whole affair extremely dangerous and well over 200 riders have lost their lives on the Snaefell Mountain Course since competition began. Aston Martin is one the world’s great motoring names, combining performance, style and exclusivity but it also has a mix of heritage that makes it unique. Many brands have a record in competition either on the tracks or on the stages, it is a straightforward way to promote the qualities that you hope will attract potential purchasers. Aston Martin also has an additional quality that lifts them into the motoring stratosphere. Expensive high performance cars have a definite sex appeal, like it or not. Aston Martin managed to take that appeal to unheard of levels by an association with a fictional character almost 50 years ago. Aston Martin were already near the top of the tree, an outright win at Le Mans and cars that were the epitome of style and flair in the drab post World War Two Europe had achieved that much. A simple product placement in a Hollywood Blockbuster, “Goldfinger” immortalised the brand. Forever they would be identified with James Bond, the ultimate secret agent, it was a peak in the company’s history. Peaks tend to be followed by troughs and so it was for the iconic British car company. The 70s and 80s were a difficult period for Aston Martin as the various energy and financial crisis points largely killed the market for luxury sportscars. The company was owned by a succession of well-meaning but under-funded enthusiasts who kept the flame burning but were unable to invest sufficiently to move the company on from its 60s heyday. In 1986 the brand was reunited with James Bond in the that year’s spy movie, “The Living Daylights” and then the first completely new model for around 20 years, the Virage, was introduced. At this point Ford Motor Company came into the picture acquiring first a small percentage of the business, then in 1992 taking complete control. The arrival of Ford on the scene transformed Aston Martin, there was a new purpose built factory at Gaydon, the first in the marque’s history. More importantly the whole enterprise was transformed as the Detroit giant imposed its business practices on what had been a cottage industry. New standards of reliability and quality control were allied to an expansion in models and sales. The result was a gradual migration from the traditional location of Newport Pagnell, with its hand built craftsman approach, to the assembly lines and 21st Century methods at Gaydon. New models such as the DB9 and the V8 Vantage were built at Gaydon and the old stock such as the Vanquish S were gradually run down. The eventual decision to close the old factory at Newport Pagnell would end the tradition of hand building cars and that is where this story really begins. A call to a writer colleague from the Press Office at Aston Martin offering a Vanquish S for a week or two was very well received. He then contacted me to see if I was free and then it was off to the Isle of Man to shoot the car and the TT circuit together. The prospect of taking one of the last of the traditional hand built Aston Martins back the site where the legend had started seemed very appropriate, paying homage to two great traditions. The Aston Martin Vanquish S that arrived outside my front door on an early morning in late May was an extremely impressive Grand Tourer. It was powered by a 6 litre V12 engine that produced a quoted 514bhp and 425flbs of torque; other quoted figures were a 0-60 mph time of 4.0 seconds and a top speed of 204 mph, this machine was seriously quick. The numbers do not do justice to the attitude and sheer presence that the Vanquish has when seen in the flesh; from the muscular appearance to the high quality leather interior, it was a luxury express. My friends in SoCal would definitely classify it a badass, it is the kind of wheels William DeVaughn had in mind when he wrote the lyric “diggin’ the scene with a Gangsta lean”. There was even a James Bond connection with the Vanquish, Pierce Brosnan had driven one in Die Another Day. However his example was equipped with some unusual refinements, including front-firing rockets, hood-mounted target-seeking guns, spikes and a passenger ejector seat. I am certain that at some stage during our travels my colleague would have loved to used the last mentioned while I was being particularly irritating. On the road the car was refinement itself and the miles on the journey from London North to the ferry port of Liverpool flew past with no drama. There was no real chance to try out the potential performance with avoiding the multiple speed cameras and radar traps a priority. One thing that became apparent almost immediately was that you would get noticed in this vehicle, it was not for the shy and retiring types. People would stare but usually in a smiling manner, the Aston Martin was something to be admired not envied or despised. After settling in at the hotel we ventured out on to the roads visiting first the area just outside Douglas that is the location for the TT pits. Preparations were fully underway for the races that were due in a week or so, some early arrivals drifted away from their jobs to have a closer look at the Vanquish, it was that kind of car. Next on the schedule was a lap of the circuit to seek out locations and get a feel for this epic venue. Even at relatively pedestrian speeds the place was reeking of potential danger, at speed it must be almost suicidal. Of course the riders would disagree, in their minds the bad things happened to others, it is part of the human condition to rationalise risk. Several trips around the circuit made us more familiar with the place names that now were more than just points on a map. The circuit has more than 200 corners, some bearing the names of famous competitors, like Hailwood Rise or Joeys, paying tribute to heroes of the past. Some parts of the course just retain the original descriptions, Union Mills, Glen Helen, Kirk Michael, Bungalow and Creg Na Baa all would bring goosebumps when mentioned to the fans who flock to the TT each year. After the beauty shots and location photography it was time get serious and see what the Vanquish S could do out on the Mountain. The A18 Ramsey to Douglas is one of the only stretches of public road anywhere in the world that has no official speed limits imposed. That being said, a natural limit is placed by the amount of traffic and the difficulty of the road which twists and turns over Mount Snaefell, the highest point of the Island. There is also the small matter of the Manx Police who will arrest anyone who, in their opinion, is driving, or more likely riding, dangerously, that definition also extends to excess speed. It was with a metaphoric deep breath that we made our way out of Ramsey and up Goose Neck towards the East Mountain Gate. For a big car the Vanquish was very nimble, rewarding smoothness and precision behind the wheel. A glance down at the dials confirmed that we were travelling at around 100 mph, on what was in reality a narrow country lane, a fact that certainly made you sit up and pay attention. Prodding the beast even harder and the speeds climbed yet again at one point breaching the 130 mph mark. The road was now very narrow and arriving at hyper speed like a video game on fast forward. Even though the Aston was steady as a rock and the engine note was just singing along, willing us higher, it was time to ease off and take some very fast corners with a bit of margin in hand. We were not racers and we were not racing. We had pushed as hard as we dared but before allowing ourselves any congratulations there was a reflection that we had just about managed to get our top speed to match the average speed of the TT racers. It put things into perspective and ourselves back in our place. The combination of the Aston Martin Vanquish S and the Snaefell Mountain Course on the Isle of Man was intoxicating, exciting and down right scary. Unlike James Bond’s Martinis, we were both shaken and stirred. Can’t wait to do it again. - John Brooks
