Hours after a production-standard V8 Vantage completed a gruelling 24 hours at the Nürburgring this summer, 30 Aston Martin employees marked a significant milestone for the company by taking to the wheel of another Vantage and completing 30,000 miles in 30 days finishing at the British International Motor Show in London.
As the company approached production of the 30,000th car, a unique celebration to commemorate the occasion with the youngest car in the Aston Martin range, the award-winning V8 Vantage, was planned.
Employees from all departments of the company at Aston Martin’s global headquarters at Gaydon, in Warwickshire, were invited to Germany to undertake a day of driving to assist in achieving 30,000 miles in a V8 Vantage over the course of just 30 days.
Utilising the excellent transport infrastructure and access to the Autobahn network in Düsseldorf as well as Aston Martin’s new dealership in the region, Moll Sportwagen, employees drove the Vantage through the day and night to achieve the mileage.
Aston Martin Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ulrich Bez, who started the celebration by driving the car from the Nürburgring to Düsseldorf immediately after the 24 hours race, said: “Production of our 30,000 production car signals the pace of change at Aston Martin in recent years.
“When we launched our plans to reinvigorate the brand in 2001, Aston Martin had produced just under 20,000 cars in 87 years and now, barely five years later, we are approaching our 30,000th car.
“This exercise – in conjunction with our success at the Nürburgring – proves what we have always believed; the Vantage is a true 24-hour sports car, tough and usable, and as durable on the track as it is on the road.”
The V8 Vantage used to complete the project, signed by every participating employee, is joined at the British International Motor Show by the V8 Vantage that completed the 24-hour Nürburgring Endurance Race in June.
The Team
Dr Bez Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Ian Hartley - Test & Development Engineer
Tatjana Merzweiler - Regional Manager EU-North
Katja Raetzel, Moll Sportwagen GmbH
Robert Shroer – Test Driver
Mark Savage – Diagnostics Engineer
Peter Hutchinson – Design Manager
Hazel Bloomfield – HR Manager
Tony Green – Transmission Driveline - Engineer
Richard Hooper – Plant Quality Engineer
Steve Gray – Press Garage Technician
Joe Healy – Group Leader - Manufacturing
Ian Fenton – Financial Controller
Phil Manning – Development Engineer - Body & Trim
Steve Allen – Road Test - Manufacturing
Andy Gregg – Programme Coordinator
Dave Williams – Prototype Operations Technician
Sarah Riley – Forward Programmes – Quality Team leader
Cornelius Quilligan – CAE Applications Engineer
Darren Wilson - Road Test - Manufacturing
Nikki Deen – Parts Sales Manager
Andy MacDonald – Body Repair Programme – Project Engineer
Alan Woodward – Prototype Operations Technician
Carl Dibsdale – Modeling Manager
Simon Barnes – New Model Launch Manager
Chris Marlow – Group Leader - Manufacturing
Pete Thomas – Materials Specialist
Jo Bradshaw – Plant Quality Team leader
Thorsten Ferber, Moll Sportwagwen GmbH Technician
John Muirhead – Brand Communications Manager
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