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The M40 motorway in England can’t compete with Le Sentier…
…but as my wife was driving us along it this afternoon it occurred to me that there are links between the two.
As you head south east down the M40 from Birmingham towards London you get to Gaydon
This small village in Warwickshire (population less than 600), just off of the M40, would be unremarkable except for the fact that it is home to Aston Martin! I wish my town was home to Aston Martin - how cool would that be?
Courtesy of Aston Martin Lagonda
If you continue driving south east down the M40 you get to Banbury, a town in Oxfordshire, which is home to Prodrive. Prodrive is a motorsport and advanced engineering company which designs, constructs and races cars for various companies, including Aston Martin.
In 2007, a consortium led by Prodrive bought Aston Martin from Ford.
The next couple of pictures are courtesy of Jerome/Dje who, in 2009, posted some excellent reports from a trip which he and Nico took to the 24 hour race at Le Mans. Racing at Le Mans that year were two Aston Martin cars, which were sponsored by JLC and prepared by Prodrive.
Dave Richards who, in 2009, was the Chairman of Prodrive and Aston Martin
2009 marked the 50th anniversary of Aston Martin’s first win at Le Mans and to commemorate this JLC launched two 100 piece limited editions of the Amvox 2 Chronograph, a black PVD version and a raw titanium version. Here is my raw titanium version.
I believe that, in 2013, Prodrive became less involved in Aston Martin and Mercedes acquired more of an interest, both through becoming a shareholder and through AMG becoming Aston’s engine supplier.
Around this time the Amvox line of watches came to an end with the Amvox 7. I wonder if Mercedes increased involvement had anything to do with the end of the Amvox line or whether JLC and Aston just decided that the partnership and the watches had come to the end of their natural life? In any case it’s a shame that the Amvox line did come to an end given their innovations in design and watchmaking.
To finish off my trip down the M40, as you get closer to Oxford you come to the exit for Silverstone, the home of the Formula 1 British Grand Prix.
The area north west of London, bracketed by the M40 and M1 motorways and including Silverstone, is the motorsport equivalent of the Vallee de Joux with many of the Formula 1 teams and their suppliers being based in the area.
Thanks for coming along for the ride!
All the best
Jon
More posts:
The M40 motorway in England can’t compete with Le Sentier…
…but as my wife was driving us along it this afternoon it occurred to me that there are links between the two. As you head south east down the M40 from Birmingham towards London you get to Gaydon This small village in Warwickshire (population less than 60...
Thanks Nico
I do love that picture of the three Paris Boutique Editions. I hope you used the sale proceeds for yours to buy something very special.
Race history
A trip of the core of international motorsports. AM won today the 24h of LeMans in the GT AM class. Congratulations. Sadly both Corvettes lost. Next year maybe more luck. The good results of Glickenhaus do soften Chevy’s bad luck. Fighting against factory...
Super post Jon!
Love the travelogue, I'm seeing some of that signage for the very first time myself.... I've been a member of the Aston Martin Owners Club since December 2008! Even longer than I've been a member here . Time to pay a visit to Gaydon methinks ....
Thanks Filip. Yes, a tour around the AM factory and facilities would be great.
Some years ago my dad was able to get us a private tour around the old McLaren Formula 1 car factory and museum and their road car factory. If was quite an experience. Factories in general are often fascinating places (at least to someone like me who is n...
The raw processes....
of creation are precisely what I always held a fascination for. It's what gives a product its distinctive character and 'soul', or not! I was wearing my Hackett AML jacket during our JLC visit . Cheers, Filip
Several years ago I was visiting a high horse power engine manufacturing plant in Long Buckby (Northampton) in the UK. On the way back to the station, the taxi driver pointed to the gates of another facility "that's the global headquarters of Maclaren"
I was amazed. "wow, nobody would believe the F1 team HQ is behind those gates". He turned and said "Not F1. Maclaren baby buggies. Strollers."
