The Guardian

Aston Martin, the classic British marque associated with top footballers and James Bond films, could be back in English hands early next week. Ford is close to agreeing the sale of the upmarket carmaker to a consortium led by David Richards and his private equity-backed Prodrive racing company for up to £500m.

The move is eagerly anticipated by a loyal army of more traditional drivers, such as Michael Urban, the chairman of the Aston Martin Owners Club, who said it would be a great day for British motoring.

Ford has been forced to sell its most illustrious sports car brand to improve its deteriorating financial position. The Detroit-based group lost $12.7bn (£6.5bn) last year and has announced plans to lay-off 44,000 workers and close 16 plants.

The price is half what Ford was originally expecting, but still values Aston Martin at its highest level ever. The company is in better shape than ever before. While it always had an illustrious history through winning major sports car races such as Le Mans, it lost millions for previous owners.

Under Ford's ownership and the leadership of its German-born chief executive Ulrich Bez, Aston Martin has turned in undisclosed profits, increased production from fewer than 50 cars a year in the 1990s to 7,000 cars and launched a string of models such as the Vanquish S which costs £177,000.

This week Aston Martin was centre stage at the Geneva motor show to give a regional launch to its latest offering, but Mr Bez and Ford declined to comment in any way about the sale of the company and have remained mute since.

Formal bids had to be handed in to Ford and its financial advisers UBS by January 31 leaving Prodrive battling it out with private equity firm Doughty Hanson and Syrian property tycoon Simon Halabi. But exclusive discussions have been going on in recent weeks with Mr Richards who has lined up a broad range of investors to help with the acquisition. The two sides already know each other well because Prodrive launched Aston Martin Racing to help the car company's return to the sports arena.

Prodrive - 49% owned by private equity house Apax Partners - was formed in 1984 and is best known for design, construction and racing expertise to the Subaru team for the World Rally Championship before it teamed up with Aston Martin.

Mr Richards, a former principal of the Benetton and BAR Honda formula one cars, was planning to enter his own formula one team into the championship next year but there is speculation this will be dropped as he concentrates on Aston Martin and its 1,700 staff.

The Transport & General Workers Union said it welcomed the Oxfordshire company's commitment to British engineering and was willing to overlook its concerns about private equity. "We are not a fan of private equity but neither do we think everything they do is bad and everything else is good," said a union spokesman.

Ford took a controlling stake in Aston Martin in 1987 and moved it into its Premier Automotive Group with Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo. It was seen as the easiest of the four to sell since it has factories - at Gaydon and Newport Pagnell - and a dealership network. There has been speculation that Jaguar could be sold next.

The company, named after its co-founder Lionel Martin, has been through a range of owners since it produced its first car in 1914. During the ownership of Yorkshire tractor maker David Brown some of the best known cars were produced such as the DB5 (after the owner's initials) which featured in James Bond films with Sean Connery at the wheel.

Mr Brown bought the company for £20,000 in 1947 after seeing an unnamed "high-class motor business" advertised in the Times. He sold it in 1972 in an indebted state and two years later it went into receivership. By 1981 it was in the hands of oil entrepreneur Victor Gauntlett with the backing of the Livanos family of Greek shipowners, but within six years he had concluded it needed the help of a larger group. Ford bought a 75% stake and then acquired the remaining share by 1987.

Among Premiership footballers spotted driving them are Michael Owen and Frank Lampard. Celebrity websites say owners include supermodel Elle Macpherson and comedian Rowan Atkinson.

Mr Urban, an owner of two Aston Martins, said the most important thing was that the Warwickshire-based company was run in a professional way. "Aston Martin is a global business and you have to have the right people in there so you do not have a fiasco like you saw at TVR."

Streets ahead

Aston Martin has been part of a successful revolution that has swept through the British car industry and now means the UK has the most motor manufacturers in the world. The collapse of MG Rover and planned plant closures by Vauxhall and Peugeot has reinforced a public perception that the domestic car industry is on its knees. But Britain has until recently been exporting more cars than ever although all the big-volume manufacturers are now owned by either French, Japanese or American companies. There is an enormous number of individual car companies but many are very small, specialist producers of sports cars. Britain is also the central hub of Formula One racing car technology.

The Guardian

I don`t think I`d like to have to pay the petrol bill for this!

The fastest production model ever to be built by Aston Martin made its world debut at the 2004 Paris Motor Show.

With a maximum speed in excess of 200 mph (321 km/h) and a 6.0 liter V12 engine developing 520 horsepower, the Vanquish S has been designed to deliver even greater performance, complemented by subtle suspension and steering changes and a number of interior and external style revisions.

The Vanquish S has received subtle but effective changes to complement its elegant muscular body. The famous Aston Martin grille has a new rounded and more open appearance for better cooling, and an aerodynamic splitter improves high-speed stability.

At the rear, a redesigned boot lid featuring a new high mounted stop lamp reduces lift and improves balance and stability, helping to achieve an impressive Cd figure of 0.32.

These differences on the Vanquish S not only improve the appearance but also enhance performance. All the exterior body panels are constructed from aluminum with each individual panel hand tailored to the central structure to ensure a perfect panel fit. Every carefully detailed feature provides graphic evidence of the painstaking craftsmanship and quality, which is invested in its construction at Aston Martin’s Newport Pagnell site in Buckinghamshire.

Revised steering geometry provides a 20% quicker response, allowing the driver to apply a reduced input for required steering response. This enables the driver to be more precise with inputs - especially on winding roads - and more accurate feedback from the chassis.

The Sports Dynamics suspension, steering and braking package is now standard on the Vanquish S. This includes stiffer springs and dampers and shorter steering arms.

Further development of Aston Martin’s low emissions, all alloy, quad-overhead camshaft, 48 valve, 6.0-liter V12 engine has generated an increase in power from 460 bhp to 520 bhp at 7000 rpm and torque is boosted to 425 lb-ft at 5800 rpm.

Engine enhancements include new cylinder heads with fully machined inlet ports and combustion chambers to improve airflow, revised engine mapping and new fuel injectors.

The overall interior design is a subtle blend of traditional, classic and modern materials with Bridge of Weir leather upholstery matched to contemporary metal interior fittings and finishes. A number of detailed improvements have been made to the interior of the Vanquish S to enhance the overall appeal.

The luxurious but purposeful two seat or optional 2+2 cabin now features supportive all leather trimmed sports seats with many additional and exquisite detail touches which amply demonstrate the truly special nature of this unique hand crafted sports car.

With the capacity to continue to turn heads, the design of the Vanquish is already established as a modern classic. Since its launch in 2001, the Vanquish has proved to be a huge success for Aston Martin with over 1500 cars built.