The Jet 2+2 was manufactured by “Bertone Officina” (Bertone Workshop), a new company department organized as a high fashion atelier, especially created for the production of custom-built models in the historical tradition of Bertone. It rather neatly follows on from the 2004 Bertone Jet 2, a two door shooting brake based on the V12 Vanquish. Bertone Officina offers a “tailor made” service for special customers, but also offers an example of how Bertone could help other manufacturers to vary their own range making custom-built concept cars, exactly as they did in the Fifties and Sixties.

The front grille appears to be identical to that of the Rapide S although the Jet 2+2 was actually based on a regular Rapide with the 470 bhp 5.9 litre V12. It retains the same wheelbase as the donor car as well as the same overall dimensions. The shooting-brake styling makes the muscular yet elegant Jet 2+2 somewhere between an estate and a coupé. It features a sharply raked tailgate, a full length LED strip across the rear and tail lights directly taken from the One-77.

The interior retains four individual seats although rear seat passengers benefit from more headroom than the coupé. Also the two rear seats fold down flat and can be hidden by an electrical controlled double sliding panel giving a completely flat load area with exceptional capacity.

A little later in the year, Jet 2+2 joined the original 1961 Bertone Jet and the 2004 Jet 2 as star exhibits during the Aston Martin Centenary Celebrations at Kensington Palace in July.

Although the owner might have initially planned exclusivity, there were apparently some plans to bring the Jet 2+2 into limited production. A run of ten or less were intended and could have been built by Bertone however, by March 2014, any plans were dashed as the company ceased trading. With the demise of Bertone,  Aston Martin Lagonda considered a full production version, the Rapide Shooting Break to be built at Gaydon. But this didn’t come to fruition and AML went on to build the Vanquish Zagato range which included a Shooting Break.

Generally speaking, the French Rally Championship is run on tarmac (unlike the loose surfaces that we are more used to in the UK) and the GT class is ideal for the Porsche 911 GT3 for example. On it’s debut in the hands of Subaru rally driver and AMR works driver Stephane Sarrazin with co-driver Stephane Prevot, managed a 2nd place in the Series GT class.

The car had been prepared by Prodrive in Britain and financed by the motorsport enthusiast Frederic Dor. Of course, Prodrive, who essentially run Aston Martin Racing have over 20 year’s experience in the world of rallying with such cars as the WRC Subarus for example. I took these pictures whilst the car was displayed in the Silverstone paddock during the FIA GT race in May 2006.

Such was the success of the prototype, Prodrive started offering the the Rally GT for sale under the banner of ‘The most exclusive rally car in the world’. The production Rally GT was extensively re-engineered from a standard production V8 Vantage 4.3 to which is added a roll cage for safety and increased torsional rigidity. Whilst the engine was based on the all alloy road car 4.3 litre V8 unit, it was tuned to make it more flexible and responsive for the demands of rallying with a power output of 420 bhp. The suspension on the Rally GT carried over the road car’s wishbones, but had new competition Eibach springs and three-way adjustable EXE-TC dampers. The standard road car transmission was also retained on the rally car, but this could be upgraded to a six-speed, close ratio dog engagement gearbox, developed specifically for the Rally GT.

The Rally GT was successfully demonstrated during the 2006 Race of Champions held during December at the Stade de France in Paris at Race of Champions. Whilst it is believed that only 4 Rally GT’s were ever produced, Prodrive went on to develop a series of after-market upgrades for the V8 Vantage.

Specification for the Vanquish Carbon Coupe is as follows

• Two-door 2015MY or 2016MY Vanquish Coupe with 2+0 or 2+2 seating
• Carbon Black II or Stratus White coachwork (Ceramic Grey, Onyx Black and Morning Frost White was also available in North America)
• Black window surrounds
• Black headlamp ‘eyebrows’
• Exposed Carbon Fibre mirror caps, splitter, diffuser and sill blade
• Graphitic finish on the tail pipes
• Black meshes
• Painted or optional Carbon door handles
• 20” 10-spoke forged gloss black painted DT or non-DT alloy wheels
• Brake callipers in a choice of Black, Grey, Red or Yellow
• Obsidian Black hide
• Seat inner panels and door inserts in black leather, perforated leather or Alcantara
• Seat accents in  black leather, quilted leather or Alcantara
• Welt in a choice of black, silver, red or yellow with same or black course stitching
• Headlining in black leather or Alcantara
• Herringbone Carbon Fibre facia and door pulls
• Paddle tips in Carbon Fibre or optional red, yellow or silver
• Steering wheel or optional One-77 wheel in black leather or Alcantara
• Piano Black air vents
• Silken black anodised B+O speaker grills
• Black anodised rotary controls
• Special machined Carbon Black or Carbon White sill plaques

Deliveries of the Vanquish Carbon began late in October 2014 at a UK price of £199,995, a £7,000 premium over the standard 2015MY Vanquish.

Prodrive and Eibach jointly unveiled the new range of parts at the Essen Motor Show on the 30th November 2006. The parts became available in early 2007 as a post-registration fitment, enabling existing V8 Vantage owners to upgrade their cars. I might add that the warranty for the engine work was picked up by Prodrive and supplanted the warranty supplied by AML. Key features of the upgrades available are,

• The 4.3 litre V8 engine increased in power from 283 kW (380 bhp) to 317 kW (425 bhp), as well as increasing peak torque from 410 Nm (302 lb/ft) to 440 Nm (325 lb/ft). This is at a cost of £6,259 inc. of VAT.
• 0-100 km/h time reduced from 5.0 secs to 4.7 secs (est) and increases the top speed by 13 km/h to 293 km/h (est).
• Modified exhaust system with a low back pressure sports catalyst and a driver-controlled switch to manually override the V8 Vantage’s exhaust valve. Quiet mode = valve is permanently closed; auto = as on the standard car; Sport mode = valve is permanently open.
• A new driver-adjustable suspension by Bilstein and Eibach with a switch in the cockpit allows the driver to choose between normal and sports mode. £5,581 inc. of VAT.
• Discreet Prodrive designed and manufactured carbon composite front lip and trunk spoilers to reduce lift by 45 per cent. £2,937 inc. VAT.
• 14 spoke 19″ forged wheels made by Prodrive Japan; almost 9 kilos lighter than the standard wheels. Complete with Pirelli P-Zero tyres, £3,995 inc. VAT.

Quoted prices are from 2007 and may not be accurate as to what these options might cost today.

I finally saw a Prodrive Vantage in the accessories hall at the Geneva Salon 2007. Unfortunately, the light quality in that hall is not ideal so these pictures above are the result. The other car was on sale at Nicholas Mee & Co in London, Spring 2012

Specification for the Vanquish Volante Carbon is as follows

• Two-door 2015MY Vanquish Volante with 2+2 seating
• Carbon Black II, Stratus White or rarely Morning Frost White coachwork
• Black window surrounds
• Black headlamp ‘eyebrows’
• Exposed Carbon Fibre mirror caps, splitter, diffuser and sill blade
• Graphitic finish on the tail pipes
• Black meshes
• Painted or optional Carbon door handles
• 20” 10-spoke forged gloss black painted DT or non-DT alloy wheels
• Brake callipers in a choice of Black, Grey, Red or Yellow
• Obsidian Black hide
• Seat inner panels and door inserts in black leather, perforated leather or Alcantara
• Seat accents in  black leather, quilted leather or Alcantara
• Welt in a choice of black, silver, red or yellow with same or black course stitching
• Headlining in black leather or Alcantara
• Herringbone Carbon Fibre facia and door pulls
• Paddle tips in Carbon Fibre or optional red, yellow or silver
• Steering wheel or optional One-77 wheel in black leather
• Piano Black air vents
• Silken black anodised B+O speaker grills
• Black anodised rotary controls
• Special machined Carbon Black or Carbon White sill plaques

Deliveries of the Carbon began late in October 2014 at a £7,000 premium over the standard Vanquish Volante.

Even in the video, the twin leather covered ‘humps’ on the hard tonneau cover (not so dissimilar to those seen on the DB AR1) made it to production. The roof, a triple layered fabric type folded down totally flat; it could even be raised or lowered without manual assistance in 18 seconds at speeds of upto 30 mph, neat trick!

The rigidity of the Roadster was enhanced by the use of slightly thicker gauge aluminium within the platform and strengthening webs within the sills. This only added around 70 kg in weight over the closed V8 Vantage coupe. Whilst the stiffness of the Vantage was believed to be 27,000 Newton Meters per degree, the roadster was a very commendable 21,000. In comparison, the early DB9 Volante was, I understand 15,500 although this was improved upon as time passed. Production began in the second quarter of 2007 with an initial UK price of £92,147 for the manual, an £8,000 premium over the coupe.

The V8 Vantage Roadster with the 4.3 litre engine was only in production for a little over a year before the car was updated for the with the addition of the larger 4.7 litre engine.

So as to mark the 60th Anniversary of the association, Aston Martin Works commissioned six cars (3 Vanquish coupes, 3 Vanquish Volante’s), each representing a decade to commemorate the event. Each limited edition Vanquish has been styled by the Design team at Aston Martin Lagonda working with the bespoke personalisation service: Q by Aston Martin. Uniquely, the cars use authentic materials carefully selected from each era of the last 60 years to create a celebration of the past, present and future of Aston Martin Works at Newport Pagnell.

The first car, a white Volante was revealed just before Christmas 2014 to specially invited customers to the annual party. The remaining cars were built during the first few months of 2015. Five of the six cars were, for the first time, brought together in May 2015, firstly for the AMWorks/Bonhams auction and the following day, in a special class at the AMOC Spring Concours.

The Vantage N400 featured a few tweaks over the standard car. This included a useful power upgrade to the 4.3 litre V8 engine, lifting peak power to 400 bhp and peak torque to 420 Nm. The car also came equipped with a new Sports Pack as standard which offered subtly different driving dynamics tailored to enthusiasts who were seeking even more responsive handling. The Sports Pack comprised of unique lightweight graphite-finished aluminium wheel type with diamond turning (already fitted to the Sports Pack DB9), up-rated springs and dampers and a new rear anti-roll bar (for the Coupe only). The Vantage N400 also included a number of exterior design changes, including a revised side sill design, Magnum Silver bonnet and side strake meshes, clear rear lamp lenses and a bright finish grille.

Interior enhancements included perforated black leather seats, micro-spin alloy facia trim and a unique numbered sill plaque. The Vantage N400 was only available in three new exterior colours; Bergwerk Black, Lightning Silver or Karussell Orange (the first time that orange has been a standard colour for an Aston I believe), with either Sportshift or conventional manual transmission. Additionally, the Vantage N400 came equipped with a range of optional equipment fitted as standard, including Satellite Navigation, 700W Aston Martin Premium Audio System, Bluetooth telephone preparation, HID headlamps, cruise control and memory/heated seats. In the Karussell Orange coloured cars, the seat stitching was course tan and a map of the Nürburgring was embroidered on the arm rest; the black and silver cars used either course silver or red thread. It was also possible to specify a rather more discrete black thread.

AML supposedly limited production of the N400 to just 480 examples (240 coupes, 240 Roadsters) – why 480? well that’s how many seconds are in 8 minutes, the time that the N400 could lap the Nürburgring. Almost all cars were built during March and April 2008. It is now believed that far fewer cars were actually built making the N400 especially desirable to collectors.

The special series of ‘N’ cars continued with the 4.7 litre N420 in 2010 and the N430 in 2014.

So as to mark the 60th Anniversary of the association, Aston Martin Works commissioned six cars (3 Vanquish coupes, 3 Vanquish Volante’s), each representing a decade to commemorate the event. Each limited edition Vanquish has been styled by the Design team at Aston Martin Lagonda working with the bespoke personalisation service: Q by Aston Martin. Uniquely, the cars use authentic materials carefully selected from each era of the last 60 years to create a celebration of the past, present and future of Aston Martin Works at Newport Pagnell.

The first car, a white Volante was revealed just before Christmas 2014 to specially invited customers to the annual party. The remaining cars were built during the first few months of 2015. Five of the six cars were, for the first time, brought together in May 2015, firstly for the AMWorks/Bonhams auction and the following day, in a special class at the AMOC Spring Concours.

Aston Martin Vanquish Works 60th anniversary