A vast majority of the 54 production Bamford and Martin cars were built with a 1.5 litre side valve engine. The engine, designed by H.V.Robb had the head cast integral with the block. This particular example, chassis 1941, is a long chassis tourer with 3 seater cloverleaf bodywork from 1924 and was photographed whilst on display at the Brooklands Museum. It has a very interesting history as it has been rescued from scrap yards three times in it’s life. The current attractive body, whilst not the original, is correct for the car. The engine is capable of delivering 38 bhp, enough for B&M to advertise its top speed as 72 mph. Sports models had an improved output of 45 bhp but in general, the side valve engine was not powerful enough to compete with more modern engines and AM went on to develop the 16 valve.

At the time, very little was really known about the detailed specification of the 2009 Lagonda Concept, except that it was based on Mercedes GL running gear and supposedly powered by an Aston Martin V12 (it was!). The idea behind the concept was to bring performance luxury into emerging markets and territories around the world, especially emerging markets in Russia, the Middle East, South America, India, and China. Calling the concept a full off-roader isn’t correct since it was designed as a luxury performance vehicle with 4 wheel drive and additional ground clearance for roads of potentially poor quality.

The press release at the time proudly announced the return of the iconic marque and I’m sure that the intention to go into production was a strong possibility. Yet, the car only lasted on the main turntable of the stand for a single day, being replaced initially by a One-77 rolling chassis and then by a One-77 1:1 modelDBX Concept first seen at Geneva in 2015.

Eventually after 10 years hidden away, the controversial Lagonda received its first public viewing at the 2019 AMOC Spring Concours by special arrangement with the AMHT and the car’s owner. Buy 2023, the car was offered for sale by auction on the online marketplace, Collecting Cars.
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Of course, the next car to carry the Lagonda badge did not turn out to be a 4×4 at all but the fabulous Lagonda Taraf.

The Cygnet on display in 2012 featured Cherry Tree Raspberry paint which had been colour matched to the same hue as intense cherry blossom. The interior featured luxurious Deep Soft Kestrel Tan leather with both bespoke photograph based headlining and door inserts. In addition, this particular Cygnet Q came with a three piece colour matched luggage set and folding Brompton bicycle. Even the wheels were custom made for this particular car.

At the Geneva Motor Show in 2013, the Cygnet on display was also a product of the ‘Q by Aston Martin’ people at Gaydon. This cars was finished in Selene Bronze exterior paint with Chestnut Tan Leather interior and Cirrus Grey Alcantara headlining.

Clearly visible is the completely redesigned dashboard and instrument cluster, glove compartment and centre console. This was then covered in hide as opposed to the vynide material that covered the dashboards in the regular production cars. Also fitted was a centre arm rest with a hinged lid and chrome-plated ash tray. The door panels were somewhat simplified with a completely new interior door handle and the parcel shelf was also updated. The seats were also redesigned with a clear ‘V’ shape stitched pattern instead of the more usual pleats. This ‘V’ shape was adopted for the seats that were used on the DB6 later in the year.

The car was stored for many years in mainland Europe but it underwent a substantial restoration in the 2000’s involving the upgrade of the engine to 4.2 litre ‘Vantage’ spec with triple Weber carburettors.

The only other time that Ogle had an input into Aston Martin was with the DBSV8 based Sotheby Special.

The Thunderbolt’s powerful exterior profile is the result of hand-laid, coach-built carbon fiber bodywork that incorporates Henrik Fisker’s characteristic design cues such as a clean body side with no creases and deeply sculpted air ducting.

The bonnet on this one-off design study is dominated by a large power bulge with long triangular sculpted air intakes and also incorporates fitment of unique head lamps; thin protruding, blade-like, tail lamps; a wraparound rear window and panoramic dark tinted glass roof; as well as updated exterior detailing including aluminum grille and assorted bright work. Performance upgrades include lowering the standard ride height of the car by 15 millimeters and fitment of 21-inch alloy wheels with performance tyres.

Inside, the changes are no less dramatic. While maintaining a traditional elegance, Thunderbolt’s concept interior features class-leading connectivity and user interfaces. Among its range of new appointments, the Thunderbolt concept features the world’s first application of Panasonic’s 11.6-inch Curved Control Screen in a car, as a result of a research partnership between Panasonic and Henrik Fisker. Designed to reduce reflections and glare, the screen’s extraordinary resolution is complimented by the fact that it is adjustable in height according to driver preference.

Another outcome of a longstanding partnership between renowned Swiss watch maker Maurice Lacroix and Henrik Fisker, is a Skeleton chronograph integrated into the dash, as well as specially trimmed leather surfaces from Italian furniture manufacturer, Natuzzi. Thunderbolt also includes a unique champagne/wine bottle holder – the first of its kind in a two-seat sports coupe – for securely transporting a bottle or two, to dinner parties as a gift.

It should be noted the Thunderbolt is in no way affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by Aston Martin. Developed purely as a design study, the prototype unveiled at Amelia Island is a design study only, and Henrik Fisker’s personal view. Although there were no plans to offer the prototype exhibited at Amelia for sale, based on initial response however, an extremely limited number of additional cars could be made on a special order basis. These would be available exclusively through Galpin Aston Martin, the AM dealer in LA, ensuring that the vehicle remains a true collectible and rare sight. These secondary coach-built Thunderbolt’s would feature a revised front end as shown on the red rendering, a new unique grill and a revised infotainment system without the curved Panasonic screen – as this feature is a prototype. All body modifications, would be performed through a program using renowned concept car builder GFMI Metalcrafters Inc., of Fountain Valley, Calif., to handle all the carbon fiber coach work. Additional performance and interior upgrades would be executed through Galpin Auto Sports.

Following his time at Aston Martin, Henrik Fisker went on to create Fisker Coachbuild, producing tailor made luxury cars based on production platforms and the ill fated Fisker Automotive, who built the revolutionary Karma, the worlds first production plug-in hybrid electric car.

Barely a week after the Thunderbolt was unveiled, Aston Martin Lagonda  issued a lawsuit against both Fisker and Galpin Auto Sports over trademark infringement and other related issues they were not happy with.

The start of the 2009 Le Mans Series at Silverstone featuring the Aston Martin LMP1 sports/racing car, the Gulf liveried DBR1/2

For the Aston Martin Racing team, a good result at Silverstone could clinch the championship. The 2008 Aston Martin engined Lola LMP1, the car that the DBR1-2 was based on, also looked strong. The Gigawave DBR9 had not run competitively for almost a year before the race yet stood a reasonable chance of a class win as there were only 3 entries in GT1. The Drayson Racing V8 Vantage GT2 had already struggled to make an impact through 2009 in the LMS yet the event brought the highest practice, qualifying and race-running results ever enjoyed by the British team whilst running their Aston Martin Vantage GT2

Aston Martin LMP1 DBR1-2 007

Aston Martin LMP1 DBR1-2 008

Aston Martin LMP1 DBR1-2 009

Lola Aston Martin LMP1

Gigawave DBR9/106

Drayson Racing V8 Vantage GT2/002

With 1000 Km to travel, the 195 lap race got underway at 11.30am and was expected to last unto six hours, which gave ample opportunity  for spectators to walk around the Silverstone circuit an visit every corner. This, the final race of the series was completed in 5hrs 30mins which is quicker than usual, this was partly due to the fact that there were no safety car periods in a largely incident free race.

Best Aston Martin result of the day was for Swiss team, Speedy Racing Team Sebah in the Lola Aston Martin LMP1 with a tremendous 2nd place overall. Third and fourth places were taken by the AMR 007 and 009 cars respectively. Thus Aston Martin Racing won the 2009 title, exactly 50 years after the victory of the manufacturer in the Sports Car World Championship. The Gigawave DBR9 won the GT1 class; the last time that the team ran the car before it transferred to AMR Young Driver. Sadly the Drayson Racing V8 Vantage GT2 retired with a failure within the drivetrain after 4 hours and was classified as a non finisher. Following this race and the 2009 season, the Drayson GT2 was retired from active competition.