I know you’ve been wanting to buy that new Aston Martin. You have enough money to snag a DB9 – maybe even a DB7 for your girlfriend. But you’ve been holding off because you just don’t think your would-be British mobile will be quite exclusive enough.
Fortunately, the brains behind Aston Martin anticipated your reticence and introduced the new Q by Aston Martin personalization system. It’s a service that, as Aston Martin reps put it, “goes beyond the standard palette of paint, leather and trim finishes, taking the company into a new era in personalization.”
And that’s none too soon, I say, because when you think of run of the mill aesthetic car design, you think of six figure Aston Martins. Who would want such a heap, except James Bond, most FA Cup footballers and any man hoping to land a supermodel?
Here’s how it works: A team of Aston Martin's designers hitch up with the company's engineers and craftsmen to compile a seemingly endless list of options and allowing customers to enhance and personalize their Aston Martin “with meticulous attention to detail” inside and out.
The service can be extended to interior and exterior styling, offering almost endless opportunity for expression and (more importantly) coordination. Q by Aston Martin can aid you in designing a car that’s color coordinated and materially in sync with other objects you own. By engaging Q’s input on design, you can get their help in procuring luxury items beyond your wheels.
As Aston Martin puts it: “This could extend to supporting the customer’s architect to design their house, or creating color themes and materials for the interior specification of a yacht.”
Yes, that’s correct. Not only will Aston Martin build you a car that matches your yacht, they’ll advise you on designing a home that matches both vehicles. I think Hyundai offers something similar. Actually, no. They do not.
At the recent Geneva Auto Show, Aston demonstrated the Q program with a 2013 Virage Volante enhanced and personalized to include “unique color and trim finishes, as a one-off showcase for the possibilities offered by Q by Aston Martin.”
The Virage Volante showed off a Mariana Blue satin paint finish with an interior that included blue carbon fibre, saddle leather floor mats and yellow detailing, with exclusive concept components, including a header mounted track day HD video camera, luggage rack and a forged, diamond steering wheel. All of those items were designed by the Q Team and could easily come in however many Aston Martins you pick up in the next year.
In 2012, Aston Martin will offer Q in 14 models, including the Rapide, the DBS Coupe and DBS Volante, Virage Coupe and Volante, DB9 Coupe and DB9 Volante, the V8 Vantage Coupe and Vantage Roadster, the Vantage S Coupe and Roadster and the V12 Vantage.
In addition, the One-77 super car – the star of the LA Auto Show – and the V12 Zagato will arrive later this year.
There’s no word if Eon (the movie production company behind the Bond franchise) is comfortable with the nickname of the 007 quartermaster being used to match cars to mansions, but I’m sure MI6 can work something out discreetly.
