2005 - Aston Martin Db9 on 2040-cars

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Inside the Aston Martin Heritage Trust, the company's secret museum

The Aston Martin Heritage Trust Museum has been in existence since 2002. It houses the official archives of the Aston Martin Lagonda Company, as well as those of the Aston Martin Owners Club, at the behest of which the Museum was founded back in 1998. It also houses a rotating collection of distinctive and historically significant Aston Martin vehicles, cherry picked from a century of the automaker's exquisite existence. Unfortunately for those besotted with the brand, as I am, the AHMT is located on the periphery of the exurbs of nowhere, in a restored 14th century barn on a dirt road, blocks off the river in the wee Midlands village of Drayton St. Leonard. An address is not published. The only indication that you might be in the right place is an almost intentionally innocuous government tourism placard, placed somewhat near the turnoff. "We used to maybe get a hundred visitors a year before they put up the sign," says AMHT Curator Donna Bannister, an American of equally mysterious provenance. "Now we get almost a hundred per month." Lucky are the souls who find the AMHT (my cabby wasn't among them; I had to walk a bit), because it houses, in its cramped Middle Aged quarters, some real treasures. Greeting me when I entered was a bare-metal-nosed 1921 A3, the oldest existing Aston Martin in the world, which was bought at auction in 2000 and restored to driving condition via the generous underwriting of Sheik Nasser of Kuwait, who is apparently a huge AM collector. "It won Kop Hill in 1923," Bannister says. "We recently took it back there, and to the Windsor Concours d'Elegance. Of course the Royals are big fans of the Aston brand." There's also a 1934 Ulster BLB 684, the only remaining one in a 2+2 configuration. This car is a driver as well. "Club members can hire it out," Bannister says. "Though because it's quite difficult to drive – it has the clutch in the center, and the gas and brake on either side – only a few do." There is a passel of more recent notables, like the 2000 V12 Vanquish cutaway, an auto show maquette meant to demonstrate the fruits of Ford's huge investment in the brand at the start of this century. There's a pre-production, gloss white 2013 Vanquish Volante, which was used for photos and promotion as well, but never registered due to some inconsistencies in the paint. There are display engines from the DB4GT, the Lagonda V8, and the twin-supercharged Vantage (swoon!).

Aston Martin V12 Vantage S Roadster in the metal in Monterey

Even surrounded by glamorous people and a plethora of extremely exotic vehicles on the lawn of the Quail, the Aston Martin V12 Vantage S Roadster sticks out as something just a little bit more special. Under the Monterey sun all of the carbon fiber on the hood and in the air dam pops out from the shining ruby red paint. The aggressive looks are deserved though, because the latest roadster might be one of the most impressive droptop GTs ever to come out of Aston Martin. Under that louvered bonnet is a tuned version of Aston's long-lived 6.0-liter V12 – it's 44 pounds lighter, too. Plus, this engine is mated to the brand's latest Sportshift III seven-speed sequential gearbox to rocket it to 60 miles per hour in 3.9 seconds and on to a top speed of 201 miles per hour. Features like adaptive dampers, two-stage ABS and carbon-ceramic brakes, make the new V12 Vantage Roadster an even more intriguing and capable package. Of course, this Vantage is a head-turner even without those 12 cylinders ready to make a very sweet noise at the press of the throttle. Check it out from all angles in the gallery.

$1.3B worth of classic cars were auctioned in 2014

The collector auto market in the US just continues to expand with the values of vehicles seemingly only growing in the past years, especially if they have a prancing horse on the hood. This year was no different. According to data compiled by classic car insurance agency Hagerty, there were about $1.3 billion worth of vintage rides auctioned in North America in 2014, up just slightly from $1.2 billion crossing the block in 2013. If you want an idea of just how big a role the Monterey Car Week plays in the North American collector hobby, Hagerty's stats illustrate it perfectly. The company recorded $430 million in auction sales during the week – about a third of the entire market for the year. The event also hosted the biggest seller of 2014 when the hammer fell on a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO (pictured above) for $38.115 million at Bonhams. In fact, vintage Ferraris in general were among the top buys in the classic auto world in 2014. Eight of the ten most expensive vehicles sold at auction were Prancing Horses (the other two were Ford GT40s). Also, the insurance company's price index for these Italian stallions showed a 43-percent gain in value for the year. The market for another Italian supercar is exploding, as well. The Lamborghini Countach showed a staggering 175-percent growth in auction value in 2014. According to Hagerty, the average price when they crossed the block was $736,599. Judging by Hagerty's numbers, there were still some places to look for those hoping to spend a bit less money. The Aston Martin Lagonda showed a strong gain in value with a 32-percent increase in auction price, but they still averaged $47,078. In addition, the company's index for '50s American cars showed only one-percent growth for these classics. These huge leaps in collector car value might be winding down, according to Hagerty. It predicts growth in the market to slow to an estimated five percent gain in 2015. Maybe a few of these classics might actually become a bit more affordable to fans without such deep pockets sometime in the future. Featured Gallery Bonhams Maranello Rosso Collection: Monterey 2014 View 21 Photos News Source: HagertyImage Credit: Copyright 2014 Drew Phillips / AOL Aston Martin Ferrari Lamborghini Auctions Car Buying Performance Classics aston martin lagonda ferrari 250 gto Lamborghini Countach collector cars 1962 ferrari 250 gto auto auction