More than 100 classic Aston Martin sports cars have made the trip to the brand’s spiritual home at Newport Pagnell in the UK for a unique 70th anniversary celebration.
The gathering of classic Aston Martin and Lagonda models provided the centrepiece for the 70th anniversary celebrations at Aston Martin Works in Newport Pagnell on October 11.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the brand’s presence at the site in Buckinghamshire regarded as the heritage home of the British marque and the place where many of its most famous models of the 20th Century were manufactured.
Owners of cars manufactured during the 50-plus years that Newport Pagnell housed the Aston Martin factory, as well as what was then known as its Service Division, were invited to the site to mark the occasion.
Scores of exceptionally rare and valuable Aston Martin and Lagonda cars including examples of every major model built between 1955 and the early 2000s, made their way along the world-famous Tickford Street to arrive at ‘Works’.
Among the exceptional array of cars displayed around the modest mock Tudor building on Tickford Street known affectionately as ‘Sunnyside’ were a selection of DB6s, along with V12 Vanquish, Lagonda, V550, V600 and a smattering of DB 2/4 and DB Mk III’s.
Keynote speakers at the event included world-renowned DB7 and V12 Vanquish designer Ian Callum; motorsport and automotive engineering legend, and 1980s Nimrod privateer driver, Ray Mallock; and Iain Heggie, son of 1960s Aston Martin Managing Director Steve Heggie.
Visitors were also able to visit the Works facility and witness ongoing restorations in the Modern and Heritage Workshops, as well as the Panel, Trim and Paint Shops.
Reflecting on the success of the 70th anniversary event, Aston Martin Works President Paul Spires said it had been a truly memorable occasion.
“A few of the cars that were present at the anniversary celebration had not been back to Newport Pagnell since the day they were built, many decades ago, while many others are, of course, ‘old friends’ of the Works business.
“I don’t think, even back in the ‘60s, there was ever a time when quite so many examples of the DB6 were parked outside Sunnyside and in this, the 60th anniversary of the car’s launch, it was truly a sight to behold!”
