Aston Martin Bristol hosted a very special evening for customers and AMOC members alike by inviting Aston Martin Lagonda's chief designer, Marek Reichman, to talk about the design ethos behind the new DB11.
A short report here cannot do justice to the depth of insight and the audience engagement that the event engendered. Save to say that everyone I spoke to expressed their delight. The audience included a couple of youngsters who, I have on good authority, have been inspired! I suspect that their question about how Marek would adapt the DB11 for James Bond (to which they received a full explanation of laser guns and the like) was partly the reason!
There was much for adults to appreciate too, as evidenced by the Q&A that closed the session: from how the designers have to be three years ahead of current trends so that models don't look dated as soon as they're launched, to hoping that senior executives are not immediately wowed by a design concept... apparently that's a sure sign that a model will date too quickly!
Above - The cutaway DB11 model helped Marek to explain the unique bonding process that forms the rigid structure for the car.
Marek talked about the lines of the DB11 and how they all contribute to continuing the famous DB line that started in the late 1950's, as well as the engineering and legislative requirements for modern cars. He commented that the regulations try to make all cars look the same. That's one of the many challenges that he and his team of 80 designers at Gaydon face on a daily basis.
In my view, they do a pretty good job of facing up to those challenges!
Thanks are due not only to Marek, but also very much to Aaron Allnutt (dealer principle, Aston Martin Bristol), Lynn Campbell (MD of the Dick Lovett Group) and all of the teams on site who made this such a special occasion.
Above - The Q&A session was hosted by Aston Martin Bristol dealer principal, Aaron Allnutt.