Aston closes factory

29th July 2007

British sports car maker Aston Martin marked the end of an era last week, as the final production car rolled out of the company’s legendary Newport Pagnell factory.

The completion of the firm’s last-ever Vanquish S wrapped up half-a-century of manufacturing at the Buckinghamshire site, which started with the DB4 back in 1958, and numbered more than 13,000 units.

The final 50 models of the 2,500-plus Vanquish production run were the mean-looking, £182,000 S Ulti­mate Editions, which feature unique black paint and special chrome trim. The last example will be kept by the marque for posterity.

Manufacturing techniques have since moved on from the coachbuilding traditions for which Newport Pag­nell was famed. The DB9 and V8 Vantage, plus the forthcoming DBS and four-door Rapide, will be made at a new hi-tech facility in Gaydon, Warwickshire.

Meanwhile, Aston’s Works Service will still continue to operate at the Newport Pagnell site, although most of the land on which the now-silent manufacturing facilities are located will be sold. Discuss here