Every generation of DB model was on show with one of the biggest gatherings of Aston Martins in the south at Beaulieu’s Simply Aston Martin.
Ranging from the DB1 of the late 1940s right up to the latest DB11, the jaw-dropping display included 319 Astons of every age and variety driving into the sun-drenched Beaulieu parkland for the day on Sunday 2nd April.
Simply Aston Martin launched the start of Beaulieu’s new season of Simply rallies, which continues with the popular Simply Ford on Sunday 30th April then Simply Porsche, Simply VW, Simply Land Rover, Simply Jaguar, Simply Japanese and Simply Smart later in the year.
At the heart of Simply Aston Martin was a real-life timeline, charting the history of the DB models with a special display of the cars which took their name from Sir David Brown, the entrepreneur who was at the helm of the iconic company for a quarter of a century from 1947 until 1972.
The line-up included the 1950s DB2/4 and followed the timeline with the DB4 Vantage, DB6, DBS, DBS Volante, DB7, DB7 V12 Vantage, DB7 GT, DB9, DB9 Volante and several examples of the latest DB11 to be admired.
A highlight was a DB1 tourer which has been owned by the Southward family since 1968. “I love it because it’s unique, different and very significant to the history of Aston Martin. It’s the first in the DB series,” said Allan Southward.
Other eye-catching models on display included a 1939 15/98, examples of the V8 Volante, the one-off GMR Supercharged GT8, the N340 and even the short-lived economy Cygnet. A true head-turner was a bright red 1988 Aston Martin Lagonda, the four-door grand cruiser with incredible wedge-shaped styling which pre-empted the latest Rapide model.
Throughout the day, visitors voted for their favourite cars in the People’s Choice Award. The overall winner of the visitor vote was John Palmer with his immaculate 2014 Aston Martin V12 S Vantage. Having owned this impressive performance machine since 2015, John said: “I am a huge fans of Aston Martins and I love driving this one because it’s such an amazing car.” He received a commemorative Beaulieu trophy and a special Autoglym prize from Beaulieu’s Commercial Director Stephen Munn.
Runners-up were Chris Lawton with his 2011 Aston Martin Rapide and Allan Southward with his Aston Martin DB1.
Visitors could also browse a selection of trade stands, while Aston Martin Chichester brought an impressive display of the latest showroom models for buyers with deep pockets.
For more information on the 2017 Beaulieu events calendar, click here.
