Jeremy Wright followed in the footsteps of James Bond and Prince Charles when he got behind the wheel of the latest Aston Martin, which he has nominated for the Made By Britain initiative.
All the country’s 650 MPs have been asked to nominate a product manufactured in their constituency as part of the initiative, which aims to dispel the myth that Britain no longer makes anything.
Mr Wright, the MP for Southam and Kenilworth, which covers Aston Martin’s headquarters at Gaydon, commented: “The Aston Martin is the ultimate top-of-the-range iconic product. It is a fabulous luxury car which I am very proud to see designed and manufactured in my constituency.
Aston Martin, which is now a completely independent British company, prides itself on its creativity, engineering excellence, fine craftsmanship and personal service.
At the company’s headquarters at Gaydon these remarkable cars are being designed and manufactured to the most exacting standards. They are personalised products made by highly skilled craftsmen.
Not only does Aston Martin dispel the myth that Britain doesn’t make anything, it is making a product that the rest of the world is beating a path here to buy.”
Mr Wright has nominated the Aston Martin Virage, which was launched at the Geneva Motor Show in March. About 500 of the cars, worth £75 million, have already been made this year.
The company, which has an annual turnover of about £500 million, employs more than 1,400 people at its Gaydon site, where all its models are designed and, with the exception of the Rapide, manufactured.
While its cars are sold worldwide, it is constantly working to develop new markets, particularly in Russia, China and the Middle East. It will have nine dealerships in China by 2012 and has already sold 500 cars there this year, more than 12 per cent of its global annual total.
Mr Wright added: “MPs want to show through this initiative that manufacturing is thriving in Britain and Aston Martin certainly demonstrates that. Through their focus on innovative engineering, cutting edge design and personalised craftsmanship they are breaking into new markets around the globe. What they will need in the future is more highly skilled employees and this initiative is designed to encourage more young people to look to manufacturing as a career path and stick with the maths and science subjects that they will need to do this.”
Click here to view all the nominations.
Recently, National Geographic also went to the Gaydon factory:
For the first time on television, Aston Martin's most advanced production car, the One-77 was showcased on National Geographic's popular Megafactories series.
Following un-paralleled access to Aston Martin the hour-long programme charted the intense One-77 development programme throughout the three years it took from the car's conception in October 2007 to the build of the first production One-77 in October 2010.
Filmed in high definition the show illustrates how Aston Martin remains at the forefront of contemporary manufacturing, embodying design and engineering excellence, and a brand with a truly special heritage.
In never seen-before footage of the exclusive facility where up to 77 examples of the One-77 will be hand-crafted, Megafactories details the highly skilled manufacturing process fusing modern technology with traditional hand-craftsmanship and painstaking attention to detail culminating in over 2,700 man-hours to complete the ultimate Aston Martin by a dedicated team of 27 technicians.
The One-77 facility is located in its own specially created standalone building within the company's global headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire. Inside the facility the distinctive production space is laboratory-like in its design and detail, an open plan 1,000 sq m serene space with its white walls, floor and ceiling containing four build positions and a host of specialist equipment and tools. The facility is a marked departure from a conventional automotive production space, with each car remaining static throughout the build, rather than progressing from station to station.
Megafactories: Aston Martin launches the new series on one of the world's largest networks and premiers in the UK on Sunday 4 September, 2011 at 9.00pm on National Geographic, Sky Channels (526, 543-HD) and Virgin Media (230, 232-HD).
The show will be broadcast in 64 countries worldwide.
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