This was the golden age of Top Gear. Proper research, genius musical background, humour. Just perfect. And Victor Gauntlett's accent is absolutely priceless.
Jeremy's intro is pure Alan Partridge; the bizarre analogies, the shell suit top with hands in pockets and "Cue the Elgar and bring on the Aston Martin Vantage!!"
I wonder how long it took for Clarkson to twig to Coogan's character inspiration...? 😏 Or, did _someone else_ have to finally wake him up to the fact. 😄
P.S. So nice to meet some of the people behind the scenes. One of the drivers who won in the DBR1 at Le Mans in 1959 was Carroll Shelby; I think you could safely say that Carroll’s success with Aston helped him with his own ventures including the Cobras, Shelby Mustangs, and the GT40 programme (interesting then that Ford were later to buy Aston and arguably join the long list of saviours; the world would be a poorer place without Aston; a huge heart felt thanks to every one of them; and what a wonderful legacy; every Aston you have the good fortune to see!) 😊
I'm a Newport Pagnell lad. I've always had an affinity with the Aston Martin and worked on the demolition of the old lagonda factory. A few years later helped on the revamp of the outside of the existing side. It was always a dream to drive one which i eventually did drive the DB9 about 5 years ago and it didn't disappoint.
He was a bow legged, curly haired, bad dressing part time presenter when the db7 came out. By the time the db9 came out, he was a bow legged, curly haired, bad dressing absolute legend.
@@michaelmeliambro5117 wtf? because, and I say this as a "yankee", an aston db4 zagato is more beautiful, more soulful, sounds better, and will hold its value better than any camaro, mustang, challenger or even shelby or tucker. What a ridiculous thing to say. Aston Martin is the most desirable car manufacturer on the planet and have been for some time. Can't say that about mercury lmao And doesn't matter where someone is from, they can appreciate anything, the principals and ideals that make humans value a piece of art like a painting or car or tv show are universal. And sales are the absolute last thing that matters in regards to what people like, or the mark of whether or not something matters, or is good
I’m kind of surprised Carroll Shelby’s name was not uttered even once when talking about the Aston Martin win in 1959 lol. Though, I guess this was 90s Britain and more people revered Moss than had even heard of Shelby
Can someone please let Richard hammond know that Clarkson is wearing cowboy boots in this film!!! Clarkson always takes the piss out of Hammond for wearing them!
Used to lust after Volante Vantage, 1986. Eventually found one parked, top down, outside a bungalow in W Hollywood in 2009. And it was just an old thing left too long in the sun. Then I saw an XK E in a show room, and true love blossomed. But still, just an old lump of metal with dodgy seats. To really become timeless, they need to be loved, maintained, lived with, and above all, driven like hell hounds.
The V8 Vantage is such a good looking machine. The later series as shown here 17:47 is a dream classic for me. The convertibles look amazing as well. Volante X pack in either Balmoral Green or Chichester Blue. 6.3 litre V8, quad carb, 432 horsepower, bulging bonnet, flared arches, muscular sill extensions. Ok they are $500k these days. Oh well.
I recall the Top Gear episode where Jeremy drag raced it against the also new Lamborghini Diablo. They were neck and neck up to about 150mph when the Diablo’s smaller frontal area came into effect.
@@admotorvideos2984 ah fantastic! I have not seen that since it aired, a time when I was an expat Aussie at Middlesex Uni and had only recently met my future English wife. What a saunter down memory lane. Funny too how memories work as in my mind they actually raced to 150mph when I ‘saw’ the Lambo pull ahead 🤭😅
Always dreamed of having one, I now have two, bought my first one 22 years ago, for about what a windscreen cists today, only cars I have ever made money on, but as they are still mine, I have not made a penny, but used a lot of money on them
Wonderful! Just curious; the audio drops out for a little while during the DB5 segment; I assume due to a music copyright claim; is the full version available anywhere? Thanks so much for uploading. 👌 .. 😊
Does that include murder, I presume??? Also, the most beautiful car ever made???? The 1963 Split Window Corvette Stingray would like a word with you on that.
Colin Chapman gave Aston Martin a lookover during the mid 70's, thinking it might be a good addition to within Group Lotus....But he was so appalled at what he saw at Newport Pagnell & how relatively backwards they were in their production processes, he decided against any possible purchase of the business....!
@@kevinwilliams1421 it’s like the Greeks. When their art and philosophy were at peak their government and society were a mess. When they got their business in order their creative and intellectual efforts were at an ebb.
so the employees on the verge of strike action on the assembly lines were paying more tax than sir David Brown, and when it looked like the company might actually make a few quid they altered prices to benefit the wealthy customers rather than the chancellor of the exchequer. some good old British values there for sure.
@@Tracertme J.C. himself explained how Aston was ALWAYS struggling to keep itself afloat for one thing, from David Brown selling out to being taken over by Ford, all bcuz they couldn't produce enough to keep up with their apparent "demand." With that kind of record, I'm honestly surprised Ford didn't just buy them out and scrap the Aston brand entirely.
@@Tracertme Ignore him--he's just a troll. And yes, the DBX could well turn out to be as important to AM as the Cayenne was to Porsche. It's likely the reason why all the exotic car manufacturers like Lamborghini, Ferrari and Maseratti are all making SUVs now.
It's a lovely film. A real gem actually. Hindsight now shows us what a disaster the period of Ford ownership was for the brand. Ford parts in an AM?...I don't think so. Ford's PAG made identical errors with Jaguar. Moving on from the DB7 was essential as it was never really more than a XK8 - or as JC put it - a Jag in drag. The later AM models were/are sublime. Thanks for posting.
What nonsense. First of all, without Ford, Aston would almost certainly have gone bust. Or did you not hear what Victor Gaunlet said? No Ford, No DB7- or any of the other Aston's which followed. Ford parts in Astons? Hilarious! Whilst the Ford sourced switch gear has been durable and lasted in DB7's, the Aston components HAVE NOT! DB7 interiors literally fall apart, trim falls off, head linings sag, the veneer on the walnut fades, peels or goes milky. You think the DB7 was never more than than a XK8 do you? That's genuinely amusing too. Motoring journalists back in the 90's reached a consensus that the XK8 was a better car than the DB7. The Jag interior was far superior than that of the DB7, and build quality was better. The 3.2 engine was inferior to the Jag V8. Both DB7 and XK8 used the underpinnings of the XJ-S, only Jag did a much better job with their XK8 than Aston did with the DB7. The i6 is rather slow, and the V12 is too fast for the soft, wallowing chassis- neither is a great drive, whilst the XK8 is.
@@liverpoolscottish6430 I think you might be missing the point. Any relationship with Ford's PAG - an entity described as a terrible strategic error by Ford by a number of informed industry commentators - and through that to Jaguar was way off the AM brand values. The DB7 was a low point for the Company and this is reflected in the prices DB7s achieve. All of your comments re the DB7 build quality are valid. Whether the XK8 was better or worse is a moot point. Ford mishandled all of the PAG brands including Jaguar and not just AM. AM is still here because the brand is so strong and is recognised by Global Superbrands as the world's most iconic brand.
I dunno, I still value the man. I see him as rather a treasure in this modern age of political correctness, horrible horrible electric mobility vehicles ruining absolutely everything I love about cars, and woke diversity-hiring box-checking logic-ignoring BS, Clarkson is one of the few ports in the storm so to speak lol
@@admotorvideos2984 thank you so much! I used to have it on VHS but my player messed up and the tape got ruined in 1999. Since then I've been looking for, literally, years! There's also another segment from that episode where Andy Wilman drives a road legal F3 car in Japan! 😊😊😊
Yep, copyright claim meant the audio was cut. I'm currently looking to fix this, but swapping out audio and maintaining commentary is harder that I thought. Bear with me :)
@@richardrichard5409 Ha ha. Sorry for the typo. 1970s and it saved the company, despite being late and having issues. Too bad they did not make the Bulldog. Thanks!
Why drive lovely cars like a boy racer in an Astra GTi? My DB7 just used to like cruising on the M3 at 110 mph. It refused to go any slower, as felt like it would stall. The rozzers advised me to sell it, so I did.
So.... _no audio_ from this point - 10:10 Was there a licensing issue? Some sort of copyright infringement? Clarkson's commentary was muted due to saying something bigoted about women, poor people, etc?
Disagree the V12 vantage looks gorgeous and the first edition straight 6 with the dinner plate wheels looks elegant. The interior though, is neither here nor there. Lol
Can’t have programs like this anymore - broccoli waving and EV loving lgbtqvyps snowflakes would spontaneously combust !!!! Miss the 90’s more every day !!!
