17 Mar 08
Though few speak out in public, the motor industry is not short of those who say Aston Martin, for all its wonderful products and bulging order books, is going to find life hard now that it has returned to independent ownership some 17 years after the company was sold to Ford in an almost moribund condition.
Unsurprisingly, Aston Martin says otherwise. It points to its small size and independence as a good thing because now it can make its own choices and react much more swiftly than when all-important decisions had to be rubber-stamped by the ailing Detroit-based industrial leviathan.
Besides, a chunk of Aston Martin is still owned by Ford yet it remains free to form strategic alliances with whoever else it chooses to ensure its access to state of the art technology is retained.
However, it seems that a gesture was needed - a small but significant two-fingered salute to those who claim Aston Martin was only as good as the Blue Oval behind it. It would have to communicate a message like no other Aston Martin has in its 95-year history, an affirmation of how good is life as an independent and a statement of intent for the future. They decided to call it the Aston Martin V12 Vantage RS.
I've driven it and it is, without any doubt, the most extraordinary road car ever to display the Aston wings on its nose.
