Event Flashback
Aston Martin Centenary Celebrations,2013
‘There were cars as far as the eye could see’ is an oft-overused phrase to describe major vehicle events. However, it really did ring true when Aston Martin brought its centenary celebrations to London’s Kensington Gardens.
Although there were several events for the marque’s 100th birthday throughout the year, this spectacular gathering around Kensington Palace was arguably the most stunning – and defi nitely the most public – of all the commemorations. It included a chronological timeline of 101 road, prototype and concept cars, and if you were at one end of it, you really couldn’t see the other. The cars were carefully picked to form a continuous history; starting with the oldest surviving Aston Martin A3 of 1922, built a stone’s throw away at Aston’s early Kensington HQ, stretching through to the CC100 Speedster Concept, the company’s rather indulgent showcar birthday gift to itself.
The 99 cars in between perfectly illustrated the gradual evolution of the marque from raffi sh 1920s and 1930s tourers through the glory days of David Brown ownership, onto the mighty V8 era and fi nally into the supercar style and sophistication of more recent years. There was also a selection of racing machines tracing the brand’s motorsport heritage.
Naturally, the company’s famous links with James Bond were showcased, with seven 007 movie machines on display including, of course, a DB5. It was one of the examples from Sk – ay fhaullge cinema hit the previous year – and drew big crowds, but thousands flocked to see all aspects of what was a completely free event. This party in the park was not just the high point of Aston Martin’s 100th anniversary, but one of 2013’s most special classic car moments.
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