Craftmanship

The V8 Vantage is hand-assembled and hand-finished. Only craftsmen can deliver the design details and level of finish that Aston Martin engineers and designers demand, creating a quality that is simply not possible in high-volume manufacture. Machines can stitch leather, for example, but they cannot do it with the same degree of care as experienced craftsmen.

The use of hand-crafted processes and finishing not only means painstaking attention to detail, inside and out, but also gives Aston Martin’s designers freedom to produce the perfect form, avoiding the unsightly solutions generated by the inflexibility of mass production. Mass-produced cars frequently need plastic finishers to hide awkward production line joins, but such cosmetic make-up is unnecessary at Aston Martin. For instance, the shut lines on the bonnet of the V8 Vantage run all the way to the front of the car without the need for a separate nose cone, creating a cleaner, crisper design. Hand-finished metal mesh grilles and trims are used instead of plastic alternatives, while the single aperture cuts for the headlamps in the front wings of the V8 Vantage could not be matched by any machine.

There is no rush with hand assembly; the over-riding concern is always quality. That is why all Aston Martins are built by hand, and it is why all the world’s finest luxury goods, from suits to watches, are still hand-made. When low volumes are desirable, and exclusivity is demanded, it is quite simply the only way to achieve the best finish. Integrity is a key cornerstone of Aston Martin and we believe that everything has to be right.