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Aston Martin’s new high-tech Auckland home

August 18, 2017

Aston Martin has opened the doors of its brand new, state-of-the-art showroom in Auckland with a display of some of the most mouth-watering Astons in the country. And that is some line up…

To celebrate the opening, Aston Martin Auckland had $12 million worth of vehicles on display, including a 1953 DB2/4, a DB5, a Vanquish Zagato (only 99 made), the One-77 (only 77 made) and the country’s only Vulcan track car (only 24 made…).

The new showroom is situated in the new nine-level, 5,900 square metre Giltrap Group headquarters on Great North Road, and the legendary British brand is one of three exotic marques being housed there, with separate showrooms for Lamborghini and Bentley opening there shortly.

The Aston Martin showroom has the floor space to showcase up to 15 vehicles and will display the entire Aston Martin range over two floors, along with a collection of pre-owned Aston Martin vehicles.Along with the showroom, the building also houses a state-of-the-art service centre, a modern “delivery suite” for hand over of customer cars and two luxurious customer lounges.

The new building is also the first of its type in New Zealand to be designed around the requirements for a five-star Greenstar Design score from the NZ Green Building Council (NZGBC).

The architecturally designed building is purpose-built to house supercars, with a number of specific design details to make access easier for low-slung vehicles, including a vehicle ramp leading up from ground level on Great North Road that is both convex and concave, allowing low-to-the-ground vehicles to drive up it without scraping off several hundred dollars worth of carbon fibre.

Patrik Nilsson, president of Aston Martin Asia Pacific, was in Auckland for the opening and noted the importance of the New Zealand market top the iconic marque.

“The space is truly state-of-the-art, setting a new benchmark for our Aston Martin dealerships around the world. I do not say that lightly,” he said at an event for local media held prior to a glitzy event for customers.

“The new showroom reflects the accelerating interest we’re seeing in this market, with Aston Martin Auckland boasting one of the strongest market shares in the world. In fact, checking today, Auckland actually has the highest share in the world right now.”

Aston Martin Asia Pacific boss Patrik Nilsson, Auckland general manager Greg Brinck and joint managing director Michael Giltrap.
Aston Martin Asia Pacific boss Patrik Nilsson, Auckland general manager Greg Brinck and joint managing director Michael Giltrap.

Huge interest in the all-new DB11 has seen Aston Martin Auckland’s sales skyrocket this year, with 41 new vehicles year-to-date representing an incredible 193 percent increase over the same period last year.

The event also marked the debut of the first V8 Vantage Red Bull Racing Special Edition to arrive in New Zealand. Created by the Aston’s Q personalisation division, the Vantage Red Bull celebrates Aston’s association with the Red Bull Formula 1 team and features a colour scheme inspired by the Red Bull F1 livery, a lot of carbon fibre trim and performance-oriented interior elements, as well as the signatures of F1 drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen.

The Vantage Red Bull lands in New Zealand at $199,000 for the V8 and a rather whopping $320,000 for the V12 version.