The Aston Martin Centenary Concours d’Elegance was held Sunday 21 July 2013 on the lawns in front of Kensington Palace in central London. The event featured an impressive display of one hundred iconic Aston Martins, each representing a chapter of the last 100 years, and a selection of Aston Martin Le Mans racing cars.
The Centenary Concours and the week-long Aston Martin Festival served as the culmination of the centennial celebrations for Aston Martin.Designed to appeal to owners and enthusiasts of the brand, the Centenary Week included ‘open house’ activities at Aston Martin’s Gaydon headquarters, driving tours, a 1,000-guest ‘birthday party’ and, the highlight of the centenary celebrations, the Concours gathering in the historic setting of Kensington Gardens.
The Aston Martin Centenary Concours d’Elegance was staged by the Aston Martin Owners Club, Aston Martin Heritage Trust and Aston Martin, and held in partnership with The Royal Parks and The Royal Household. Featuring 100 of the brand’s most iconic cars in a timeline display, the event also saw one of the largest gatherings of Aston Martins in the 100-year history of the British marque. In addition, visiting members were able to park their Aston Martins in Perks Field, adjacent to The Kensington Palace.
Aston Martin CEO Dr Ulrich Bez said, “The weekend was a fantastic celebration of all things Aston Martin and, I believe, shows why the brand retains such a special place in the hearts of so many owners and enthusiasts around the world. Exclusivity is a key part of the Aston Martin mystique – we have made only around 65,000 cars in our entire 100-year history to date – so to see so many of these rare beauties gathered together in London was a truly historic occasion.”
The London event recalled the day 100 years ago when founders Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford saw their new automotive venture incorporated as ‘Bamford and Martin Ltd’. Production of the very first Aston Martin car, known as ‘Coal Scuttle’ commenced soon after. The ‘Aston’ element was inspired by Lionel Martin’s passion for hill climb competitions, in particular the Aston Clinton hill climb in Buckinghamshire.
Themed car displays told Aston Martin’s story with the centrepiece of the event, the Centenary Timeline Display on the Broadwalk, taking visitors on a 100-year journey from the origins of the brand in Henniker Mews, Chelsea, to its current global headquarters in Warwickshire.
Notable Aston Martins at the 2013 Centenary Concours included road cars from ‘A3’, the oldest surviving car, a brace of bespoke Zagatos, the trio of Bertone Jets, and a number of other unique cars commissioned over the years such as the latest CC100 Speedster Concept. The motorsports display of the most significant and successful racing cars featured the Ulster, DBR1, DB4 GT Zagato and Gulf-liveried DBR9 GT1 car, among others.
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Senior Photographer Tim Scott documented the 2013 Aston Martin Centenary Concours, offering up a wonderful selection of images that captured the grand finale of Aston Martin’s centennial celebrations. We split up Tim’s 131 pictures into two galleries. The first gallery starting below features our favorite images, all displayed in the full-width view of Sports Car Digest, while the second gallery can be found on the last page of the article and gives a comprehensive view of all the photographs. To see more from Tim, visit fluidimages.co.uk.
Aston Martin Centenary Concours 2013 – Top Photo Gallery
Aston Martin Centenary Concours 2013 – Top Photo Gallery Page Two
Aston Martin Centenary Concours 2013 – Top Photo Gallery Page Three
Aston Martin Centenary Concours 2013 – Top Photo Gallery Page Four
Aston Martin Centenary Concours 2013 – Top Photo Gallery Page Five
Aston Martin Centenary Concours 2013 – Main Photo Gallery
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[Source: Aston Martin; photos: Tim Scott / Fluid Images]
