Aston Martin & BA revive the Concorde (& more...)

Sharing some Concorde goodness today.

Why? Because it is always a good time to admire the sleek lines of this legendary supersonic airliner.

But also because, while it is not yet clear if and when civilian supersonic flight is making a comeback, you will soon be able to get some bits (literally) of the Concorde on another very fast vehicle.

British luxury car manufacturer Aston Martin has partnered with British Airways (one of the two former regular Concorde operators - the other, as you know well, was Air France) to make of the Concorde the theme of a special edition sports car.

The “DBS Superleggera Concorde Edition” sports car, which will be in the market in October 2020, with some elements, such as the paddle shifters, made with metal that were once in BA’s Concorde compressor blades.

Some more Concorde-related details: each of these cars will feature a unique registration number approved by the CAA (Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority) and an elegant silvery colour scheme with BA’s flag-themed red, white and blue livery applied to some key spots such as the rear aileron (not sure if this technically the right word when referring to a car, but here it is)

The roof of the car, a black tinted carbon fibre surface, will be emblazoned with Concorde’s silhouette

The Concorde will also be depicted or evoked on other elements of the cabin’s design, such as the leather seats or a Mach meter graphic that will be adorn the driver’s sun side visor.

The “DBS Superleggera Concorde Edition” will be limited to a production run of 10 and available from purchase only at Aston Martin Bristol, which happens to be located right next to RAF Filton, the airfield where the last Concorde ever built touched down for the last time.

The price tag? £321,350 (c. $420,000 at current exchange rates).

Sales of these cars will help fund an engineering scholarship programme for under privileged children run by the Air League Trust, a not-for-profit organisation with whom BA and Concorde have a partnership.

For a more complete view, from all angles, of this Aston Martin model, here is a video

But this is not all.

It looks like Aston Martin has taken a liking for the aerospace industry.

It is one of the luxury automakers that are teaming up with aviation manufacturers and research organisations to get into the next wave of air mobility vehicles, as we explained in our recent CNN piece about “flying cars”.

Aston Martin has also signed an agreement with Airbus Helicopters to apply some of the principles of luxury sports car design to Airbus’ ACH130 helicopter (for more on design trends in VIP helicopters, check also this other piece we did for CNN back in the day).

The first results of this cooperation were presented at the upmarket Alpine ski resort of Courchevel in early January 2020.