Silver Birch with Obsidian hides
| Our Cars - 2005 Aston Martin Vanquish S Silver Birch with Obsidian hides |
by Dan Mooney |
Other cars
in the CJ fleet |
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Odometer - 5,049
Nothing much to report with the Vanquish other than she continues to perform beautifully. This week the odometer clicked over 5,000 miles, which I managed to capture in a photo on the way to work. About the same time I noticed that the large central speaker grille on the rear parcel shelf had begun to pull away from the surrounding leather. This happened on my previous Vanquish a few years ago, and I recalled what a PITA it had been to fix! The offending speaker grille was front and center in my rear view mirror, so immediately upon arrival at the TCJ Workshops I asked Carlos to resecure the grille. The photos below show the work in progress, as well as Carlos installing some new foam in the driver's armrest to restore its shape after my left elbow had formed an indentation.
Earlier this month I had Wesley and his team at Pristine Auto Detailing do a full Stage Two paint correction and ceramic coating, and the car looks absolutely superb.
That's about it for now!
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| The odometer rolled over 5,000miles while
doing about 1/3 of the car's top speed potential |
Central speaker grille slowly sinking |
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| Access not the best beneath the rear
parcel shelf! |
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| Carlos replaced the foam and reglued the
speaker grille |
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| Hopefully good for another 5,000 miles |
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| Note offending speaker grille in my rear
view mirrror |
Some new foam also required in the
driver's arm rest |
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| Restored to original shape and new
condition |
Odometer - 4,622
Having a little fun listening to the Quick Silver Super Sport exhaust earlier today!
Odometer - 4,498
We performed an annual service on 12/5/19 at 4,447 miles, and had the car inspected and emission tested 12/5/19 at 4,498 miles. The only additional service item was the replacement of the screen washer bottle. The car has continued to perform flawlessly.
Although the interior of the Vanquish S is virtually as new, the center armrest foam had started to sag recently as a result of my lazy right elbow. I decided to drive the car to work today and have Carlos remove the armrest and install new closed cell foam beneath the hide, before reinstalling it in the car.
I really am very lucky to have a team of world class technicians available to help me with my personal cars!
Total miles - 4,250
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| Always a pleasure to drive the Aston to
work |
Indentation left by my lazy right elbow |
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| Carlos peeled back the hide cover and
replaced the closed cell foam beneath |
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| Armrest now looks new again |
One of my all-time favorite car interiors |
This magnificent Aston Martin Vanquish S may just be the best car I have ever owned. I love the muscular styling, the sumptuously comfortable cabin, and of course the menacing howl of the V12 engine. Having covered just 3,800 miles since it was personally ordered by racing and business legend Roger Penske, it is as close to new condition as any 2005 car could possibly be. I seriously doubt there is a better Vanquish S anywhere in the world. Mechanically the car is absolutely flawless and a joy to drive.
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| I treated the hides to an Autoglym
Leather Balm massage over the weekend |
Possibly my favorite automotive cabin of
all time (it smells as good as it looks) |
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I took advantage of an absolutely beautiful fall afternoon in Austin today and went cruising in the Aston. While I was out the milometer turned over 3333, which I felt had to be a good omen!
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| Silver Birch paint looks beautiful in the
late afternoon sun |
Stunning car in an equally beautiful
setting |
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| 3,333 joyous miles! |
Last week we installed a new Quick Silver Super Sport exhaust in the Vanquish S. The good folk at Quick Silver in England, whose high quality products I have been enjoying for many years, kindly agreed to make me a custom exhaust that promised a few more decibels over their usual offering. In fairness the car already sounded pretty sporty as the vacuum had been disconnected from the silencer exhaust flaps. With the new Quick Silver system the Aston now sounds absolutely fantastic. Engine start-up and idle sound way more aggressive than stock, and at higher rpm, the pipes emit a menacing howl.
Click on the photo below for a short video clip of engine firing and idle.
Fitting the Super Sport system was a breeze, as we have come to expect with Quick Silver's products, with the entire installation taking around 4 hours. As an additional benefit, the new QS system weighed in at just over 26 lbs, representing a saving of almost 50 lbs over the OEM unit.
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| The Quick Silver Super Sport system
tips the scales at 26lb 7oz |
With the rear pan removed, the OEM
system is easy to access |
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| OEM system removed |
OEM system weighs 75 lbs !! |
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| QS system uses OEM exhaust tips, so
there is no visible change from stock appearance |
I am absolutely thrilled to have recently acquired this spectacular 2005 Aston Martin Vanquish S. This is a very special car, first owned by racing and business legend Roger Penske, who special ordered the Silver Birch paint. I understand this is one of just two cars in this color, the other being a RHD Vanquish S in England. Mr Penske only put 580 miles on the car during his six years of ownership, and the car had only covered a total of 2,400 miles at the time I bought it.
I had originally thought I might have one of the Aston Martin Works 6 speed manual transmissions installed, but the paddle shifted manual transmission works exceptionally well and I have actually been enjoying using it much more than I did with my previous Vanquish S. So far all I have done is put some new Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires in each corner (although I have kept the original Yokohamas for posterity) and my friends at Quick Silver Exhausts in England are making me a custom Super Sports exhaust system.
The Vanquish is currently with Bespoke Paint Protection in Cedar Park having the old clear protective film removed and replaced on the front bumper and splitter.
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| I love the muscular stance of the
Vanquish S |
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| The interior of this Vanquish is
literally as new |
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| A Vanquish S has more hide per square
inch of cabin than any other car I have owned! |
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| The Vanquish even came with a matching
pedal car! |
An appropriate new license plate |
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| A Quick Silver Super Sport exhaust will
be installed in the next few days |
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| This is what the underside of a 200 MPH
car looks like! |
Engine is hidden behind aerodynamic cover |