ASTON MARTIN COLLABORATE WITH AIRBUS TO MAKE A HELICOPTER
Yup, that's right, Aston Martin now have a helicopter for sale, courtesy of their collaboration with Airbus.
To cover most of the luxury market, Aston Martin has been on a roll lately. First, it was their Valkyrie hypercar, then their DBX SUV and, in late 2019, a limited-edition motorcycle – not to mention their foray into submarines.
But that wasn't good enough for Aston, they wanted to offer their customers even more, so they got in touch with Airbus to talk about their ACH130 helicopter.
According to the British car manufacturers design head, Marek Reichmann, “Buyers of the standard ACH130 are the same as our Valkyrie buyers or buyers of our limited edition Zagato models. We don’t build cars that are necessary or needed – we build cars that are desired. And, like our cars, this is targeted at the sector of society which can afford that desire.”
And desirable the ACH130 Aston Martin Edition is. To comply with air safety regulations, the chopper is a standard Airbus ACH130 lightweight single-rotor passenger helicopter underneath, but the bodywork and interior are all bespoke Aston Martin.
This means that, besides the seat frames, seat foam, safety harnesses and flight controls, everything else is swathed in Aston Martin luxury. The carpets, leather and micro-suede is curtesy of their Valkyrie, while their DB11 donated the carbon fibre front row seat backs and leather saddlebags. To top off the affair, the chopper's registration number is emblazoned on the instrument panel.
The outside panelling is offered in one of four colours; Xenon Grey, Arizona Bronze, Ultramarine Black and a unique Stirling Green livery, and the rotor cowling has the Aston Martin Lagonda's initials complimenting the helicopter's unique serial number.
Even with a price tag inevitably way north of the £2.4 million required for the standard Airbus version, Reichmann feels that his target market won't bat an eyelid for the opportunity to own such luxury.
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