Considering its unmistakable retro styling and British provenance, you'd be forgiven for assuming the David Brown Automotive Speedback GT might share some bloodlines with Aston Martin. The fact that the car's benefactor shares a name with Aston founder David Brown—the famous marque's "DB" lineage is no coincidence—certainly doesn't do much to dispel the notion, but it just isn't so. The David Brown responsible for the Speedback GT that debuted in London last week is an entrepreneur with a background in engineering, manufacturing, and, most recently, brewing. His four-wheeled creation is the realization of his long-held dream of creating a car that was "designed, engineered, and hand-crafted in Britain."
Styling of the Speedback GT was entrusted to chief designer Alan Mobberley. His team honed the Speedback GT's shape with equal parts old- and new-school methods, first crafting full-scale clay models and then digitizing them in the name of aerodynamics and creating production-ready bodywork templates. Construction also combines techniques new and old, using computer-controlled milling machines to create traditional forming bucks, that in turn serve as a physical guide for craftsmen to reference while hand shaping the car's outer surface with an English wheel. In keeping with the hand-crafted theme, the company says more than 120 man-hours go in to the exterior finish alone.
The interior is just as you expect, trimmed extensively in leather, hand-crafted wood veneers, and aluminum finishes to create—or one might say, recreate—traditional old-world luxury.
Built on the aging architecture of the Jaguar XXR, the Speedback GT calls on the XKR's 510-hp, supercharged 5.0-liter V-8 to provide forward momentum. The coupe is rear-wheel drive and also employs the six-speed automatic transmission from the Jag. David Brown Automotive is quoting a 0-to-60-mph time of 4.6 seconds and a top speed of 155 mph, which, depending on the Speedback's as-yet undisclosed weight figure, seems perfectly achievable.
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We're thrilled that there's an individual with the means to navigate the shark-infested waters of the low-volume car business and keep alive the tradition of fitting bespoke bodywork to existing architecture. Here's hoping that Mr. Brown's accountants share his enthusiasm.
from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/nSHy27
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