Aston Martin’s Q New York is the first in a series of ‘ultra-luxury’ flagship dealerships for the car maker, which is going all-out in a push towards the upper echelons of the auto market. The British company, with its tangled web of international shareholders, has weathered some precipitous ups and downs over the past decade, with seemingly the only possible salve being investment, and lots of it.
In Formula 1, the money hose seems to be finally paying off, with a strong showing so far in the 2023 season. The new DB12 will keep the company abreast of the competition in the luxury GT arena, and the lessons learned from designing and building the massively complex Valkyrie hypercar mean that Aston’s next mid-engine supercar, the Valhalla will also be a limited edition model and not a regular series production car.
All this is nothing without having physical footholds in your major markets. Aston is rightfully proud of manufacturing in the UK, and this heritage remains a strong draw for customers. Q New York brings an atmosphere of rakish British luxury to the Big Apple, combining event space, bespoke architectural elements and the latest technology.
The new site at 450 Park Avenue is open by appointment-only space, and intended for customers to commission, specify and even track the progress of their Aston Martin as it is hand-assembled and finished at Gaydon, in Warwickshire.
America is getting all the attention as the market for Astons is heating up, thanks in part to the DBX SUV. It’s also where Aston Martin’s bespoke Q service is on the rise; up 92 per cent last year. The company likes to think of Q by Aston Martin as tailoring for your car, with myriad material and colour options, all represented here.
Choosing between them isn’t always straightforward, which is why Q New York has a live video link to Aston Martin’s design team in Gaydon for advice and recommendations.
Their commission takes shape on a 35ft x 10ft ultra-HD LED wall, with the latest rendering technology creating a photorealistic preview of what they can expect. Those on the outside also get a good insight into the Aston world, thanks to the bespoke ‘champagne frame’ window that showcases a single car beneath a massive 2,100-bulb chandelier.
The space opens with the American debut of the DB12, alongside an Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro hypercar. Potential customers from outside New York will be offered a full concierge service, with travel, dining and accommodation suggestions provided by Aston Martin’s team.
With an architectural backdrop of grand windows, fireplaces, bold lighting and large scaled pieces of furniture, it’s as if a little slice of Eltham Palace or some similarly grand but esoteric modern country house has landed in Manhattan. Aston Martin has always had architectural ambitions, with recent projects including a townhouse designed for Tokyo, a condo tower finishing up in Miami and bespoke interiors for Adjaye Architects’ 130 William in New York.
‘Creating wondrous places, spaces and experiences are important design statements for us,’ says Marek Reichman, Aston’s executive vice president and chief creative officer, ‘This space is our version of creative performance design and precision craft at their finest – with sights and sounds, shapes and forms, and vivid colours and textured materials – all presented using the latest technology to provide customers with the engaging Aston Martin experience that they deserve.’
Q New York, 450 Park Avenue, New York, AstonMartin.com
