Page 57 - Bespoke Issue

WORDS CRAIG BLAKE-JONES IMAGES JENNIFER SCHAUERTE
For me the pierce de resistance was the key fob and its presentation. As a proud owner of a Speedback your key, which is coated in the very same leather as your seats, with buttons matching your brightware nish, is presented in a glorious wooden case (to match your wood choice) along with a Silver pen that bares the inscription of your individual chassis number. The commissioning process can sometimes take months as customers get so involved and certain changes can be made as the car takes shape. A customer portal involves the client in the build journey at every stage and they can see their car gradually take its form.
We move from the commissioning suit to the factory oor, passing through the trim shop on the mezzanine level with its hanging leathers and interior mouldings ready for the touch of a craftsman, down the stairs to the build bays where
there are a number of Speedbacks in various stages of build, including what we now know is the Silverstone Edition. Opposite the Speedback bays are the Mini build bays each car is completely hand built and the nishes to both models are equally scrutinised though the build process. A Speedback will take 8000 man-hours over a 11- 13 month build programme and the Mini is a 1000 hour build as the engineering options are less and they are offered with less bespoke options. Here today are a Mini Café Racer model and a Mote Carlo model, both of which are limited editions of 25 cars each and we see the rst full production Mini road car almost nished.
After a detailed factory tour it is time to take the Speedback demonstrator out for a spin around the Oxfordshire countryside. Slipping into the Ruby Tuesday coloured GT, with its Tan leather interior I place the key fob in the cup holder, put on my sun glasses and press the starter button. The familiar sound of the 5ltr Jaguar V8 became a background burble as I closed to door encasing myself in perfectly tted leather. Dialling the knob to drive, again the Jaguar controls were the same as my Range Rover I eased out of the car park and out onto the open road. With a bit of throttle she comes to life, the authentic V8 snarl is loud enough for effect, but never obtrusive, the tort XKR chassis feels lovely and is perfectly married to the coach-built body work. The paddles are available on the steering column, but I didn’t feel the need to go manual today, this is a tourer, very relaxed and smooth. The ride is smooth but with enough feedback from the road to remind you you’re in a sports car. The two small rear seats make it a two plus two rather than a four seater, but the luggage space is perfect for a Grand Tourer, there’s even be space to collect a few cases of wine on your travels...
It is the attention to detail that I love about all the David Brown Automotive cars, the badges are like pieces of jewellery, in fact they are made by a Jeweller in Birmingham’s famous Jewellery Quarter,
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