The Allure of Period Colours

by J Kraus

Lord Brett Sinclair’s Bahama Yellow Aston Martin DBS in “The Persuaders!”

Ancient wisdom once held that in the vintage car market, red, white and black were the best colours for resale. However, as Bob Dylan once declared; The times they are a-changin’.

Early Porsche 911 collectors for example often seek out and pay a premium for the colours that made those cars unique to their time period: Signal Orange, Viper Green, Aubergine, Tangerine; even the more esoteric shades of Olive and Golden Green.

Flights of Fancy: The Space-Focused Nomenclature of the Jet Age

by J Kraus

1956 Aston Martin DB2/4 Supersonic by Ghia

The weapons of World War II gave the public their first-ever glimpse of the power and speed of jet and rocket engines. As hostilities drew to a close, engineers labored over their drawing boards to harness these new power sources for peacetime use.

The rocket-powered Bell X-1 aeroplane broke the sound barrier on 14 October 1947, achieving supersonic speed for the first time. BOAC commenced commercial jet travel in May of 1952. In 1958, commercial transatlantic jet service was inaugurated, and construction began on the Pan Am World Airways tower in New York City.

A number of auto manufactures found it desirable to infuse their products with a bit of this jet age glamour and space age allure.

Image from the Past

Sean Connery, smartly attired in a classic Slazenger V-neck sweater, poses with James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5, 1964. It was 45 years ago, in September of '64, that Goldfinger premiered in London at the Odeon Theater in Leicester Square. The New York premiere followed a few months later at the DeMille Theater in December. Although Goldfinger was the third James Bond film, it was the first in which his Aston Martin made an appearance. The Q-Branch-enhanced Silver Birch DB5 remains one of the most enduring automotive icons of the 1960’s. Photo: Everett Collection