News
Club Tertre Rouge - Le Mans 24 Hours 2008
2008-07-07Once again, Club Tertre Rouge enjoyed its annual raid to Le Mans to join over 250,000 spectators in the North West region of France and witnessed a spell-binding, race-long battle between Peugeot and Audi. There was also another fantastic GT1 class win for Aston Martin's DBR9 - all top-class action in the 2008 Vingt Quatre Heures du Mans.
This year's event was eagerly awaited, not just for the Club Tertre Rouge party, but also in anticipation of the likelihood of one of the most closely contested sports car races of all time, featuring a host of major car manufacturers including Audi, Peugeot, Porsche, Chevrolet, Aston Martin and Ferrari. Fans and enthusiasts were not to be disappointed, with another memorable Le Mans weekend and a classic race.
In the leading LMP1 class, spectators witnessed an epic race-long duel between Audi and Peugeot - both using diesel-powered cars - that finished with a third win in a row for Audi with its R10. In the second Prototype class, LMP2, Porsche dominated with its RS Spyder. While in arguably the most popular and well-followed class, GT1, Aston Martin and Corvette once again renewed their 'era-defining' rivalry. This produced another tantalisingly close battle that ended in Aston Martin (the DBR9s now liveried in the iconic pale blue/orange Gulf colours) winning for a second, consecutive, year. Finally, in the GT2 class, Ferrari was victorious as its F430 GTC bettered the much-fancied Porsche 911 GT3 RSRs.
Further down the field, the Aston Martin-powered Lola LMP1 prototype made an impressive debut, finishing 9th overall. This was despite having lost much time in the pits with body damage after an early, quite serious, accident. On Sunday the car appeared to run like clockwork - maybe a portent for 2009?
Away from the track, Club Tertre Rouge (CTR), which is organised by Nicholas Mee & Company with the support this year of Aon Insurance, Classic & Sports Finance and classicdriver.com, once again provided inimitable weekend hospitality. Catering for 25 Aston Martin and racing enthusiasts, CTR also hosted a memorable pre-race party on the Friday night for over 150 guests.
Hosted again at CTR's home-from-home at the 'Le Mans 2008 - Club Tertre Rouge', located on the outskirts of Ruaudin and conveniently just 2km from the Tertre Rouge corner, Club Tertre Rouge allows guests to fully enjoy the Le Mans experience by providing comfortable accommodation, shuttle transport, ample sustenance and a great atmosphere. The CTR team provided the 'inside knowledge' and experience to allow guests to fully enjoy their Le Mans 24 Hours weekend!
On Friday evening Club Tertre Rouge welcomed over 150 guests to its Le Mans welcome party, along with a memorable selection of Aston Martin cars. Conceived to provide friends and contacts of Club Tertre Rouge with a welcome sanctuary from the circuit, the barbecue party and champagne reception - a regular feature of CTR's Le Mans package - guarantees to stoke up the anticipation of the race, particularly with appearances by competing teams and drivers.
Club Tertre Rouge this year also arranged for a band from the UK to provide musical entertainment. 'Who's Ya Daddy' certainly did not disappoint, attracting strong vocal support from party-goers, well into the early hours.
Friday night also saw a visit by drivers Peter Hardman and Nick Leventis, racing a DBR9 in GT1 that weekend for the Strakka Racing Team. The guests were afforded an opportunity to gain a fascinating insight into driving in the great race.
Many proud Aston Martin-owning guests arrived in their cars, displaying an impressive collection ranging from a freshly restored DB4GT and DB5 convertible, through a selection of 1980s V8s to many 'new era' cars such as a DB9 and several Vanquishes.
The Club Tertre Rouge organisers inspected the cars on display and presented two awards during the course of the evening. The award for the best presented car went to a fabulous 1988 V8 Efi (registration number C4 CBK) and, much to the crowd's delight, the 'Spirit of Le Mans' award went to a modified 450bhp Lagonda, driven to the event by an enthusiastic AMOC member. Both owners proudly accepted their invitations to jump on stage and collect their prizes.
So, 2008 turned out to be another fantastic year for both the Le Mans 24 Hours race and Club Tertre Rouge. An excellent and action-packed weekend was enjoyed by all!
The full photo gallery of this year's event can be viewed at www.clubtertrerouge.co.uk
Club Tertre Rouge are already counting down the days to the 2009 Le Mans 24 Hours and are planning next year's event (the 50th anniversary of Aston Martin's historic 1959 outright win), promising that the Club Tertre Rouge offering will be the biggest and best yet.
Please contact us should you be interested in registering your interest in joining the party next year - either as guests for the full weekend, or simply attending the Friday evening event.
Places for the 2009 Club Tertre Rouge weekend package are limited, so please contact us as soon as possible in order to avoid disappointment.
Club Tertre Rouge
Neal Garrard or Nicholas Mee
Nicholas Mee & Company
Brackenberry Garage
12 Wellesley Avenue
London W6 OUP
Email: info@nicholasmee.co.uk
Tel: +44(0)208 741 8822
'Wheeler Dealers', The Times Luxx supplement - Nicholas Mee & Co. featured
2008-05-14'The Times Luxx is a glossy lifestyle magazine dedicated to luxury and all the best things in life. The Times Luxx showcases the ultimate in luxury - from fashion and cars, to watches, art, wine, food and holidays.'
'When the editorial team at 'Luxx' were researching an article on supercar / prestige car dealers, we are delighted that they approached us. The article was to be a profile of four of the country's most respected and successful prestige and supercar dealerships with a view of changing the perception of car dealers. As we pride ourself on both our presentation and the level of intimate service we provide all of our customers, this feature was most appealing. It was satisfying to receive endorsement from such a high profile publication that appeals directly to our clients,' says Nicholas Mee.
The Times Luxx editorial and photographic team visited the Brackenberry showroom in March and kept the workshop and showroom team busy moving cars around and arranging lighting and props to capture several potential photographs for the article. The image that was finally selected for the feature was a fantastic black and white image of Neal Garrard standing alongside a stunning white 1964 DB5.
The article, entitled 'Wheeler dealers', featured in the glossy Luxx supplement in the 19th April edition of The Saturday Times. If you missed it, you are still view the article online at The Times web-site.
To launch the latest Times Luxx E-zine, please click below. Scroll through to the 'Wheeler dealers' feature and then use the next button to find the Nicholas Mee & Co. section.
Mechanic Required
2008-04-21Due to recent expansion in our workshop services, we wish to recruit another trained and experienced mechanic to join our team. Work and knowledge on Aston Martin and / or similar car's is essential. As is the ability to fit well, within a small but dedicated workforce. A pleasant environment, good salary and prospects, await the succesful candidate. Based in Hammersmith, West London. Some motor racing available.
Apply in the first instance to David Swadling on 0208 741 8822 or e-mail info@nicholasmee.co.uk
Club Tertre Rouge - Le Mans 24 Hours hospitality
2008-04-16Nicholas Mee & Co. are pleased to confirm that once again in 2008 it will be offering its 'Club Tertre Rouge' weekend fully inclusive hospitality packages for the Le Mans 24 Hours, which this year takes place 13-15 June.
Club Terte Rouge still has a limited number of places available.
Full information and booking details are included on our invitation which is available by downloading the pdf by clicking on the link below. Alternatively, please contact Neal Garrard on 0208 741 8822 for more information.
Click here to download information
Aston Martin Specialists, Nicholas Mee & Company announce future strategy
2008-04-11Nicholas Mee & Co. is delighted to announce its exciting plans for the future and recent developments which will ideally position the company to benefit from the continued increased interest in Aston Martin. This strategy will see Nicholas Mee & Co. expand its operations and become more active in the sales of ‘New Era’ Aston Martin cars, consisting of the DB7, V12 Vanquish, DB9, V8 Vantage and forthcoming DBS models.
Commenting on this new strategy, Managing Director, Nicholas Mee says; ‘During the last five years, I have been delighted to witness the dramatic growth in interest in the Aston Martin brand and the advancements in product development and sales and marketing the company has made under the stewardship of the Ford organisation and its recent new owners. Based upon our solid foundation of almost 20 years trading history, over the last 12 months I have been restructuring the business and planning for the future to ideally position ourselves to benefit from this growth. Complimentary to our successful Classic Aston Martin operations, I have undertaken a number of initiatives to establish the required resource and infrastructure to become considerably more active in the sales and servicing of the most recent Aston Martin models.
Within these initiatives, Nicholas Mee & Co. announces the recruitment of Neal Garrard as Manager of its ‘New Era’ Operations. Neal joins Nicholas Mee & Co. following a successful career in the Automotive and Motor Racing industries, including a period as Commercial Manager of the prestigious Aston Martin Racing programme.
Nicholas Mee comments; ‘I am delighted that Neal has joined us at this very exciting period of the company’s history. Neal’s knowledge of the automotive industry, combined with his extensive contact list and flair for Sales and Marketing, is a significant addition to our business. Neal will provide general support for the business and more specifically lead our expansion into the sales and servicing of the new model Aston Martin’s.
Neal Garrard comments ‘I am excited to be joining Nicholas Mee & Co. at a time when the Aston Martin brand is enjoying such success. Having previously been in contact with Nicholas during my time at Aston Martin Racing, I was always an admirer of the business and the success it has enjoyed in the last 17 years.
Both Nicholas and I share a passion for the Aston Martin brand and the vision that Nicholas Mee & Co. can extend its operations to reinforce its position as London’s leading Aston Martin specialists, providing first class sales and service facilities in both Classic and ‘New Era’ model areas. I am confident that we have the knowledge and infrastructure at our disposal to offer clients a highly professional, passionate and trustworthy service.’
In 2008, Nicholas Mee & Co. now enters into its 17th year of operations and is located in the Brackenbury Village area of Hammersmith, West London in a fully equipped 6,700 sq.ft sales showroom and service facility.
For all enquiries relating to Classic Aston Martin please contact Nicholas Mee, Managing Director.
For all enquiries relating to ‘New Era’ Aston Martin, please contact Neal Garrard, Manager – New Era.
To view our current stocklist, please click here: www.nicholasmee.co.uk/stocklist.php
'No Mr Bond, I expect you to buy'.
2008-01-16An outstanding Aston Martin Works built recreation of our favourite secret agents car is being put up for sale.
The most accurate recreation of the Aston Martin V8, as used in the Eon productions 007 film ‘The Living Daylights’. Made in 1985 the movie starred Timothy Dalton and Maryam D’Arbo.
Recreated by Aston Martins ‘Works Service’ division the restored Aston Martin V8 is equipped with a full set of Commander Bonds extras, as originally created by the late Desmond LLewelyn’s character ‘Q’ Extras included outboard skis, rockets, wheel mounted lazer’s, a rocket powered booster and other munitions to help secret agent 007 escape his pursuers.
The recreated car, is also fitted with the more powerful Vantage engine with suitable brake and suspension up-grades. Complete with the original registration number B549 WUU, the restored car, which took two years to complete, is available for the fist time since it’s faithful creation, which was originally commissioned, by a James Bond memorabilia collector. Of the several cars used in the making of the film, only the convertible V8 Volante used in the film's opening sequences still exists, in working form.
Aston Martin Works Service director Kingsley Riding-Felce, commented on the news ‘Recreating the V8 to the same specification as the Bond car, gave us many challenges. Our own team of restoration agents, really enjoyed the challenge of restoring this unique car. I would like to think ‘Q’ would have been happy with the end result’
Details on the car's stock page or call 0044 (0)208 741 8822
Racing - Spa 6 hours endurance
2007-10-19Since 2002 we have been involved in the building, preparing and running of a DB4 and laterly a famous Austin Healey 3.0 litre in motorsport. This year as well as the Le Mans legends and Silverstone Classic race days we also ran the A-H in the most grueling and longest race of the season at Spa in Belgium. The six hours is a not stop race run over six hours, on the famous circuit at Spa Francorchamp in Belgium. A real test of man and machines durability. DD 300 the ex-works A-H, which ran at Le Mans in 1960/61/62, was run by our team and this year completed the course without missing a beat.
As restorers and preparers we would like to congratulate the drivers, Christean Van Lanschot and Karsten Le Blanc and our mechanics, most ably headed by our senior engineer David Swadling, on a job well done. The last race of this season, a 3 hour race, on November 3/4 at Paul Ricard in France see the end of a good year for Nicholas Mee & Cos motorsport activities. Next season a full programme of racing, across the UK and Europe is planned.
New website up and running
2006-08-16As you may have noticed, we have our new website up and running now - as well as a new look and feel, we now have links to our new services including:
- Finance links from each car
We hope you enjoy using the new site and welcome any comments.
New Parts Department
2006-01-11We are extremely pleased to announce the addition of Carl Seager to our growing company. Carl who apprenticed at the Aston Martin factory in 1967 has worked with the marque for his entire working life and more recently has become a renowned expert in the procurement and sales of aston Martin parts.
Available on the phone on 00 44 (0)208 741 8822 or through e-mail, parts@nicholasmee.co.uk. Carl brings nearly 40 years of knowledge and experience. For all parts, either for routine service works or those difficult to find parts, we can assist you.
Web Prize Winner.
2005-02-17Readers of Fullbore, our house newsletter, may recall being asked to make suggestions on our web site presentation and for feed back on how we could improve its appeal.
We are delighted to confirm that we have a winner. A Hertfordshire man, who knows a good car when he sees one and quite obviously is Net Savvy. He has hopefully by now received his prize, a pair of David Brown Aston Martin cufflinks.
To everyone else who bothered to give us your comments, they were gratefully received and we would like to thank you for your input.
Watch this space !
Going at Fullbore
2005-02-10Existing customers and friends of the company are already aware of our newsheet entitled Fullbore. Sent out periodically we have found it an excellent way to keep in touch, of letting all our contacts know of our activities, as well as keeping all informed of our latest services and stock of cars. The latest issue is out now with comments, news and snippets.
To obtain a free copy please feel free to contact us on 0044 (0)20 8741 8822 so we can post one to you, while stocks last.