17.03.2023

Reborn and Reimagined: How we refurbished The 2008 Aston Martin DBS into the clients dream car!


Over the winter months our team have been working on an exciting project to refurbish and customise a 2008 Aston Martin DBS for a client. Now in Spring, we are excited to share with you the outcome and the fun we had working on this project. This project has enabled Nicholas Mee to demonstrate the scope of what we can do as an Aston Martin specialist for clients at our Essendonbury Farm home in Hertfordshire and inspire ideas for future refurbishments and customisations for other Aston Martin owners and enthusiasts.

Peter Rugman, Workshop Supervisor and Adam Chappell, Trim & Upholstery Specialist, run you through the various upgrades carried out to this car.

The remit from our client for their Aston Martin

Last year a client of ours expressed an interest in purchasing a new Aston Martin. The clients requirements were very specific with a remit for an Aston Martin of excellent quality and something they could cherish for the long-term. They also wanted a model that was not black, grey or silver and with over 70% of cars being produced in black, silver or grey you can understand why the client wanted something a little different and unique. Our sales team selected the Aston Martin DBS. The Aston Martin DBS has already established itself as a desirable vehicle amongst drivers and enthusiasts. Built between 2007 and 2012 with only around 970 examples built with the 6-speed manual making it a relatively rare car.

2018 Aston Martin DBS car

The initial inspection of the Aston Martin DBS

Once the Aston Martin DBS arrived our team were able to inspect the car and whilst it was in overall very good condition there were some stone chips and surface corrosion on the vehicle. The vehicle also benefited from having a low mileage of just 16,000 miles. Our team carried out the repairs and maintenance required. We carried out a full paint and body re-spray in Tempest Blue to ensure the consistency of paint finish and colour match. Just 9 cars were created with the colour Tempest Blue, which is a colour that changes depending on the light and conditions.

How we customised the interior of the Aston Martin DBS

The next step was to personalise the Aston Martin DBS to meet the clients requirements. When inspecting the interior the vehicle leather panels and Rear Parcel Shelf on the dashboard had suffered shrinkage caused by UV light over the years. As a result we changed these and in discussion with the client put in dark grey Alcantara leather to match the seats and headlining. Some of this included changing the Upper Dash Panels, Instrument Binnacle, Carbon Fibre Gear Leaver Surround and Rear Parcel Shelf. The Steering Wheel was also re-trimmed along with the Headlining with contrast red stitching. This gave the vehicle a unique and smart interior.

Lastly, we upgraded the vehicles entertainment system to allow it to connect to a smartphone with Apple Car Play or Android Auto integration.

How we customised the exterior of the Aston Martin DBS

With personalisation done we now turned our attention to the exterior of the Aston Martin DBS. At the front the silver Grille has been replaced by a smart black Grille seen on more recent car models and helping to give the car a more contemporary look. Next the silver Side Strakes have been replaced with sleek carbon fibre Trims and black Side Strake meshes. These extend to the bonnet also. Standard Wing Mirror covers have been upgraded to carbon fibre and at the rear we have upgraded the Rear Light Clusters and Infills to carbon fibre. Black tail pipe finishes complete the look. Finally we applied full body PPF coverage to protect the paintwork for many years to come.

We will be shortly handing over the Aston Martin DBS to our client who is very much looking forward to driving it and attending various events this coming motoring season. We hope that you have enjoyed the video and if it has inspired you in anyway to consider any of the upgrades featured, we would be delighted to hear from you.

2018 Aston Martin DBS car

Upgrades featured in this video for the Aston Martin DBS

Interior fit

This work was carried out by Nicholas Mee on a bespoke basis by our Trim and Upholstery team - Find out more about our service and aftercare team at Nicholas Mee here

1. Upper dash panels retrimmed in dark grey alcantara with contrasting red stitching - Bespoke.

2. Instrument binnacle retrimmed in dark grey alcantara with contrasting red stitching – Bespoke.

3. Rear parcel shelf retrimmed in dark grey alcantara and obsidian black hide with contrasting red stitching – Bespoke.

4. Steering wheel retrimmed in dark grey alcantara with contrasting red stitching – Bespoke.

5. Gear knob gaiter retrimmed in dark grey alcantara with contrasting red stitching – Bespoke.

6. Headlining retrimmed in obsidian black hide with, contrasting red stitching, alcantara centre stripe and red leather pin stripe – Bespoke.

Parts fitted

Click on the product items to view the items in the Aston Store

1. Carbon fibre centre fascia panel

A: Manual car

B: Auto car

2. Carbon fibre gear shift surround product

3. Black finish front grille product

4. Black mesh kit –

A: Left Hand Drive product

B: Right Hand Drive product

5. Carbon fibre wing mirror covers product

6. Clear rear lamp kit with black edging – Message us directly for ordering

7. Carbon fibre rear light infills product

8. Black textured tail pipe finishers product

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