Amid Growing "Question of Future" Aston Martin Named UK's Coolest Brand

September 25, 2006: Aston Martin was announced as the UK's coolest brand last week at the exclusive CoolLive event held at the ‘Gymnasium’ in King’s Cross. CoolBrands is an unprecedented initiative from the Superbrands organisation and is considered a key barometer of the nation’s coolest brands, people and places.

At its core is the CoolBrands Council who judge which brands have successfully created a cool reputation at this moment in time. This year’s council includes MTV presenter and Radio One DJ Trevor Nelson, designer Ben de Lisi and Dazed & Confused Editor, Nicki Bidder. Adding a further dimension to the expert opinion and new for 2006, Superbrands has joined forces with YouGov, the UK’s most accurate research agency, to ask the consumers themselves which brands they rate as ‘CoolBrands’.

Stephen Cheliotis, Chairman of the CoolBrands Council for 2007 commented, ‘with ever-evolving trends and interpretations of what is ‘Cool’, this vital step forward makes the consumer knowledge and experience a fundamental part of the programme.’

Under the leadership of Dr Ulrich Bez, CEO since July 2000, Aston Martin has undergone a transformation, and can now boast a line-up of three class-leading cars, the Vanquish S, the DB9 and the V8 Vantage. They will soon be joined by the convertible V8 Vantage and the high performance DBS coupe which has a starring role in the latest James Bond film, Casino Royale. These cars, produced at a class leading production facility at Gaydon in Warwickshire, have helped the company gather a collection of awards from the automotive and design industries.

Aston Martin has embraced change without compromising the qualities that have made it one of the world’s best-known high performance luxury car brands. The CoolBrand status confirms that the company's exciting, design-led programme of new models, an enhanced dealer experience and an unparalleled attention to detail, has made a major impact both in the automotive sphere and in the broader world of international culture.