The V8 Vantage which earlier this year became the first car to cross the Asian Highway will go under the hammer for charity at the Bonhams Important Collectors’ Motor Cars, Pioneer and Vintage Motorcycles and Fine Automobilia auction on December 3 at Olympia in London.
The V8 Vantage which had previously completed 100,000 miles of durability testing was driven from Tokyo to London in a 10,000 mile feat of endurance taking 49 days and crossing through 18 countries.
Driving Home Road Safety was a project aimed to highlight the toll of children’s deaths on the world’s roads and was supported by the Make Roads Safe and Road Safety is no Accident campaigns. The project aims to raise more than €100,000 for UNICEF China to provide road safety tools such as educational books and reflective tape to help reduce the horrific child death toll on China’s roads.
Drivers Richard Meredith and Phil Colley skilfully guided the Vantage through terrain unbefitting to a low slung sports car, experiencing extreme heat, incomplete roads, and bureaucracy to hamper their progress.
David King, Head of Product Communications said: “I am delighted the car performed faultlessly for what was the V8 Vantage’s most challenging test to date.
“China is our newest market, so it is particularly fitting that we are already able to contribute to the local and national community.”
Richard said: “Our V8 Vantage behaved perfectly despite occasional low grade fuel which was all we could lay our hands on in the ‘Stans’, and the rough terrain experienced – we didn’t experience a single problem with the car.
“The car is a piece of history now, and I am thrilled that Aston Martin has decided on its auction,” said Richard. “In the same amount of time it took us to complete our 49 day trip an estimated 150,000 people were killed on the world’s roads – a figure which includes 25,000 children. I hope that the money will go someway to help resolve this tragic problem.”
The car will be sold in its original form complete with sponsors’ livery, dirt and knocks from the trip. All money raised from the auction will be sent to the UNICEF China fund.
