Bonding session

This is a car on a mission, and a generous car lover can join the mission by stumping up a huge wad of cash for the Aston Martin Vantage Gulf Blue Edition pictured here in the foyer of The Peninsula Hong Kong.

The car is part of the charity event Auction4Wildlife, a global initiative by Hong Kong-based charity MF Jebsen Nature Conservation Foundation. The auction for the car, which was donated by Aston Martin Hong Kong, closes at 6pm on June 5.

The local Aston Martin dealership is a subsidiary of MF Jebsen International Group, which, along with the charitable organization, is chaired by entrepreneur and conservationist Markus Jebsen.

It's highly unlikely that another unit of the Aston Martin Vantage Gulf Blue Edition will be available to the Hong Kong market.

Aston Martin has made only 12 units of the car in Gulf Blue livery, and the one being displayed at The Peninsula is the only unit in Hong Kong. If anyone would like a price reference, the car has a sticker tag of HK$3.48 million, inclusive of first registration tax. Bidding starts at HK$900,000, exclusive of FRT.

Half of the proceeds from the successful bid will go to the Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden, and the successful bidder can choose the beneficiary for the rest of the amount from a designated list of eight local and international organizations.

The Gulf Blue is part of the Aston Martin Vantage Heritage Racing Edition collection of six specially developed liveries.

Unveiled in 2019 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the brand's outright Le Mans 1-2 success in 1959, Aston Martin created the collection in honor of the brand's racing heritage.

Collectively, no more than 60 units of the collection are to be produced, according to Aston Martin.

Livery aside, each Heritage Racing Edition comes with a unique carbon fiber front splitter, a rear spoiler and side skirts. There are also exclusive side trims and a set of matt black wheels.

This is the second time Markus Jebsen has donated an Aston Martin model in the name of wildlife conservation. In an auction held in partnership with Formula 1 in 2019, the businessman contributed an Aston Martin One-77 to raise fund for African Parks, an organization that works to conserve Africa's wildlife and remaining wild areas.

If "racing car" is not the first thing people associate with Aston Martin, it must be James Bond.

The British carmaker knows this, and for that reason used cutting-edge laser scan technology and new materials to make a small production of Aston Martin DB5 Goldfinger Continuation replicas.

The original DB5 made the brand's Bond film debut in 1964 with Goldfinger, featuring Sean Connery and "Golden Girl" Shirley Eaton.

In the vehicle, which costs around HK$30 million exclusive of FRT, as it is not homologated to license anywhere in the world, the Aston Martin Works division has replicated the original's four-liter six-cylinder engine and ZF five-speed manual gearbox.

And the gadgets? Yes, there are a lot of them.

Front and rear bumper rams, switchable license plate, smokescreens, oil slicks, and the bulletproof metal plate to protect the world's most known secret agent, you name it.

Of course the machine guns set inside the front indicators will not actually be any kind of lethal weapon.

Unlike the Vantage Gulf Blue Edition, this is not for auction or sale; it is a part of Markus Jebsen's prized personal collection.

staff.reporter@singtaonewscorp.com

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