Why Aston Martin went to P1?

[NightStalk3r]

Originally Posted by GT6

give AM a few years of success on the track

Thats the problem, they wont have any success in P1 while the diesels are around.

[isynge]

Evocative noise, great looking car, classic Gulf colours, and a bit of Aston Martin mojo.

I don't even think they need a few years of success, just a few years of presence and you'll start to see an increasing creep of merchandise and buzz about them.

That said, you'll need to sell a lot of t-shirts to raise the equivalent revenue of a DB9 - you also want to preserve a bit of exclusivity. I'm sure nobody at Aston Martin wants to become the next Burberry.

[JAG]

Originally Posted by Andy77

But Porsche runs this sideshow very well for decades

Porsche make 'GT' work from a marketing standpoint because they are there, year after year, it also helps they use the same base 911 model.

Corvette are following in their footsteps, and hopefully Ferrari will follow suit.

[Tim the Grey]

There is one hell of a lot of Gulf/Hackett/AMR kit sold with the LMS, and mega store volumes at LM24...

I'd love to know volumes, as it's not THAT many shirts at £80 a pop to cover that DBR9!

[NightStalk3r]

Originally Posted by Tim the Grey

There is one hell of a lot of Gulf/Hackett/AMR kit sold with the LMS, and mega store volumes at LM24...

Gulf is sold because it is Gulf, not because it is on the AMR, for instance we will be seeing Gulf on the grid at every LMS round this year, even though AMR wont be there.

[Tim the Grey]

Gulf/AMR shirts will be sourced by AMR. They will keep the profit from them.
Gulf get their reward by proxy, with all that free advertising!

Who cares WHY it's bought, Prodrive count merchandise sales as a revenue stream...

[JAG]

Originally Posted by NightStalk3r

But they don't, and no one cares who is the highest placed petrol in a class or who is the highest placed hybrid, highest placed car made out of gold etc

All that gets remembered is the class winners.

Panoz won GT2 a few years back, yet it's the P1's that are remembered, even though they were never all that successful at Le Mans.

The DBR9 GT1's were always that little bit more special than the average GT car, like the Mclaren F1 GTR's, but stepping back to GT2 with the V8 Vantage would have been a huge mistake, IMO.

[HORNDAWG]

Originally Posted by JAG

Panoz won GT2 a few years back, yet it's the P1's that are remembered, even though they were never all that successful at Le Mans.

The DBR9 GT1's were always that little bit more special than the average GT car, like the Mclaren F1 GTR's, but stepping back to GT2 with the V8 Vantage would have been a huge mistake, IMO.

Me thinks someone has been sniffing to many of them Gaydon fumes!!








L.P.

[NightStalk3r]

Originally Posted by Tim the Grey

Gulf/AMR shirts will be sourced by AMR. They will keep the profit from them.
Gulf get their reward by proxy, with all that free advertising!

Who cares WHY it's bought, Prodrive count merchandise sales as a revenue stream...

So your saying any profits from Gulf Oil merch sold this year in the LMS will goto AMR even though Gulf wont be on AMR in the LMS this year but on another car in another class?

[HORNDAWG]

Originally Posted by NightStalk3r

So your saying any profits from Gulf Oil merch sold this year in the LMS will goto AMR even though Gulf wont be on AMR in the LMS this year but on another car in another class?

Seems pretty clear if they are sourced by AMR they would get the proceeds from them.




L.P.

[Tim the Grey]

That's the way I see it...

And if the wind's in the right direction, yes, I CAN smell Gaydon from here!

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by NightStalk3r

Except at race meetings i see far more people wearing Porsche or Ferrari hats and t-shirts than Aston Martin.

Not so sure that's my experience. There was an awful lot of Gulf merchanise being worn at Le Mans last year.

[Tim the Grey]

That's not including folks who buy stuff, and NEVER wear it! The guys next to us bought a pair of the £80 shirts, EACH. They weren't opened at LM...

I reckon, Ayse, that revenue stream makes the difference for AMR.

[airbusA346]

Originally Posted by NightStalk3r

but on another car in another class?

Which car?

Tom.

[NightStalk3r]

Originally Posted by airbusA346

Which car?

Tom.

All will be revealed in due course.

[NightStalk3r]

Originally Posted by NightStalk3r

All will be revealed in due course.

http://www.endurance-info.com/versio...ance-4031.html

[airbusA346]

Originally Posted by NightStalk3r

even though Gulf wont be on AMR in the LMS this year

#009 has got Gulf logos on it.

http://www.pitlane-vision.com/index....tte&Itemid=119

Tom.

[NightStalk3r]

Originally Posted by airbusA346

#009 has got Gulf logos on it.

http://www.pitlane-vision.com/index....tte&Itemid=119

Tom.

My point was AMR are not doing the full season, Gulf's full season representative will be Applewood.

[GT6]

Even before AM came back to Le Mans, there was always Gulf shirts etc on sale at Le Mans, part of the legacy of a certain driver and proof that good advertising can keep a brand alive long after the last paid for placement has dissapeared.

[Tom87]

My gut instinct was to agree that Aston's P1 results are irrelevant compared to creating an evocative image. However whilst this is true, I would argue that their exposure is severly harmed by not having won Le Mans outright (in the last 50 years ).

If you asked my non-sportscar literate motorsport friends who races at Le Mans, the majority would all be able to name Peugeot and Audi because they have won at the top sportscar races (really only LM and to some extent Sebring in the eyes of most editors). I'm not convinced that many would be even aware of the Aston P1 programme.

On the other hand, many more people outside of sportscars are aware of the DBR9 as it won the major races (news headlines don't need to mention that it was only a subclass!), not to mention an appearance on Top Gear.

Just to clarify I totally agree that the reason Aston are in P1 is because it offers *potentially* the best opportunity for marketing and promotion of the brand. However I think without an outright victory at Le Mans, the project will remain somewhat unfinished.

....as a final thought - how many members of the public would pick out the XJR-9 as an iconic sportscar, compared to the XJR-14 (despite its international success in the WSPC)....

[Tim the Grey]

Joe Public wouldn't know any XJR from a Peugeot. Really.
Aston's ARE known, because of that Gulf scheme. He has seen that. Steve McQueen in that film, yeah? So it's a Porsche, then?
Ferraris are red, Porsches are blue and orange.

[gustavobamba]

In Autosport.com they said that prodrive isn´t thinking (for 2011) in F1, but instead in the WRC, what this could signified to the LMP1 Program?

I hope they really built an LMP1 for the next season

[Victor_RO]

Originally Posted by gustavobamba

In Autosport.com they said that prodrive isn´t thinking (for 2011) in F1, but instead in the WRC, what this could signified to the LMP1 Program?

I hope they really built an LMP1 for the next season

Prodrive have built Subarus for rallying, 550 Maranellos for GT racing and running the BAR team at the same time in the early 2000s, so running an Aston Martin LMP1 and a rally team should be "easy" for the company. So if they have the funding and blessing from Aston Martin, they'll run both programs at the same time without any issue.

[gustavobamba]

Originally Posted by Victor_RO

Prodrive have built Subarus for rallying, 550 Maranellos for GT racing and running the BAR team at the same time in the early 2000s, so running an Aston Martin LMP1 and a rally team should be "easy" for the company. So if they have the funding and blessing from Aston Martin, they'll run both programs at the same time without any issue.

Let´s hope so!!!

[Félix]

They're supposed to announce their WRC program with the new Mini pseudo-SUV anytime now. They also have an LMP design team, but are not working on building it for now.