ACH130 A S TON MAR TIN E DITION
032 businessjetinteriorsinternational.com
APRIL 2020
“We work
alongside other
luxury segments
and distil lots of
influence that
would be very
second-hand
otherwise”
this project than the firm’s usual programmes,
because helicopters are noisy. “We went out on the inaugural flight over
London and clearly the headphones deaden a lot of the sound, but you
could sense that more sound was absorbed in the cabin because of the
materials, particularly the soft trimmings behind the head,” he says.
When asked what elements he is most pleased with, Reichman
points to several details, some more subtle than others. “What you don’t
see in the pictures is how cosseting the environment is as soon as you
put in a different material, such as the supple leather, which also adds
to the sound absorbency.”
DEVIL IN THE DETAILS
He also points to the little clasps that hold the rear passenger headphones
to the bulkhead, finished in saddle leather. “Then there are unique things
you don’t see straight away, such as the blankets wrapped behind your
head,” says Reichman. “If you’ve ever travelled long distances in
helicopters, you’ll know it can sometimes get quite chilly around the
knees, so the blankets are there to help. Helicopter interiors are not like
those of luxury jets; they are far more functional in terms of their base
materials and that’s why you get a heightened sense of luxury as soon
as you use a non-airline industry material.”
Aston Martin has also designed luggage to fit into
the ACH130’s luggage space, a challenge for
designers more used to a sportscar’s
regular, if small, boot. “It’s not like the
trunk of a car, which has a square
volume,” says Reichman. “This is
a very unusually shaped volume,
and we wanted to maximise that
while also making sure the
luggage looks beautiful when
not in the space.”
WHO MAKES WHAT
In terms of the manufacturing,
ACH will assemble the green
aircraft in France and complete
the cabin interior in Oxford, UK,
serendipitously close to Aston Martin’s
Gaydon headquarters. Reichman says the
CAN YOU JUST…?
Aston Martin has been exploring
avenues other than high-end
sportscars for some time.
Its portfolio includes a flying
car project with Rolls-Royce,
skyscrapers being built in Miami,
Florida, and even a submersible
project with Triton Submarines.
“It started out nearly 12 years
ago with these projects we called
‘Can you just…?’”, Aston Martin’s
design director Miles Nurnberger
explains. “Literally a customer
would come in and say, ‘Can you
just... design me a house’, ‘a hot
air balloon’, all these different
things. And over the years, it
basically became obvious there
was a business in this.
“Most brands license their
name. It was attractive to us
because there’s not just a financial
contribution to the company but
a cultural contribution too. We
work alongside other luxury
segments and distil lots of
influence that would be very
second-hand otherwise. The
difference, probably, between us
and many others doing this, is that
our car designers – the interior,
exterior and colour and materials
designers – also work on those
projects. So the guy who did the
Vantage is working directly on
the next flying car. In fact, some
of the theme for that flying car
came from Valkyrie.”
ABOVE: THE HELICOPTER FLYING
OVER LONDON, UK
BELOW LEFT: A DETAIL FROM
THE LUGGAGE COMPARTMENT
special leathers will be trimmed by Aston
Martin craftspeople and delivered to ACH
for final fit, before Aston Martin staff
return for a final inspection.
Exact prices for the ACH130 Aston
Martin Edition will vary due to the likely
personalisation of each of the five
earmarked for production every year, but
expect prices to be some way north of the
circa €2.8m (US$3.1m) starting price for
a regular ACH130.
Details include
embossed Aston
Martin wings on
leather features
/businessjetinteriorsinternational.com