As the director of product development at Aston Martin, Ian Minards, has seen the iconic brand from all possible angles. After graduating from Birmingham University with a mechanical engineering degree, he spent seven years working on prototype builds at Jaguar, most notably the XK8 project.
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After a short spell in consulting he moved to Aston’s former HQ at Newport Pagnell to run the ‘works service’ division, which allowed owners to have their cars serviced or even completely restored. At the time, Aston’s production consisted of V-cars – the models derived from the original, rather brutal 1989 Virage – and DB7s, built at the Bloxham factory in Oxfordshire.
Video: See Steve Cropley riding in the Aston Martin One-77
In 1999 Minards switched from fixing old Astons to being in charge of the gestation of a totally new model. He became chief programme engineer on the Vanquish, in many ways the engineering precursor to the current Astons. The car’s aluminium and carbonfibre chassis (developed with the help of Lotus Engineering) pushed the brand into engineering modernity and informed the basis of the VH platform that underpins all of the company’s current models.
View more pictures of the Aston Martin One-77
Right after the Aston Martin Vanquish launch Minards changed tack again, becoming the brand’s sales boss and dealing with franchises and dealer development. He says he enjoyed his time in the retail environment, but by 2004 he was back in engineering, overseeing the production launch of the V8 Vantage, the second (after the DB9) of the new-generation Astons.
New models
In 2006, the year before Ford sold Aston Martin to a consortium that included two Kuwaiti investment companies, Minards became product development director, from which point he has ushered in a flood of new models including the DBS, Rapide and Toyota iQ-derived Cygnet.
“We build exclusive, high-luxury sports cars,” says Minards. “Our engineering philosophy is of a balance of excellence attributes across the drivetrain performance, chassis and so on. Our product creation philosophy is based on the VH platform. “The ‘V’ is the shared structure: the bonded alloy monocoque, which we have made longer and shorter, as a two-seater and four-seater, and as a coupé and cabriolet.
View more pictures of the Aston Martin One-77
“The ‘H’ is shared commodities and systems: the transmissions, the HVAC [heating and ventilation], the sat-nav and so on. Perhaps the best example is the steering column, which is the same in all the cars, as is the airbag and the seat restraints. At the front end of the car we have a three-stage crash structure, which is also shared across the models.” The thinking behind the VH system will continue to be the basis of Astons for the foreseeable future, he says.
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Re: The man behind Aston's resurgence
Re: The man behind Aston's resurgence
When it comes time to change jobs Mr Minards needn't worry about constructing his CV, it appears one has been done for him.
Re: The man behind Aston's resurgence
To be given an apology is to be appreciated! Reassuring too, to see you read threads, Nick, not wait for the alarm bell to ring. No apology is needed, for I did not take offence. (I'm more moved by items stolen from my newly imported car! So much for dock security.) As you well know, social websites are rife with misjudgments issuing from poorly constructed statements, fractured sentences, and rushes to judgment. For me that makes them fascinating and deterring. The general air is one of strict conformity. There is only one way of seeing. But as you well know, two opposing views can co-exist. Only when one person holds both views simultaneously is there is a problem, made worse when that person presents two personalities.
But I veer off topic and stand to be rebuked for it!
This Aston thread, and the LR Defender, have me thinking there was a time back in the day when we were offered a knacker's yard of poorly designed and engineered cars, yet it was deemed patriotic to buy them. Now we are offered good cars and need no incentive to buy them, but we no longer own the companies. The pendulum has swung too far the wrong the way!