CAFÉ RACER 76

dimanche 9 mars 2014

Nicholas Mee & Co: Specialising in Heritage

Having spent 16 years with Aston Martin from 1976 to 1991 – a large portion of that time reporting directly to then-CEO Victor Gauntlett – few know more about its cars than Nicholas Mee. Classic Driver visited the Heritage specialist outlet which he set up back in 1991…

Using official parts is a vital factor that guarantees not only reliability, but also that all-important originality

Fast-forward to today and his company has grown exponentially: it’s now made up of a 20-car showroom in a prime location in London (sales have doubled since its opening last year due to raised visibility), with a large purpose-built workshop located nearby dedicated to servicing and maintaining customer cars. It also houses an extensive stock of official Aston Martin Heritage parts, which are supplied to trade and private customers. Being one of only five official AM Heritage specialists in the UK, using official parts is a vital factor that guarantees not only reliability, but also that all-important originality.

Prime examples from DB to Vanquish S

The company aims to offer 15-20 cars for sale at any one time, all being prime examples – from the DB cars right up to the ‘New Era’ machines, including the previous-generation Vanquish S. The company has guided many cars through different ownerships over their lifetimes, with a hand in not only the buying and selling process, but also all aspects of servicing, maintenance and Aston Martin ownership in general.

One of five official AM Heritage specialists in the UK

“Our aim is to supply superior quality cars into our client park, and to encourage the owner to maintain them correctly in order to fully enjoy their ownership,” says Nicholas. “Beyond that, we welcome the owner and their car when they return – whether to exchange for a different model or just to sell – in the knowledge that we can offer an above-average price, and have another quality car to stock and re-sell. A win-win for all.” With the majority of customers becoming repeat buyers, this business model seems to be appreciated.

Photos: Alex P. / Joe Breeze

Leg 2 - 2014 WRC Rally Mexico

YAMAHA DT50 MX BY HÅKAN PERSSON

Håkan Persson is one of those curiously talented people that seems to be frustratingly good at everything he puts his mind to.

Take this bike for example – it started life as a stock Yamaha DT50MX (pictured inset left) and despite the fact that this is only his second attempt at building a custom motorcycle, he managed to put together the extraordinary and unusual bike you see pictured above.

The Yamaha DT50MX was originally released in June 1981 as a replacement for the DT50M, the design was so good that it remained largely unchanged for 15 years – when it was replaced in 1996 with the Yamaha DT50R.

The rear suspension on the DT50MX has always interested me, it uses a ’Mono-Cross’ with a single, centrally mounted shock absorber – a practice that’s become an industry standard in the modern day.

When Håkan acquired an old DT50MX it was in appalling condition, almost every part of the bike had to be replaced or repaired. Once it was in running condition, he added some frame reinforcements before adding a new fuel tank, sourced from a Crescent 1209. The base of the new seat was made out of an old skateboard and Håkan’s mother was kind enough to upholster it for him.

For a slight performance boost, the piston was replaced with a high performance unit, the cylinder head was tweaked and the gearing was altered. A new head light was then sourced from his father’s old Fiat 125 and some graffitti artist friends set about giving the bike a unique decal on the fuel tank.

The finished bike, named “Cocaine White”, looks to be just about the perfect urban scrambler/parkour motorcycle. In fact, I wouldn’t mind taking it for a spin myself, just to see how much trouble I could get myself into.

Additional information via our friends at Pipeburn.