PUSHING THE LIMITS

There’s a wonderful old story in the motor trade that’s still cited by sales staff at Aston Martin, the exclusive sports car brand. It was the early 1960s, and a potential customer was nosing around Aston Martin’s then-new DB5 coupé – destined to be immortalised in the James Bond movie franchise.

The hand-built DB5 was sleek, brutish and very British. But so was the new Jaguar E-Type – and it was half the price. The customer shook his head and departed for the Jaguar dealership. The following