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ACH130 Aston Martin Edition helicopter unveiled

Airbus Corporate Helicopters on January 3 revealed the ACH130 Aston Martin Edition at Courchevel in the French Alps. This is the first helicopter offering as a result of its recently announced partnership with Aston Martin Lagonda. It is available with four interior and exterior designs generated by Aston Martin.

The aeronautical designers at Airbus Corporate Helicopters (ACH) and the automotive designers at Aston Martin have worked together for more than a year on this first joint project. The ACH130 Aston Martin Edition is available on request with deliveries taking place from the first quarter of 2020.

“We have our own set of automotive design principles, but in recent years we have been learning how to apply our principles to other areas of design, such as architecture, motorcycles and now helicopters,” said Marek Reichman, VP and chief creative officer, Aston Martin. “This first application of our design practices to a helicopter posed a number of interesting challenges but we have enjoyed working through them. Beauty is of vital importance to Aston Martin and to our customers and we think the ACH130 Aston Martin Edition is an inherently beautiful machine. It provided a wonderful canvas for our team to work on so we now look forward to seeing everybody’s reaction.”

Four interior and exterior designs generated by Aston Martin are available for the new special edition helicopter. (Photo: Adrien Daste, Airbus)

Airbus explains the new helicopters are embellished with Aston Martin signature elements, starting with the iconic Aston Martin wings, which are embossed onto leather features throughout the cabin. The first aircraft design revealed at Courchevel features a Stirling Green-themed external scheme, including a painted gradient that fades down into Jet Black on the underside of the helicopter with Skyfall Silver around the cowlings. More external liveries are available in Aston Martin paint colours, including Xenon Grey, Arizona and Ultramarine Black.

The automotive-inspired cabin, explains Airbus, is trimmed in Pure Black ultra-suede with a palette of selectable leathers comprising Oxford Tan, Pure Black, Cormorant and Ivory. On the rear of the front seats, Airbus states the same brogue detailing that is found in a DB11 runs down the centre of the seat; and the doors have been trimmed with leather to provide passengers with comfortable touch points during flight.

Each of these special edition helicopters will have a plaque included on the instrument panel which shows the partnership logos, registration of the aircraft, edition number and the owner’s name – upon request.

“The ACH130 Aston Martin Edition is optimally positioned in the market for hands-on owners who draw satisfaction from personally piloting their aircraft and it generates strong brand-loyalty,” said Frédéric Lemos, head of Airbus Corporate Helicopters. “In the same way Aston Martin’s products are cars for drivers who relish being at the wheel and they inspire a comparable attachment to the brand. So they are the perfect partner for us in developing this superb new ACH130 Aston Martin Edition.”