Aston Martins travel in style
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by Bill Brock • Delivering cars in the six-figure price range calls for equally exotic transporters—like this drawbar outfit built for Aston Martin Lagonda's service and refurbishment division.
Parent company Ford runs a large Iveco fleet so AML chose a Cargo prime mover: the body and trailer were built by Nene Trailer Services of Wisbech.
The 12-tonne GVVV chassis-cab is an ML120E23 rated at 230hp; the drawbar chassis features a 4.6tonne front axle, parabolic springs, full-air disc brakes, an 8.48-tonne drum-braked rear axle with air suspension, and cars ABS all round. Nene also added a cab roof pod to give room for two bunks.
Cars can be loaded individually on each part of the combination: folding 3.5m ramps at the rear of each section are angled to line up with beavertails and give clearance for the cars' low front undervalance and exhaust.
When coupled up the ramp on the prime mover serves as a bridge to the trailer so both cars can be loaded from the rear.
The trailer runs on Hendrickson 2030 widetrack axles fitted with single wheels and tyres—payload is not an issue as the weigh less than 2.5 tonnes apiece and only two are carried at a time. Truck and trailer suspension can be raised and lowered to adjust the loading approach angle; Rubbolite LED marker lamps eliminate the need for replacement bulbs.
Wheel straps are attached to rings recessed in the 18mm-thick nonslip, oil-resistant floor. Curtains allow side loading by fork lift if a crashed vehicle is too badly damaged to be driven or winched into position.
The Rockinger automatic coupling simplifies oneman trailer coupling; ABILL's service department at Newport Pagnell has an inclined access road with a difficult camber which can result in grounding. Nene revised the A-frame coupling height using its CAD system to achieve sufficient clearance.