The planning for the 90th anniversary celebrations was two years in the making. AMOC European director Frederik-Jan Umbgrove discussed the proposal with all the European section leaders to gain support and inspiration for the event.
The plan was for a truly European event, centrally located to attract as many Members as possible from all countries. The search was then on for suitable locations that could accommodate up to 400 people, with sufficient restaurant and dining space, along with suitable external areas to park and display up to 200 Aston Martins, and all set in a great landscape and to a price point that was acceptable to the majority. All these key points proved easier said than done.
The plan was for a great International social gathering with a concours and gala dinner along with drive outs and sightseeing visits. A tour out and back was to be organised to take in the spectacular scenery and mountain pass driving roads to and from the event.
After much research, a location was found by Frederick-Jan in the stunning Austrian Alps and the plan started to take shape. A core events team of Events Chairman Anthony Oade, myself as Chief Judge Concours, and Lisa Carter-Beasley HQ Events were tasked with making it all happen.
We made our first site visit in November 2024 to review the location and discuss details with the hotel team. This all proved very satisfactory and allowed all the elements to be planned and progressed. We made a final visit in late April 2025 to refine the arrangements and the detailed planning with the hotel and events team.
Our chosen hotel, Gut Brandlhof, was located in Saalfelden am Steinernen Meer, about an hour from Salzburg and two hours from Munich. It had the advantage of a OAMTC test track for us to display the cars and arrange the concours display. An added benefit was a dedicated Autohaus building overlooking the track to locate the club shop, provide the judges with a base and an all important jet wash facility. With everything in place and a very positive response from Members the event was all in place.
An outward tour commenced in Reims with a tour of Pommery Champagne cellars deep underground with millions of bottles neatly racked up in the centuries old limestone caves. Over the next five days, 22 cars and crews drove through fantastic areas of France, Germany, Switzerland and into Austria. The world class Musee National de l’Automobile at Mulhouse was visited and the spectacular Rhine falls.
The weather in Europe was not kind that week with heavy rain for almost all Members driving to Austria. The Autohaus jet wash became a very well used facility and provided a lot of friendly chatter amongst all the owners getting their pride and joys clean and beautifully presented once again. The sun finally made a welcome appearance and all this cleaning was set against a backdrop of bright sunshine and the soaring alpine snow capped mountains.
Special mention to the AML dealers in Stuttgart and Munich who provided invaluable assistance to a couple of cars en route. The Munich dealership also brought stunning Vanquish and Vantage demonstrators for members to inspect over the weekend.
On checking into the hotel, Members were greeted by the HQ team with a beautifully set out reception and information desk. The celebrations started from this very positive welcome and soon the bar area was packed with Members renewing friendships and making new ones.
On Thursday evening, Members enjoyed a relaxed buffet supper in readiness for the tour to Salzburg and for the Grossglockner drive. This unfortunately was cut short as the high pass was closed due to snow and ice. No one had snow tyres on their Astons. Alternative routes were taken and they enjoyed a fine lunch in Lienz.
Saturday dawned bright and clear as the cars started assembling for the Members display down on the track and concours on the upper section. This created a magnificent display, at 10.30 the German section arrived as part of their Autumn tour with their 55 Astons and were soon parked up.
We were delighted and privileged that the privately owned Golden Age Collection attended with 11 very special Astons from their collection. This was curated by Christophe Schmidt and thanks to Stephen Archer for all his behind the scenes coordination.
Some of the cars on display included VMF 64 one of the three Le Mans team cars, DB3/S reserve entry for the 1953 Le Mans, the DB4 Prototype, dubbed The Walls Ice Cream Van so called due to its original colour scheme, DB5 Shooting Brake, Sir David Brown’s personal car, Elton Johns V8 Vantage, DB6 Saloon and Volante, DB5 V8, quite a fabulous collection.
The Heritage Trust brought out the 1934 Ulster, which was shown alongside the G.A.C racing Ulster and joined by David and Marion Martyr in their Le Mans, to form a stunning pre-war display of these early cars.
The Concours was run along familiar UK rules, relaxed slightly on a few points and divided up into nine classes. The entrants and results are
posted on the website.
We had entries from 12 countries, which is surely a measure of the success of the event, and the standard was very high, my commendations to all the entrants on such a fine level of preparation and presentation. Judging was carried out by a team of 24 Judges drawn from the UK and Europe. They had a very enjoyable afternoon in the bright sunshine discussing the merits of each car and chatting to their owners, who were every keen to see just how the cars are judged and marked.
Alexander Reichhart had assisted in gathering a fine display of DB6 cars as part of the 60th anniversary celebrations since the launch of this important model and we had a dedicated award for these cars.
The awards and prizegiving were made later that evening during the drinks reception, before the Gala dinner. Chairman Tom Westley, Anthony Oade and Dr Ulrich Bez, former CEO of AML, presented the awards to the delighted winners.
Dinner was held for some 330 members and guests in the indoor tennis courts expertly dressed and lit to create a lovely venue. We managed to manoeuvre five of the Golden Age cars into the dining room to add to the display. Thanks to everyone involved in creating this spectacular evening.
Sunday morning was departure day for most people. The organised return tour of 21 cars left for a drive over the Grossglockner pass which was now clear of snow and onwards over some excellent roads through Austria, the Italian Dolomites and Switzerland.
We had Hamish Jordan taking excellent photos all weekend and Dan Thorpe has uploaded some great videos of the event to his Fuel the Passion Youtube channel. Links are below.
My thanks to everyone involved in making the event such a success, to all the entrants and judges for taking part and to all the Members for their combined enthusiasm.
The feedback has been so positive; Members relished the opportunity to gather in a special location, to enjoy our special cars and to create great friendships across all the nations. There have been many calls for the club to do this again….
Here’s looking forward to the next event.
Photos and videos of the event
AMOC 90th Austria Film