Very rarely do I get into legit argument about cars with someone. I usually try to avoid arguments in general, especially when my conversation partner is SO sure. Like SO, SO, 100% SURE!! Which is why I was quick to revert into "agree-mode" when a truck driver told me he once hauled a mid-engined Aston Martin.
I was asked to drop off an E60 M5 in Jersey, the car was sold and just had to be delivered to the hauler truck. A task I've carried out many times, just gotta make sure the driver marks any dents and dings down, so I don't get blamed. I was making small-talk with the driver as we both froze our asses off slow-walking around around the M5 looking for imperfections.
It was all fun and light, joking about fast cars and how they get rock chips more than slow cars, until he told me about the "mid-engined" Aston Martin. Then he told me about the "big blowers" bolted on the motor, behind the seats. At first I did what I always do when people are SO SURE; I told him I'd just have to take his word for it. He didn't buy it.
He encouraged me to use Google, look up the Vanquish, and then I'd see that the engine was behind the driver's seat. I did use Google, which confirmed what I already knew; the Vanquish is technically a front-mid engined vehicle, meaning that the engine is positioned behind the front axle, but in front of the passenger compartment.
I conceded to the truck driver that while the motor is indeed technically "mid-engined", it is most definitely in front the front of the car. He was insistent that the motor was behind the driver. I only bet money if I'm 99% sure I'm correct, so I told him lets put $10 on it. He backed way off, mumbled some stuff, and walked back to his truck.
As soon as I got back to CCC I did some furious Google searching, trying to find out if there's any way this guy could be right. Turns out he could have been right if Aston Martin had actually built this "DBC Concept" but they didn't.
Later in the afternoon Zac told me that "my truck driver buddy" had called and instructed me to search for the Aston Martin AM310. My heart skipped a beat; did I miss something? I spent a whole ten minutes employing all of my super-secret internet search skills; there's no way I missed something. Turns out the AM310 concept was actually the new Vanquish in disguise, and was most certainly front-engined.
I almost asked Zac for the trucker's phone number so I could call him back, but instead I wrote this post. In the end was it worth the minutes (going on hours) I spent not just arguing with the trucker, but internet searching, and now writing this post? All to "prove" something to an old truck driver who still probably wouldn't believe me? Probably not. But I still did it, so I guess the joke's on me.
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Legend Of The Mid-Engined Aston Martin