Vanquishing Europe: 1000-mile tour in Aston's V12 great

It was great to go back. The new factory at Gaydon is magnificent but you won’t find men hitting sheets of aluminium with hammers. There are no ancient lathes or workers with pencils behind their ears, but they’re still at Newport. We even managed to unearth a prototype for the DB4, the first car to go into series production there.

Those I spoke to seemed worried that the facility would be sold when legislation outlaws the Vanquish in 2008, but I have been told there are no such plans. Aston Martin is growing a service and restoration business at the old factory, where the craftsmanship can still be put to good use, so it is to be hoped that this will ensure its survival long into the future.

For now, though, I had to get to know the Vanquish again. Reacquainting yourself with such a car is like meeting an old school friend: within 10 minutes he or she will have annoyed you so much you wonder why you bothered. But as you ease into each other’s company once more, so it becomes clear that the magic that sparked your relationship is still there.

Still, the Aston tried my patience. It is ridiculous that a company owned by Ford can offer for sale a £174,000 car with a poor driving position, unsupportive seats, no cruise control, ancient Jaguar switchgear and a map-free satellite navigation system. I know why: Aston produces 350 Vanquishes each year and cannot justify the level of investment required to right these issues. But that doesn’t mean they don’t rankle. To make matters worse, I’d driven there in a £30k Mitsubishi Evo IX and, after that, the Aston didn’t even feel very fast.

I reached the coast in heavy traffic and unimproved humour, thoughts of how much more could be achieved with a Porsche 911 Carrera S and a hundred grand in the bank now resident in my head. I never was someone who could be romanced by the look of a car alone: if the hardware beneath can’t cash the cheque written by its appearance, what you have is not just a bad car, but a bad car that’s betrayed your trust.

Then again, I knew this car better than that. I’ve managed to find an excuse to drive one at least once a year since I wrote its first road test in 2001, and every one has done its best to make me hate it, and every one has failed. I was still confident the S, with its 520bhp motor, would be no different.

It is not difficult to find Cologne from Calais - it’s one of the least rewarding drives you can do. So, once I’d had my fill of autoroute and dodging Belgian police, we peeled off the motorway and swung south, drawn by the lure of Spa.

Aston Martin has no fabulous history at the legendary Ardennes circuit but the similarities between them commanded the visit. Both came into being in the early 1920s and made their names through both speed and beauty. Both were changed extensively in the 1980s but, despite being redefined for the modem era, both have managed to cling to the appeal that made them great in the first place.