When Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles drive off on their honeymoon next month, chances are they'll be in a classic car restored by a North-East company that started life in a garden shed. In common with James Bond, His Royal Highness's preferred mode of transport is an Aston Martin - the most prestigious, luxurious and extravagant set of four wheels on the market. The brand has been a guarantee of excellence in design, engineering and craftsmanship for almost 90 years and even in today's world of mass production, Aston Martins are still custom-built and hand-finished for sophisticated customers. As a result of this labour-intensive method, only about 12,000 have ever been made - including a lot of them in a workshop near Stanley in County Durham, where the Prince of Wales takes his custom. The Aston Workshop was established in 1988 by Bob Fountain, who remains its sole proprietor. The company grew out of his personal interest in restoring the marque to the highest of specifications that would meet the exacting standards of the international marketplace in quality classic cars. "It just mushroomed out of nothing," says Bob. "I made a living doing the odd car up while I built up the business. Now there are more Aston Martins here under one roof than anywhere else on the planet. We have them from £20,000 to £250,000 including the most popular one, the DB5 - the classic James Bond car." The Aston Martin brand owes a great deal to the 1964 film, Goldfinger, the first James Bond film in which Sean Connery first drove a DB5. Debonair and suave like its driver, it proved to be the perfect car for 007 - and for Aston Martin. Everywhere in the workshop, there are cars jacked up with bonnets raised and doors lying open in the most intimate of poses. The first impression is that you shouldn't be here - a bit like being Michelle Pfeiffer's window-cleaner on a bad hair day. It won't be long, however, until these sculpted shells in varied states of undress are transformed into beautifully-finished, leather-reeking, purring, long-nosed power-houses. You could eat your meals off the workshop floor, where an oily, slippery atmosphere is very much apparent by its absence. In fact, there are probably more sweeping brushes and dusters than spanners ready for action. "It's basically a hospital for Aston Martins,"says Bob. "When we're restoring them we'll take them right down to the bare chassis. Everything is totally high-tech, but as everything is hand-made it's very labour-intensive. "We employ time-served engineers who can turn their hand to anything, but who also have their own areas of speciality; there's not just one skill involved, it's everything from brakes to metal-work. One guy is particularly good at fitting windscreens, for example - you don't just pop these things. Another ex-works engineer, Mick Durrant, has built more than 400 V8 engines. "We planned our custom-built workshop to further the legend of Aston Martin and we have restored cars - DB4s, DB5s and DB6s - that have won prizes in the USA, Switzerland, Hong Kong and The Netherlands. We provide the best possible facilities for restoring some of David Brown's finest creations. "Our aim is to find a vehicle to match customers' precise requirements, be it a 'barn-find' restoration project, or a concours-winning show car. Having found the vehicle, we then supply it at a contracted price. "We deal in excellence and we specialise in originality and we take great pride in keeping the legend alive." Every Aston Martin body part handled under Bob's critical eye is shaped out of aluminium and is individually stamped with the car's chassis number. "Our cars are always special," he says. "Combining modern technologies with our commitment to originality, plus our passion and dedication, ensures that our cars are as good today - if not better - than the day they left the factory. Although a huge amount of effort goes into areas the eye will never see, the final glory is on the finish to the body and paint work. It's in these areas that the Aston Workshop's insistence on employing the finest craftsmen is most visible. "We organise open nights where interested parties and prospective customers can come and have a look around and actually see Aston Martins being built." Although some of the vehicles in the workshop date from pre-war, the flexible nature of the company means it can offer various upgrades to the original specifications - modern air conditioning, power steering, starter motors, alternators and satellite navigation systems are all available for installation. Regular progress breakdowns can be monitored by customers and all the work can be photographed professionally to produce the ultimate restoration portfolio. There are currently 13 Astons under varying stages of restoration and engineers recently took a DB5 from a painted shell to completed car in only six weeks. With this sort of teamwork, it's no wonder thatBob Fountain likes to refer to his business as The Ultimate Aston Martin Restoration. He says: "We take pride in our ability to provide our customers with some of the most beautifully-restored Aston Martins in the world." A new character is being sought to succeed Pierce Brosnan as 007. What chance of the next James Bond movie being called From Stanley With Love? * The Aston Workshop offers group site visits for interested parties (with a pay-buffet). For further information, telephone (01207) 233 525 or visit www.aston.co.uk | 
