Stratstone Year in Review 2017

20th Dec 2017

It has been an exciting and successful year for Stratstone and the brands that we represent - from Ferrari celebrating their 70th birthday to handing over the all-new Ferrari 488 Challenge race car to Sam Smeeth - amidst plenty of other great events, achievements and launches of new services. Here we take a look back over the past year.

1. 70 Years of Ferrari

To celebrate Ferrari's 70th birthday, one of the largest collections of Ferrari cars ever seen in the North West was at Capesthorne Hall, earlier this year, on 1 August. More than 70 prestigious Ferrari models were showcased at the event including the limited edition Special Series Model - the LaFerrari Aperta, within the breath-taking grounds of the hall, located south of Wilmslow in Cheshire.

The free-to-attend event gathered Ferrari owners and enthusiasts alike from all over the country and the day ended with a spectacular finale which involved the engines of 84 luxury vehicles being started simultaneously to embark on a Ferrari convoy through the centre of Alderley Edge and Wilmslow.

2. Aston Martin Liverpool Live

Back in September three incredible Aston Martin models - the Vanquish S, DB11 and V8 Vantage AMR toured around Liverpool, visiting some of the city's most iconic landmarks including St George's Hall, the Liver Building and the Dr Martin Luther King Jr Building at the Albert Dock as part of our Liverpool Live event.

This remarkable showcase attracted supercar enthusiasts at various locations across Liverpool throughout the day who were given the opportunity to get up close and personal with three of the latest models from the Aston Martin range.

3. Car Café

A free event, established to gather owners and enthusiasts alike, the Car Café events held this year saw some astounding vehicles. We held several Car Café meets in various locations, including Nottingham, Ace Café in London and Manchester Airport- where the incredible Stratstone Lightweight Jaguar E-Type was showcased.

Amongst the show-stopping Jaguar model, other supercars such as the Bugatti Veyron, Aston Martin DB5 and McLaren 675LT Spider made an appearance across the different Car Café 2017 meets. Take a look at the most awesome cars from Car Café 2017.

4. Magnus Walker Porsche Wolverhampton

June was an exciting month for Stratstone, amidst a lot of other exciting events, we were delighted to host renowned Porsche Icon, Magnus Walker.

As part of his 'Urban Outlaw' book signing tour, Magnus visited Porsche Centre Wolverhampton and welcomed many excited fans and enthusiasts. The Porsche icon also took part in a Q and A session, which enthralled the audience. The event generated a lot of buzz and not long after Walker arrived at the Porsche Centre, the car park transformed into a Porsche exhibition, as various popular models filled the car park.

5. Sam Smeeth

Stratstone handed over the all-new Ferrari 488 race car to Sam Smeeth back in March in the hope he would lead us to victory in the 2017 Ferrari Challenge. Smeeth, a racing car driver, represented Team Stratstone Ferrari in the competition which consisted of 7 races in various locations across Europe. The competition kicked off in Valencia in May and ended at Mugello in October.

The Ferrari Challenge was established in 1993 as a result of owners of Ferrari 348 road cars expressing their desire to get into motor racing and championships now occur in cities across Europe, North America and Asia. Read Sam's final Race Diary to see how he got on.

6. Cars & Coffee

Back in September, the global car meet known as Cars & Coffee, an event established to bring car enthusiasts together, was hosted at Porsche Centre Wolverhampton.

Due to the location of the event, it goes without saying that Porsche models dominated the meet, however amongst notorious Porsche cars such as a 991 911 Turbo S and the new 991.2 GT3, the car park at our Porsche Centre also boasted supercars from Lamborghini, McLaren, Ferrari amongst many others.

7. Aston Martin Wilmslow Launch

Earlier this year, Aston Martin Wilmslow, located on Water Lane, unveiled its extensively refurbished dealership. The newly refurbished dealership welcomes both new and existing Aston Martin customers and is a dedicated space in which they can experience the Aston Martin brand in person.

Aston Martin Wilmslow boasts contemporary facilities, including a state-of-the-art-showroom, which showcases the range of brand-new Aston Martin sports cars. In addition to the deluxe showroom, Aston Martin Wilmslow now features a luxurious lounge in which customers are able to relax in and create their personalised vehicle, using Q by Aston Martin elements.

8. Sell Your Car

Stratstone introduced a new service to customers this year following the launch of our 'Sell Your Car' scheme- a hassle-free process which also, as a reputable retailer, provides an honest valuation of your car. The 3-step process involves filling out an online valuation form, booking an appointment with an advisor at one of our 80 locations, and finally - selling your car. After agreeing a price, we will make a safe and secure payment into your bank account.

The service offered by Stratstone is completely free and available to anyone selling their vehicle, regardless of its make, model, age or condition.

9. Move Me Closer

Thanks to Stratstone's 'Move Me Closer' scheme, your ideal car is now a lot closer than you think. At Stratstone, we understand that time is precious and individual needs and requirements for a car may not always be met by cars available in your local area. For this reason, earlier this year we introduced a new scheme which allows customers to request for a car they have their eye on, to be moved to a Stratstone dealership near you in order to view and test drive it.

We have over 20,000 vehicles available in group stock within the U.K, so take a look at what we have to offer, and arrange for your ideal car to be moved to a dealership more local to you, using our 'Move Me Closer' scheme.

10. London Motor Show

Despite a number of astounding cars being showcased at the London Motor Show 2017 earlier this year, the Jaguar Lightweight E-Type and Aston Martin Valkyrie without a doubt stole the show at Battersea Park during the biggest automotive event in the U.K back in May.

The annual event attracts industry enthusiasts from all over the world and was the perfect opportunity to display our must-see Jaguar Lightweight E-Type - an iconic production from Jaguar, and one of only 6 built. Spectators including enthusiastic VIP guests and media representatives from automotive brands were awestruck by the 1960s inspired race car.