Aston Martin's Kiwi adventure

Got a spare $9000 – in Kiwi dollars?

Aston Martin will happily take that off you in exchange for placing you behind the wheel of a DB11 for a tail-out fang around the Southern Hemisphere Proving Ground – AKA the Snow Farm.

Named 'New Zealand on Ice', the three-day excursion is one of Aston Martin's 'Art of Living' experiential events and is scheduled for August 22-28. No, that's not three days, we know. It's more like six days...

For your money you'll be accommodated at the five-star Millbrook Resort in Queenstown where you can eat and sleep in between journeying to and from the Snow Farm for some 'drufting un en Eston'.

As customer retention becomes ever more important to prestige brands, this kind of experiential marketing activity is an essential tactic in the eternal scrap for customers with the income to spend on a high-end product. Who hasn't heard a story something like the bloke who owned nothing but Mercedes-Benz products his entire working life, only to buy a Maserati in his retirement? And then he was so pleased with that car, he bought another for the wife...

"Aston Martin's Art of Living distils our spirit and ethos," says the manufacturer's Chief Creative Officer, Marek Reichmann, touching on the customer's perceptions of the Aston Martin image, and how it dovetails with the various experiential events.

"It is a beautiful mix of design, technology and style to enhance your life. It is deep in our culture, it is in everything we create for our customers."

Other Art of Living events on the calendar for 2016 include:
The Fast Track Adventure – 24 hours of Le Mans June 17-20 (£6400 per person)
The Great British Summer Season – the Ultimate Polo Experience July 17-18 (POA)
At Home with Aston Martin – Tuscany July 30-August 1, August 1-3, August 3-5 (POA)
Elegant Journeys: England – September 4-8 (£6600)
The Great British Summer Season – the Goodwood Revival September 10-12 (POA)
Elegant Journeys: Italy Unpacked – September 13-18 (£9950, excluding hire of Aston Martin)
Elegant Journeys: Scotland – October 25-30 (£8950)
Millbrook Performance Driving Course – available all year (£1500)
Nurburgring Driving Academy – February 15-November 30 (from £1399)

More events are on the way, although details are yet to be finalised for 2017. See the website for further information.