Aston Martin switches from MI6 to RAF for Red Arrows Vanquish S

Nine examples will be sold to the public, with one more going to a charity for former servicemen and women.

Aston Martin Q Vanquish S Red Arrows — The car is built by Aston Martin's bespoke engineering division, called Q Aston Martin

Aston Martin has teamed up with the Royal Air Force and the world-famous Red Arrows display team to produce a limited edition of the Vanquish S supercar.

Plucked from the production line and handed over to Q, the car maker's special operations division, the 10 lucky cars (nine of which will be sold to the public) are all finished in the same Eclat Red as the display team's BAE Systems Hawk planes.

Extra external details include a blue and white 'smoke trail' painted onto the sides and rear of the car, Union Jack motifs on the front splitter and a pattern on the exposed carbon fibre roof borrowed from the canopy of the Red Arrows jets.

Inside, the Vanquish S Red Arrows Edition features flashes of Pinewood Green on the seats and dashboard to mimic the colour of a pilot's flight suit. The seats are finished in the same fabric as the plane's ejector seats, while the seatbelts are also unique to this car.

The steering wheel, which comes from Aston's £1m hypercar, the One-77, is fitted with a bespoke central toggle switch inspired by aviation switch gear.

Red Arrows Aston Martin Vanquish interior — The interior is designed to look like the cockpit of the RAF's Hawk aerobatic jets Aston Martin

The seat backs, parcel shelf behind the rear seats and door panels all feature patterns reminiscent of the Red Arrows performing their nine-aircraft Vixen Break routine.

Each buyer will be offered the chance to buy a wide range of bespoke accessories from Q by Aston Martin, including racing helmets and suits, bespoke embroidered bomber jackets, a Vanquish S luggage set, and 1:18 scale models of the car and Red Arrows plane.

The vehicles, named from Red 1 through to Red 9, just like the aircraft, are available now through Aston Martin Cambridge; prices have not been disclosed. The tenth and final car will be gifted to RAF Benevolent Fund, a charity established to provide support to former servicemen and women and their families. The car, called Red 10, will be raffled off by the charity and tickets can be purchased for £20 each.

Beneath that smart new paint work, the car remains unchanged. This means a 6.0-litre V12 engine producing 592 horsepower and launching the car to 62mph (100km/h) in 3.5 seconds and to a top speed of 201mph.