KEY components of the 190 mph Aston Martin Vanquish supercar are being manufactured in Darwen by Brookhouse Automotive.

The first models of the 460 brake-horsepower mean machine have now come off the production line at Aston Martin's Newport Pagnell factory where each car is hand built.

State-of-the-art technology developed for the aerospace industry has been used by Brookhouse Automotive for its contribution to the Vanquish.

The company is part of Brookhouse Holdings which is the largest independent composites manufacturing and assembly organisation in the UK.

Joint managing director Barry Turner is delighted with the role played by Brookhouse in the Vanquish success story.

"The automotive industry has long been seeking to transfer the technological advances in construction materials developed in the aerospace sector and in the field of motorsport into automotive manufacture in general," he said.

"The resources now in place at Brookhouse represent an important stage in that technology transfer.

"The fact that Aston Martin chose Brookhouse to apply the new technology in the production of their highly-sophisticated new car demonstrates the comprehensive skills base we have here in the Blackburn area." Engineering composites - essentially a blend of polymer-based resins and reinforcing fibres - have been incorporated throughout the design of the Vanquish. They combine excellent strength with ultra lightness which helps the car achieve its performance potential.

Brookhouse expertise had been used in the production of the tooling for the carbon fibre transmission tunnel which provides stiffness and strength without the need for the wide sills used in other performance cars.

The company also manufactures many of the structural components within the Vanquish, including the side body parts which form part of the car's safety cell. Other components include the plenum assembly, the upper cargo deck and the light cluster housings.