Report [Report] New Aston Martin supercar to rival Ferrari 488 in 2020

[tristatez28lt1]

New Aston Martin supercar to rival Ferrari 488 in 2020
New Aston Martin supercar to rival Ferrari 488 in 2020

Aston Martin is heading into Ferrari's heartland with a new mid-engined supercar due in 2020
Aston Martin’s revival under CEO Andy Palmer is gathering pace with a host of new models planned to follow hot on the heels of the new DB11. A recently revealed new financing agreement has freed up further capital to be ploughed straight back into new models, including a mid-engined Ferrari 488 rival.

Speaking exclusively to Auto Express, Palmer revealed his company’s strategy for seven core new models in seven years, up to 2023 when the DB11 will be replaced by the DB12. “We have one car every year for the next seven years. It starts with our GT cars: DB11, Vantage and Vanquish,” explained Palmer.

“In 2019 we’ll have DBX, then we’ll have, for the sake of argument, let’s call it a [Ferrari] 488 competitor. Then we have Lagonda, which is Lagonda One and Lagonda Two. Each car has a seven-year life, so in 2023 you have DB12.”

While this year’s new Vantage and next year’s Vanquish have been expected and 2019’s DBX has already been spoken about at length, this is the first time Palmer has confirmed that a mid-engined rival for Ferrari’s 488 will arrive in 2020 (previewed in our exclusive image).

“Within our price pillars, we’ll have Vantage, DB11 and Vanquish – then you have nothing up above them,” Palmer told us. “We have a slightly lower average transaction price than Ferrari, so you need something that connects your Valkyrie at £2.5 to £3million with the rest of the group. We have an obvious blind spot where the likes of the 488 sit.”

Asked whether the new car has to be mid-engined, Palmer responded: “It doesn’t, but it’s easier to get the 50:50 weight distribution and that market tends to be defined as mid-engined.”

Palmer also explained how he was using the various new models to inform cars that follow them, using what he describes as a Carry Over, Carry Across process. “What I’ve tried to install in engineering is COCA – Carry Over and Carry Across – so a lot of the development work and technology from the mid-engined car can still lead into the DB12, for example,” he said.

Valkyrie will be used as a forerunner to the mid-engined sports car, with Red Bull F1 designer Adrian Newey also likely to have a hand in the Ferrari rival. “The Valkyrie will definitely produce some of the DNA for the 488 competitor,” said Palmer. “The mid-engined car will be a composite type of vehicle, but feature some of the technology from the [new] Vanquish.”

Sitting outside of the seven core models, along with Valkyrie, will be a DB11 Volante plus an all-electric Rapide, using technology from Faraday Future. However, with rumours circling over the long-term viability of Faraday, Palmer plans to use Aston’s relationship with Williams if necessary to provide the technology. Palmer also hinted that the two Lagonda luxury saloon models would have an electric future, telling us that the Rapide EV would be “doing some of the development work for DBX and Lagonda”.

Aston Martin's product plan timeline
V8 Vantage 2017
DB11 Volante 2018
Vanquish 2018
DBX 2019
Valkyrie 2019
Mid-engined supercar 2020
Lagonda 1 2021
Lagonda 2 2022
DB12 2023

 

[HUTSUTAo]

New Aston Martin supercar to rival Ferrari 488 in 2020
New Aston Martin supercar to rival Ferrari 488 in 2020

what is the difference between the vanquish and DB11?

 

[KiwiRob]

Here's hoping if they do build this car it will have a bespoke Aston Martin engine not some lump purchased from Mercedes.

 

[A.P.]

It better have a V12.

 

[Merc1]

They make a profit for the first time in like forever and they're already flush with plans for new models. Sounds like that plan Lotus had a few years back. All of these cars will not happen, and if they do they won't happen in the timeframe given.

M

 

[bocghegame]

wonderfull

 

[tristatez28lt1]

New info: 25 Future Cars Worth Waiting For

The million-dollar Valkyrie is getting a more affordable, mid-engined baby brother. Aston Martin has plans to introduce a mid-engined sports car into the lineup in the next few years to compete directly with cars like the Ferrari 488 and McLaren 720S. Most of the details are still well under wraps, but we do know that development will be carried out by former Ferrari engineer, Max Szwaj, who knows a thing or two about sports cars.

 

[hoffmeister_fan]

New info: 25 Future Cars Worth Waiting For

The million-dollar Valkyrie is getting a more affordable, mid-engined baby brother. Aston Martin has plans to introduce a mid-engined sports car into the lineup in the next few years to compete directly with cars like the Ferrari 488 and McLaren 720S. Most of the details are still well under wraps, but we do know that development will be carried out by former Ferrari engineer, Max Szwaj, who knows a thing or two about sports cars.

If this pans out, I am curious to see what powers this. Don't know if the AMG deal applies to this.

 

[kingjr9000]

New Aston Vanquish: more powerful AMR Pro version planned
Aston boss explains his company's number one target: Ferrari



Aston Martin’s CEO Andy Palmer is quite open that he’s aiming to do a Ferrari with the two mid-engined cars he unveiled at the Geneva show.

The first is the AM-RB 003, a carbon-bodied hypercar with a hybrid engine, in the LaFerrari manner.

Second up, the Vanquish, shown as a concept. When it launches in three years’ time as an aluminium V6 hybrid, it’ll be a direct competitor to the F8 Tributo.

“We’ll get sales from the Ferrari, McLaren and the Lamborghini Huracan Evo,” Palmer says of the Vanquish. He also admits that he’s planned for it to cannibalise a few sales from the front-engined Aston Martins.

Looking further ahead, he says there will also be a Volante version of the Vanquish, and a hardcore AMR Pro with even more performance. Again that’s an industry-standard approach. He says the Volante will go against the rivals’ Spiders, and the AMR Pro against the Huracan Performante, McLaren LT and the Ferrari Pista replacement.

Ferrari is also his target for Aston’s projected production numbers. He wants to sell 7,000 sports cars a year, plus another 7,000 from the new Welsh factory split between DBXs and Lagondas. He namechecks Ferrari’s two previous bosses. “Luca [di Montezemolo] wanted Ferrari to stay at 7,000 cars a year, Sergio [Marchionne] said 14,000 [including the new high-riding Ferrari crossover]. What works for Ferrari works for us.”

So why would people buy an Aston Martin instead of this absolutely superb existing mid-engined establishment? Looks are part of it. “It will bring our proportions, beauty and elegance to the mid-engined segment. Others are more aggressive.” Design director Miles Nurnberger calls the Vanquish ‘seductive’.

Looking further ahead, Palmer says the visual themes of the Vanquish will be carried on to the next front-engined car. “The Vanquish is an important part of what the DB12 looks like.” Remember, the plan for Aston is to replace every car on an eight-year cycle, so that puts the DB12 as replacing the DB11 in 2024.

That ‘seductive’ body clothes an aluminium structure. Again like Ferrari but unlike McLaren which uses a carbonfibre tub. “We know how to bond aluminium,” says Palmer, as the current front-engined range and the DBX are made of the stuff.

He also says surprising amounts of the mid-engined aluminium platform can be shared with the next front-engined cars. Also, the Vanquish’s electrical system is Mercedes’s – as per the DB11, Vantage and DBX. Daimler remains a shareholder in Aston.

The Vanquish will share its new V6 with the AM-RB 003, although not in such a stupendous power output. It’s twin-turbocharged and Palmer confirms all versions will add performance through a hybrid motor. We know Ferrari is working on a similar system. McLaren also talks of a downsized powertrain for the future.

But why would Aston make such a huge and risky investment in its own new engine when its has access to the AMG V8? “Well, we have engineers. They did our turbo V12 and I didn’t want to send them home,” Palmer grins. “We are able to attract engineers to this brand. They have an appetite to do something special. And a V6 is basically half a V12.” So if you want to know details about the size and tech in the V6, take a look at Aston’s V12.

Anyway supercars are about emotion not just practical engineering and accounting decisions. “The engine is the heart of a car, especially in a mid-engined one. It’s part of the passion.”

Then an aside. It’s not just about selling cars. It’s about making them. He points out that it’s 19 years since an Aston left the factory with a British-assembled engine. “I’m trying to re-make the UK car industry. I want to manufacture cars in the UK. But the UK doesn’t know its arse from its elbow at the moment.” Is that Brexit reference on the record? He nods.

Even so, his plan for manufacturing is going pretty well. When he arrived in late 2014 he promised to deliver a whole new range of cars more diverse than before. The DB11 and Vantage are done. And the DBS which he candidly calls a ‘sporting version of the DB11’, not an independent model. The first final-spec Valkyrie was also on the Geneva show stand. The first DBX pre-production cars are now being built in the new factory in Wales.

In that context, a Geneva show stand with three all-new concept cars – the AM-RB 003, the Vanquish and the Lagonda All Terrain – isn’t so fantastical. As Palmer patiently reminded me I’d opened our interview by comparing his company’s ambition with Lotus’s Paris-Show splurge in 2010. Aston doesn’t just have a strong brand, it now has working capital, keen customers and a track record.

 

[hoffmeister_fan]

I vacillate between being impressed and worried with Aston's ambition. With their product onslaught, I get a whiff Lotus' concept car onslaught from about 4-5 years ago. However, Andy Palmer is a much more credible leader of Aston than Bahar was at Lotus. I really hope to see Aston succeed with their plan. It'd be a sad world without Aston Martin in it.

 

[Centurion]

I vacillate between being impressed and worried with Aston's ambition. With their product onslaught, I get a whiff Lotus' concept car onslaught from about 4-5 years ago. However, Andy Palmer is a much more credible leader of Aston than Bahar was at Lotus. I really hope to see Aston succeed with their plan. It'd be a sad world without Aston...

Unlike Bahar's pipe dream, Aston's ambitions are real. I welcome a the SUV and a mid engined Supercar. They will improve long term financial viability of the brand. It will be a stark contrast to the previous 10-14 years of never ending Vantage and DB9 facelifts and model year updates.