‘While Palmer’s ambition was admirable, the challenge was dizzying’
I told you so? Hardly. As Andy Palmer leaves Aston Martin and AMG man Tobias Moers takes over, prattling on about how the clues were there all along would be disingenuous. I sat down with Palmer in early 2019, to have him talk me through Aston’s bold move onto mid-engined turf, and I came away pretty convinced, if also a little confused. Convinced? Because now the V12 Valkyrie hypercar made sense, to help the world get its head around a mid-engined Aston Martin. Convinced because Palmer was proposing relatively affordable aluminium for his 488/F8 rival (the Vanquish), rather than terrifyingly expensive carbonfibre. Convinced because the new hybrid V6 would future-proof Aston in a world moving rapidly away from big V8s and even bigger V12s. Convinced because of the talent working at Aston at the time: ex-Ferrari CTO Max Szwaj has a glittering CV; Matt Becker’s chassis talents are rightly lauded; and if part of me wished the Vanquish and the Valhalla were a touch more knockout, designers Marek Reichman and Miles Nurnburg couldn’t design an ugly sports car if they tried.
What’s more, Palmer’s enthusiasm was infectious. Last time I visited (this January) his car was a DBS Superleggera, and why wouldn’t it be? It’s the most Aston of Astons, the wildest, and there is no doubting Palmer’s passion for cars, for driving, and for ensuring the survival of the marque with which he found himself entrusted.
A little confused? Because while Palmer’s ambition was admirable, inspiring even, the scale of the challenge was dizzying. Two mid-engined supercars, with different bodies and chassis architectures, powered by an all-new, nothing-to-do-with-AMG hybrid powertrain? It’s hard to imagine a more ecient machine for the evisceration of money. Confused because I also had a sneak peek of the DBX (underwhelming, though it’s how it drives that matters), and couldn’t shake the disappointment I’d felt the previous summer, when the then-new Vantage failed to beat the outgoing 991.2 Porsche 911 GTS. Just as a charging army leaves itself open to encirclement, I feared Aston’s bridgehead – cars like the Vantage and the DBX – needed shoring up and making genuinely special before Aston could safely press on with its invasion of Italy’s supercar valley.
Now Palmer’s stepped down. The DBX was absolutely the right thing to do, as was the Mercedes relationship he brokered. But the need to endlessly feed the world (and Aston’s shareholders) exciting news (unveiling the mid-engined cars in early 2019 was at least a year too soon) was a damaging distraction.
Distractions are not something Palmer’s successor, ex-AMG man Tobias Moers, suffers with. His credibility is absolute, but it’s his fierce focus, analytical mind and hands-on approach, not to mention his no-bullshit demeanour, that will stand him in good stead as he’s parachuted into Gaydon. After all, for a man who managed to get AMG’s F1 engine homologated for road use, saving Aston Martin will surely be a walk in the park…