Aston Martin plans to shake, not stir, with new models
A legendary but relatively little-known British luxury brand, Aston Martin, has set out to raise its profile as it begins a new-model offensive unlike anything in its 104-year history.
Every model will be replaced and several new ones will be introduced by 2020, officials say.
The product offense starts with the $214,820 DB11, which is due to soon arrive in U.S. dealerships. DB11 is the latest in a line of classic European “GT” cars that have been key to Aston’s image for decades. It’s also one of the first steps in a plan to broaden the niche automaker’s lineup and boost sales far beyond the 4,000 cars a year Aston traditionally has built, said Matthew Clarke, Aston Martin Americas marketing chief.
Along the way, the brand best known as James Bond’s car of choice needs to raise its profile and introduce itself to new generations of wealthy buyers.
Aston Martin has the most secure financing and detailed strategy in company history, thanks to a handful of investors who bought the company when Ford sold the brand out of its Premier Auto Group, which broke up in 2007. Funded largely by Kuwaiti and Italian investors, Aston will invest $1 billion in a product plan that takes it to the end of the decade. Aston also has access to engine and electronic technologies it can’t develop on its own through an alliance with Mercedes-Benz.
The DB11 is true to the company’s heritage of building European-style Grand Touring cars, 2+2 seat luxury cars with loads of power but more room and comfort than a traditional exotic sports car. James Bond’s original ride was a DB5, the new car’s direct ancestor.
The DB11 oozes power and technology thanks to a 600horsepower, 5.2-liter twin-turbo V-12 engine the company builds in Germany, a bonded extruded aluminum body and chassis and cast magnesium door structures. Luxury touches include a leather interior, embroidered head rests, exotic interior trim and optional “jewelry packs” for the paddle shifters, door pulls, steering wheel switches and more.
CEO Andy Palmer created a plan to move the brand into larger and more stable market segments. An Englishman who spent decades with Nissan, Palmer joined Aston in 2014 after more than two decades with Nissan that included responsibility for global product planning for Nissan and its Infiniti luxury brand.
“Our challenge in North America is awareness,” Clarke said. “Raising the brand’s profile will be our top task for the next few years.”