Aston Martin’s DB11 replacement will be the first new model to leverage the brand’s F1 development experience.
Aston Martin will unveil its next-generation grand tourer, the replacement for the DB11, on 24 May.
The ‘DB12’ will bring a technological overhaul, with teaser images released by the British firm confirming that the ageing Mercedes-Benz infotainment system from the DB11 has been replaced.
That model, likely to be called Aston Martin DB12, will kick-start the new model blitz that’s been three years in making, company chairman Lawrence Stroll today told the Financial Times’ Future of the Car summit.
“It feels like watching paint dry or grass grow, but after three years we’ve got our next generation of sports cars and will launch eight in the next 24 months,” he said. “We will bring in new technology, have performance from our F1 team integrated into the business, and continue the great luxury [of cars today].”
The new Aston line-up sports car line up will include replacements for today’s Aston Martin DB11, Aston Martin Vantage and Aston Martin DBS models, and the quoted number of eight models includes different variants of this trio.
Stroll hinted that the new range would include a new model “above GT” that stood alone in the market. “We’ve created a new sector above GT,” he said. “A true high level of luxury with a high level of performance. Something new.”
Stroll promised much improved technology in the cars but Aston would “bring technology in in a way our customer wants it to be delivered”, a reference to ensuring technology isn’t simply introduced for the sake of it.
Aston Martin also remains on track for launching its first electric car in 2025 and Stroll said more details would be given at its capital markets day on 27 June. “The software components have been decided, [and it will be done] mostly in house. We’ve hired several hundred people and brought lots of competency in house. It still has to be an Aston Martin experience with EV.”
The firm will continue to grow its mid-engined line-up beyond the Aston Martin Valkyrie, too, starting with the hybrid Valhalla. No more than 999 Valhallas (and variants thereof) will be made and the model is being developed using expertise and wind tunnel resources at Aston’s Silverstone-based F1 team. “There will be a mid-engined sports car legitimately using F1 technology,” said Stroll.
The software and manufacturing issues with the Valkyrie were now behind Aston, said Stroll, and more than 100 had been delivered. He didn’t rule out a future Aston Martin wearing the Valkyrie’s $5.5 million price in the future as part of the firm’s plan to continue to offer limited-run special models once or twice per year.