Ex-Ferrari boss Felisa explains how Aston Martin is gearing up to enter super-luxury market.
The new Aston Martin DB12 represents a giant leap forward from the DB11 and a vital change of emphasis for the embattled but ambitious UK company.
However, even more crucial than a model change has been the appointment, exactly one year ago, of 77-year-old Amedeo Felisa as Aston CEO. Italian-born Felisa ran Ferrari for eight successful and highly creative years until he retired in 2016, but he was persuaded back last year to replace former Mercedes-AMG chief Tobias Moers at Aston.
Since then, it has become apparent that the management and leadership styles of the two men could hardly be more different.
Whereas Moers was strident and combative (sparking resignations among key staff), Felisa has communicated a desire for market-leading standards by being mild-mannered and emollient: he was a popular leader at Ferrari, using a quarter-century’s experience in top car jobs to convince rather than to cajole.
Speaking exclusively to Automotive Daily Network partner Autocar, Felisa said he arrived when the DB12 was “about 80% done” but was on hand when crucial final decisions were being made.
“We were being criticised for interior designs that weren’t different enough,” he said, echoing his designers’ view that supercar cabins had become too screen-based.
“Critics said they saw too many Mercedes parts in our cars, so we decided to invest to make sure they had their own identity.
“Our big task now is to move Aston Martin more into the super-luxury world without losing any Britishness. We’re working on that. I believe our quality is now very good and the dynamics of our new car will be another surprise.
“Aston customers love their cars to have emotional driving characteristics. Our experience with DBX 707 has shown this clearly and has helped us develop DB12.
Maybe in the beginning, the new car was a little too soft. But 707 is very good, very special and it helped us. I don’t usually like SUVs, but I do like the 707 – because it is something else.”
Felisa said he is especially pleased with the DB12’s breadth of capability: it is hugely quick yet simple to drive in town. But how does he rate it against his Ferrari experience?
“It is every bit as good as I hoped,” he said with a smile. “But there is always the chance to improve. We have other exciting models coming soon.”