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Aston Martin - Mercedes, AMG Technical Partnership Confirmed
The Aston Martin and Mercedes-Benz partnership has at last fallen into place, with the two automakers announcing a formal technical partnership. Back in July, the British and the German automakers had initiated the process with the signing up of a Letter of Intent, which has now come to fruition.
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As part of the technical partnership:
1. Aston Martin will gain access to resources and expertise of Mercedes-Benz's performance division AMG.
2. The first major product to be born out of this partnership will be a brand new V8 engine for the next generation of Aston Martins, which currently run on outdated Ford sourced power plants.
3. Daimler, parent company of Mercedes-Benz, will gain five percent of Aston Martin shares (sans voting rights) and an observer status on the company's board of directors.
Besides the above mentioned points, the two companies also plan to further their partnership with the sharing of automotive electronic technology. Details about further integration will, however, be taken over time.
Aston Martin will also embrace Mercedes-Benz in a more common and traditional way, by the way of platform sharing. Aston Martin at present relies on its VH (vertical/horizontal) Platform for all its models, which is in much need of being replaced by a modern architecture. In the coming years we could see the automaker build a Vantage or Rapide on an SLS AMG platform.
Until that time, Aston will continuing using the VH platform, albeit in a modified form, to comply with safety regulations.
Last, but not the least, the coming together of these two big names could see the revival of the Aston Martin Lagonda SUV. The Lagonda SUV was showcased as a concept model at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show, but was later abandoned, never to be heard of again.
Commenting on the new partnership Aston Martin said: "Our company is this year celebrating its centenary, and the partnership agreed today underpins prospects for Aston Martin's bright, vibrant and dynamic second century in the sports car business."
"This strategic collaboration for Aston Martin will, in our next generation of luxury sports cars, offer our customers increased performance and efficiency whilst retaining the unique character and style of an Aston Martin."
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