Looks like Aston will be joining the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini, and McLaren in the mid-engined supercar game in about three years time. Speaking to Auto Express, Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer laid out the details of the British luxury automaker’s seven-year plan—including a mid-engined rival to the Ferrari 488 due out in 2020.
“We have one car every year for the next seven years. It starts with our GT cars: DB11, Vantage and Vanquish. In 2019 we’ll have DBX [the crossover], then we’ll have, for the sake of argument, let’s call it a [Ferrari] 488 competitor,” Palmer told Auto Express. “Then we have Lagonda, which is Lagonda One and Lagonda Two. Each car has a seven-year life, so in 2023 you have DB12.”
Palmer goes on to say that not only will the new supercar bring them closer to Ferrari in the minds of enthusiasts, but financially as well.
“Within our price pillars, we’ll have Vantage, DB11 and Vanquish—then you have nothing up above them. We have a slightly lower average transaction price than Ferrari, so you need something that connects your Valkyrie at £2.5 to £3 million with the rest of the group. We have an obvious blind spot where the likes of the 488 sit.,” he said.
Speaking of the mid-engined V12 hypercar, Palmer confirmed that some of the Valkyrie’s DNA will be transplanted into its more pedestrian little sister—and that Red Bull F1 CTO and aerodynamics guru Adrian Newey will have a part in its creation. When asked whether or not the new car must be mid-engined, Palmer replied, “It doesn’t, but it’s easier to get the 50:50 weight distribution and that market tends to be defined as mid-engined.”
So, if James Bond is challenged to a time attack contest at Imola by Ferrari-piloting baddies in his next movie, he’ll now have the perfect tool for the job.