We've been hearing rumblings for some time that post-Ford Aston Martin has been talking about forming an alliance (The Axis of Axles?) with Mercedes. CAR Magazine claims to have the inside line on details emerging from the negotiations. Unsurprisingly, the cooperation seems to center on getting Mercecdes engines into future Astons, replacing the aged Ford-sourced motors currently on offer. This will supposedly include diesel and hybrid options, as well as AMG's 6.2-liter V8 which may power future Vantage models. alAston could so get Mercedes' eight-speed autobox. And there's even talk of "whole platforms to be shared by top-end models," and cooperation between Aston and Maybach (anyone remember Maybach?). In other words, no matter how hard they try, the British cann't seem to stop their most beloved brands from going German, one way or another. But, as Lieberman suggested the last time this rumor came around, all the identity politics in the world mean nothing if this cooperation makes Astons better, faster and more reliable. And if "whole platforms to be shared by top-end models" means Aston gets to drape the "death on a stick"-sounding AMG SLC in its trademark sex appeal, even Clarkson might forgo ze German jokes.
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Meh…I’m not really feeling it.
The part about platform sharing scares me. Mercedes doesn’t make the best high-end plaforms of the luxury brands, in fact not even close. What’s more; Aston Martin should be a car manufacturer, not a coach builder.
The sound of the engines is nice though and realistically I doubt anything other than BMW or Mercedes are options. I still prefer BMW, especially if they really are going to share platforms, but maybe in ten years it’s time for the 14th AM bankruptcy before they can once again rise from the ashes.
The pitfalls of not being able to improve your product because it’s already that good at what it does but at the same time watch it get outdated by substitutes.
Maybe a good team up since working with McLaren could be coming to an end soon. And is not what it had cracked up to be.
AM has money to buy motors so why not Merc sell them even perhaps in the not too distant future help revise the Maybach. Maybach is due for a face lift soon or slip into the oblivion.
Merc can do it if there’re buyers around. But Merc itself dont seem to be able to eanetrate the uber high end market very well in the past.
Would a Mercedes engine really be less classy than the current engine (which is just two 3.0 Duratecs cobbled together)?
No sir, I don’t like the idea. I’ll never own one, but it just doesn’t sound right.
blowfish brings up a good point. What if this deal is working the other way, too? What if the good Dr. Bez is working on doing some of MB platform development for limited edition models?
I would buy an AM with and MB engine. Didn’t they twin-turbo a V12? Instant tent.
Is abit like Bugatti, it would have went no where if anybody had thinner pockets to have owned her.
Hopefully Marc can team up with AM to supply them with latest technologies & engines.
AM is more workable partnership than Mclaren, since Mclaren doesnt itself sell many cars to retail market.
Marc could probably make a AWD DB10.
Would a Mercedes engine really be less classy than the current engine (which is just two 3.0 Duratecs cobbled together)?
Yes…
Even if the AM V12s are glued together Ford V6s, they are not available in any other Ford products, and specifically (hand)built and engineered for the AMs. In my perception at least, that’s a lot more special than buying some crate AMG engine and installing it in your cars. If they start doing that what seperates them anymore from all those brands developed in a barn in the UK or Germany…
On a side note…Yes, AMG claims they too handbuilt their engines, but given the amount of engines they crank out every year and the amount of people working there it’s quite clear that is a questionnable claim…Which might be why they’ve gone silent about it recently.
But like I read on a forum; maybe they’ve got a robot called ‘hand’