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Aston Martin Rapide Q by Aston Martin - Salão de Pequim

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Aston Martin turns over £519 million in 2013

Revenue increases by 13 per cent for Aston Martin in 2013, with pre tax profits also up to £84.8 million

Aston Martin has announced its financial results for 2013, revealing revenue for the brand increased by 13 per cent last year up to £519 million. The growth was supported by growing global sales and an expanding dealer network, with entrances into new markets such as Mexico and Thailand also contributing.

The record year was also marked with the brand celebrating its 100th anniversary. Global sales in 2013 rose by 11 per cent year on year to 4,200, with EBITDA up also up by 22 per cent to £84.8 million. A full year of sales for the new Vanquish Coupe also supported growth, with the Vanquish Volante and V12 Vantage S also proving popular.

Aston Martin has also recently announced a tie-up with Mercedes AMG, which will see the two brands develop bespoke V8 engines for the next-generation of Aston Martins.
Aston Martin Chief Financial Officer, Hanno Kirner stated, “Our strong ownership structure and strategic partnership with Daimler AG, finalised in December 2013, provides us with a solid foundation for the unprecedented investment programme that will underpin our future growth.”

Elsewhere at Aston, the brand is yet to appoint a new CEO following Dr. Ulrich Bez stepping down from the role late last year.
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Aston Martin quietly confirms development of an all-new architecture

Aston Martin's VH platform has been around for nearly a decade so it's interesting to note the company has confirmed the development of a "completely new architecture."Details are limited but Aston Martin Chief Financial Officer Hanno Kirner said "We are engineering a completely new architecture and technologies to ensure that our next generation of sports cars is at the forefront of design, performance and technology." He went on to say "The strategic partnership with Daimler AG will bring with it cutting edge electrical and electronic expertise, and the shared development of world-class bespoke V8 powertrains.”

That's not much to go on but previous reports have indicated the company is working on a new DB9 that could be offered with an AMG-sourced 4.0-liter V8 engine and Aston Martin's familiar 6.0-liter V12. However, speculation has suggested that particular model would still be based on the VH platform.
There has also been rumors that Aston Martin could use the Mercedes MSA platform, that will underpin the next-generation SL and SLK, but nothing is official as of yet.

Of course, there's also the chance that the "new architecture" could be to the electronic architecture that Aston Martin is getting from their partnership with Daimler.

Regardless, Aston Martin also confirmed their revenue increased 13 percent, in 2013, to £519 ($874 / €630) million thanks to sales of roughly 4,200 cars.

Source: Aston Martin
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Aston Martin to keep V12 alongside new AMG V8 - Autoblog

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Aston Martin is embarking on a brave new future. After thirteen years basing the bulk of its lineup on the VH architecture, Aston is developing a new platform, and is partnering with Mercedes-AMG to develop a new V8 engine and electronic systems. But what will happen to the old platform and engines once the new ones arrive?

You might think that they'd be retired, but that won't necessarily be the case. At least as far as the AM11 V12 engine goes. The 6.0-liter engine was developed by Cosworth, based on a Ford block, and first appeared on the DB7 Vantage way back in 1999, but still powers everything Aston offers, save the V8 Vantage. It's evolved heavily over the past decade and a half, rising in output from 420 horsepower to 565, but Aston is one of the only British automakers still offering a V12 these days (Jaguar no longer does, Bentley's is actually a W12 and while Rolls-Royce does, its vehicles are mostly of a decidedly more sedate nature), and will surely want to carry on that legacy.

That's why Aston spokesman Matthew Clarke revealed in correspondence with Autoblog, "Our 6.0-liter V12 engine will remain, with ongoing development, at the heart of a number of our flagship models for the foreseeable future," long after the new engine being developed with Mercedes arrives. Just which models will receive the new eight-cylinder engine and which will keep the twelve remains to be seen, but we get the feeling Aston's eight-cylinder range will broaden to include more than just the Vantage.

As for the VH architecture, you can expect it to sail off into the proverbial sunset once the new platform is ready, though we wouldn't be surprised to see it phased out more gradually than abruptly. A 13-year tradition doesn't end overnight, after all.
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Aston Martin’s bespoke super-saloon by Q branch (2014) spy shots

Could this be a new Aston Martin Lagonda super-saloon? It’s even more special than that: it’s a prototype for a new limited-run, bespoke commission by Aston Martin’s Q branch.

So Aston Martin isn’t about to relaunch the Lagonda brand with a Mercedes S-class rival?

Not yet, though talks are underway with Mercedes (with which Aston has a technical partnership) for the British brand to borrow the next-generation GL's platform to form the basis of a new SUV. However, you’ll like what this super-saloon is nonetheless. Aston Martin’s Q branch can paint or trim your Vanquish or V8 Vantage in whatever paint or leather you wish, but it’s also responsible for taking things a little, err, further…

In 2013 it built two CC100 Speedster concepts for a couple of über-wealthy clients, and this new super-saloon is its next work of art. It’s unclear whether Aston approached a select number of clients, or a customer commissioned Aston (and allowed a small production run to lower the tooling and other costs). Either way, no more than a small handful will be built, with the vehicle being officially unveiled later in 2014. And it may use the Lagonda name, as a sort of 'soft' relaunch of the Lagonda brand before that Merc-based SUV arrives...

What else do I need to know about this new Aston Martin super-saloon?

We know this mule has Aston Martin’s venerable 5.9-litre V12 beneath its long and low bonnet. In the Rapide Sthat engine produces 550bhp (15bhp down on the range-topping Vanquish, because it doesn’t have that car’s flat-valve airboxes) but as with the CC100, there’s scope for Aston to up it towards 600bhp.
The body panels are thought to be carbonfibre, like the CC100 and the latest Vanquish, but besides a few Aston hints (the vented bonnet and pop-out door handles) the overall styling is much sharper and aggressive than that of the Rapide. A bit like a Lagonda...
The wheelbase appears longer than that of the Rapide, with crucial extra millimetres between the wheels to improve upon that car’s woeful rear-seat space.

What about some genuinely new Aston Martins?

Aston Martin recently signed a technical partnership with Daimler and its Mercedes-AMG division, which gives the British company access to Merc’s electronic and electric components, along with its AMG V8 engines, in exchange for handing the Germans a 5% stake in the company.

And in March 2014, Aston issued £100m of bonds, the proceeds of which will be used to develop new models. In an interview with the Financial Times, Andrea Bonomi, a senior partner with Investindustrial, the Italian private equity firm which owns 37.5% stake in Aston Martin, said: 'There is a renewed confidence that Aston is moving in the right direction. The board with the support of all shareholders has built a long-term coherent business plan that is proceeding.'

We hear a new DB9, appearing in 2016, will be the first new Aston model. The Lagonda-badged SUV will take a little longer...

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Curioso para ver o que sai desta parceria entre a Aston e a Mercedes.
No entanto à partida será positivo já que a Aston está bastante atrasada no que respeita a motores e transmissões e a aliança com a Mercedes-AMG pode fazer diminuir a diferença para a concorrência. O V8 no sucessor DB9 será muito importante porque garantirá a mesma performance do atual V12 com consumos e preços bem mais baixos. A colocação de uma caixa dupla embraiagem também será fundamental já que neste aspecto o atraso da marca é mesmo grande.
 
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