2011 Aston Martin Db9 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Cash influx could help Aston Martin double sales

Aston Martin is on the verge of a major product overhaul – complete with new architecture and powertrains. And good thing, considering that the Vantage and DB9 are each about a decade old. But to make it all happen, the British automaker is going to need a massive capital influx. Fortunately, that's just what it got when Investindustrial came on board. The Italian private equity fund, which previously owned a large chunk of Ducati and is now building a Ferrari theme park in Spain, bought a 37.5 percent stake in Aston Martin back in 2012. The acquisition reportedly cost Investindustrial the better part of a quarter billion dollars, but that's not the end of the firm's investment in Aston. According to Bloomberg, Investindustrial is now pouring even more into the Gaydon-based marque to help fund its product blitz. The output of that investment is expected to be announced at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show. That's where Aston's new chief executive Andy Palmer (whom Investindustrial reportedly helped poach from Nissan) is tipped to announce the company's new product plan that is earmarked to help double the company's sales from around 4,000 units last year to as many as 8,000 once those new products reach the market. The plan will assuredly include replacements for Aston's trademark luxury GTs, but could also encompass a new crossover utility vehicle to give it a greater foothold in growing markets like China while taking on similar new products from key rivals like Bentley and Maserati. While those two competitors are owned by larger auto groups – Volkswagen and Fiat Chrysler, respectively – Aston is independent. It's brokered a deal with Mercedes (thanks once again in no small part to Investindustrial) to help with components it can't effectively develop in-house, but the cash injection will be critical to the brand's revival plans.

Aston may build fewer than 100 Lagonda super saloons

Aston Martin has owned the Lagonda nameplate since the late '40s, but in the roughly 70 years since that acquisition, the use of the name has been kept largely exclusive for four-door models. The two most famous modern Lagondas are the angular, futuristic sedan built in the '70s and '80s and the infamously ugly SUV concept from the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. UK magazine Car claims that the classic name could make its return on a svelte four-door as soon as this summer, which makes sense considering our spy shooters recently caught what looked like a modernized incarnation of the 70s super saloon last month. Interestingly, while Aston Martins are rare birds as-is, Car says that the neo-Lagonda could be even more scarce – its sources suggest that the model could be limited to under 100 units. That's because Aston Martin's Q customization service is reportedly taking up construction duties for the project, and with its small team, that means production is going to be slow, limited and very expensive. Even covered in camo as spied above, there's something special about the new car. The squinting headlights and thin A-pillar echo the '80s model in a modern way and make this four-door look a lot sportier than the Bentley, Maserati and Rolls-Royce models that it will likely compete against. It's rumored to be using composite body panels to keep weight down. The powertrain is said to be an evolution of the Rapide, Aston's sole existing four-door model. The Lagonda would use Aston Martin's 5.9-liter V12 with power tuned to around 600 horsepower, backed by an eight-speed automatic replacing the Rapide's elderly six-speed unit. That would put power just short of an Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG, but the composite panels could lend it a weight advantage. The latest rumor only indicates the Lagonda's unveiling sometime later this summer, with no exact date or location. Still given the relative completeness of the test car, it doesn't look like it could be too far away. We can't wait to see it when the camo comes off.

Aston Martin considers offering new Lagonda Taraf outside of Middle East

Aston Martin officially took the wraps off its new Lagonda sedan in Dubai on Monday, revealing the luxury limousine in all its glory and revealing its nameplate as Taraf – derived from the Arabic word for "luxury" (not for some Kurdish starlet). A fitting name, since it will only be offered to select customers in the Middle East, where a large number of its '70s-era predecessors have found homes. But while the model was clearly and emphatically targeted at the Persian Gulf clientele, Aston Martin is reportedly considering offering the Lagonda Taraf in other markets as well. Both Car and Top Gear are citing Aston's new chief executive Andy Palmer on the matter from the unveiling in Dubai: "I can confirm today that we are also evaluating the opportunity to offer this Lagonda in other markets." Whether it would carry the Arabic name along with it, we don't know. Nor do we know, for that matter, if the US would be among those markets which Aston would consider selling the sedan. "We have enjoyed excellent levels of interest in the Lagonda and we are investigating possibilities for other markets besides the Middle East," said Matthew Clarke, the company's spokesman for the Americas, in correspondence with Autoblog. "However, we can't add any more or be any more specific at this very early stage." Understandable, of course, but we hope to hear good news in the near future.