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Aston Martin confirms new platform under development

It's been thirteen years since Aston Martin introduced the original V12 Vanquish. The model was effectively been replaced twice over by the time it reached its Bar Mitzvah, but its underlying platform is still around. And not just around, either: it underpins everything Aston makes and has made ever since it came on the scene, save for the Cygnet and the One-77 supercar. That includes the V8 and V12 Vantage, the short-lived Virage, the new Vanquish, the DB9, DBS, V12 Zagato and even the four-door Rapide. But while it may seem like forever that Aston's been using the VH platform, it won't be around forever more. In announcing its positive financial results for 2013, Aston Martin CFO Hanno Kirner confirmed: "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." The new platform is expected to underpin the next generation of Astons Martin, and will be powered by a new V8 engine being developed by Mercedes-AMG, similar to the arrangement that sees V12s furnished to Pagani for the Huayra. Whether an AMG-developed V12 is also in the cards for Aston Martin remains to be seen – the company ran on V8 power alone from the mid 70s (when its six-cylinder engine was retired) until the Ford-developed DB7 brought six- and then twelve-cylinder power. That aging but glorious 6.0-liter engine, by the way, still powers the vast majority of the company's lineup. The platform and associated technologies are being funded by the influx of capital from shareholders Investindustrial, Primewagon and Adeem Investment and by a 13-percent increase in revenue due to the launch of the new Vanquish Volante and V12 Vantage S, as well as the company's expansion into new markets like Mexico and Thailand. It wasn't long ago that upon spending a week with the company's Vanquish coupe that we fell just short of love, wondering aloud how long Aston could weather its uncertain financial picture while still relying heavily on elderly technology and drivetrains cradled in elderly platforms. We now appear to have our answer, and we like what we're hearing. Aston Martin Holdings (UK) Limited Full Year Results 2013 28 April 2014, Gaydon: Aston Martin Holdings (UK) Limited is today announcing full year results for the 12 months ended 31 December 2013.

Kahn Vengeance has Aston Martin's blessing [UPDATE]

Last week we brought you the first renderings of a coachbuilt Aston Martin DB9 called the Vengeance that's being developed by Kahn Design. The emergence of the project raised a valid question: if Aston Martin quashed a similar venture by Henrik Fisker, wouldn't the Kahn Vengeance suffer a similar fate? Not according to Kahn. In a statement released to the press, company spokesman Mo Bhana said that "unlike the David Brown Speedback GT and recent Fisker Thunderbolt that ended in a lawsuit, there are no copyright issues with the Vengeance since Aston Martin has confirmed they have entered into a supply deal with us." The incidents Bhana refers to are over two coachbuilder projects that have come up recently and which have drawn the ire of Gaydon. The first is the Speedback GT developed by David Brown Automotive and assembled by a British coachbuilder called Envisage. The latter company also supplies parts and tooling to Aston Martin, which sued Envisage over concerns that its designs were being misappropriated. Given the resemblance of the Speedback to certain classic Astons, and the use of the name David Brown (which happens to be shared by the Speedback's patron and a key figure from Aston's history), reports began circulating that Aston was suing Envisage over the Speedback project, however David Brown Automotive refuted the allegations. The second was Project Thunderbolt, a rebodied Vanquish designed by Henrik Fisker – the same Danish designer who penned the DB9 and V8 Vantage while serving as Aston's design director before striking out on his own. Despite the former association, Aston objected to Fisker's project, launched a lawsuit against him and only agreed to drop it after Fisker agreed not to produce the Thunderbolt. Given Aston's track record, fearing that it would go down the same path would seem reasonable, but Kahn apparently doesn't expect any such difficulties with its supplier. And the company does, after all, also have a history of collaborating with coachbuilders - most notably Zagato. We've reached out to Aston Martin itself for confirmation and will update you as soon as we hear back. In the meantime, you can ponder the second set of renderings released and which we've included above.

Inside the Aston Martin Heritage Trust, the company's secret museum

The Aston Martin Heritage Trust Museum has been in existence since 2002. It houses the official archives of the Aston Martin Lagonda Company, as well as those of the Aston Martin Owners Club, at the behest of which the Museum was founded back in 1998. It also houses a rotating collection of distinctive and historically significant Aston Martin vehicles, cherry picked from a century of the automaker's exquisite existence. Unfortunately for those besotted with the brand, as I am, the AHMT is located on the periphery of the exurbs of nowhere, in a restored 14th century barn on a dirt road, blocks off the river in the wee Midlands village of Drayton St. Leonard. An address is not published. The only indication that you might be in the right place is an almost intentionally innocuous government tourism placard, placed somewhat near the turnoff. "We used to maybe get a hundred visitors a year before they put up the sign," says AMHT Curator Donna Bannister, an American of equally mysterious provenance. "Now we get almost a hundred per month." Lucky are the souls who find the AMHT (my cabby wasn't among them; I had to walk a bit), because it houses, in its cramped Middle Aged quarters, some real treasures. Greeting me when I entered was a bare-metal-nosed 1921 A3, the oldest existing Aston Martin in the world, which was bought at auction in 2000 and restored to driving condition via the generous underwriting of Sheik Nasser of Kuwait, who is apparently a huge AM collector. "It won Kop Hill in 1923," Bannister says. "We recently took it back there, and to the Windsor Concours d'Elegance. Of course the Royals are big fans of the Aston brand." There's also a 1934 Ulster BLB 684, the only remaining one in a 2+2 configuration. This car is a driver as well. "Club members can hire it out," Bannister says. "Though because it's quite difficult to drive – it has the clutch in the center, and the gas and brake on either side – only a few do." There is a passel of more recent notables, like the 2000 V12 Vanquish cutaway, an auto show maquette meant to demonstrate the fruits of Ford's huge investment in the brand at the start of this century. There's a pre-production, gloss white 2013 Vanquish Volante, which was used for photos and promotion as well, but never registered due to some inconsistencies in the paint. There are display engines from the DB4GT, the Lagonda V8, and the twin-supercharged Vantage (swoon!).