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Aston Martin sheds light on its first two electric vehicles

Aston Martin's on-again, off-again electric car rollout is beginning to take shape. Bolstered by stakeholder Daimler, the British carmaker detailed the first two battery-powered models that it plans to bring to the market. Speaking to the Financial Times, company stakeholder Lawrence Stroll confirmed that at least two electric Aston Martin models are on their way after several false starts. One will be a sports car in the vein of the DB11, and the other will be an SUV. Both will be built in the United Kingdom, so they will not roll off a Mercedes-Benz assembly line, but neither's design has been finalized yet. Stroll affirmed that his team hasn't even decided what to call them. As we previously reported, both of these EVs are likely to use at least some technology borrowed from Mercedes-Benz. Daimler will increase its stake in Aston Martin to 20% by 2023, and it's granting the company access to its hybrid and electric powertrains in return. It's a win-win situation: on one hand, Aston Martin receives state-of-the-art turnkey components. On the other hand, Mercedes-Benz is able to leverage the benefits of economies of scale. It's still too early to tell precisely which parts Aston Martin will use to build its first electric cars. It could borrow a platform from Mercedes-Benz, it could use powertrain components (like batteries and motors), or it might sign up for both. "We're looking at all options," explained Stroll. Regardless, the company's much-hyped plans to recycle the decades-old Lagonda name to denote a luxurious sub-brand focused on electric cars have been canned. Tobias Moers, the company's CEO, confirmed that the first electric Aston Martin models will go on sale in 2025 or 2026. In the meantime, the company will launch several hybrids, including a fuel-sipping version of the DBX. Aston Martin needs to go electric, because it will no longer be allowed to sell cars powered by an internal combustion engine in its home country of England after 2030. It's not entirely phasing out its gasoline-powered models, however. Stroll previously stressed he doesn't think the internal combustion engine will ever fully disappear. Related Video:

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Aston Martin has another mid-engine supercar in mind

It seems Aston Martin is really gaining some valuable knowhow from Chief Technical Officer Max Szwaj, who has moved in from Ferrari. Having worked on mid-engine Ferraris for years, Szwaj is now focusing on mid-engine Aston Martins, such as the upcoming Valkyrie. The limited-edition car, its name revealed at Geneva, is co-developed with Red Bull. But it likely won't be the only mid-engine future Aston. Talking to Autocar in Geneva, Aston's CEO Andy Palmer said the Valkyrie is "important in establishing Aston as a credible maker of mid-engined models." The Valkyrie is the first since the one-off Bulldog prototype built in 1979. It could spawn a mid-engine companion in 2021, a rival to the Ferrari 488 GTB and McLaren 720S, and would possibly receive valuable engineering input from Red Bull's Adrian Newey, a famed F1 engineering legend. The Valkyrie would remain a limited-production halo car, as only 175 will be built and each will cost $3 million – but it seems lessons learned from it would be used to craft a significant mid-engine supercar. What is especially remarkable about the Valkyrie is that its development has been completely virtual up until now, and the first prototype cars will commence road testing later in the year.Related video: