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Aston Martin signs Letter of Intent for technical partnership with AMG

A little over two months ago came reports that Daimler and Aston Martin were in talks, again, about "supply and technical-cooperation agreements." The next step has been taken with Aston Martin announcing that it has signed a Letter of Intent that looks "towards a technical partnership" with Mercedes-AMG GmbH, and the two companies aiming to have definitive agreements done by year's end.
While it will get to use certain electric and electronic components from AMG, the true golden egg for the maker of the Vanquish will be the ability to develop a new line of "bespoke V8 powertrains" that will be fitted to "a new generation of models." In return for opening up the larder, Daimler will get a non-voting stake of up to five percent of Aston Martin.
Nothing else is being said about the tie-up for the moment, but there's a press release below with a few more details.

Aston Martin sues supplier Envisage over copyright infringement

Automakers don't make the entire cars themselves. They typically design and engineer them, outsource many of the components to outside suppliers, and put them together at assembly plants. Farming out work to those suppliers can result in some leaks in the automaker's intellectual property, but while that's typically covered in extensive legal documents, disputes can arise. And in this case, it's arisen between Aston Martin and one of its suppliers. That supplier is the Envisage Group, a British firm based in Coventry that has, among its various clients, performed design work for Aston since 2007 and supplied parts and tooling since 2011. That means it has access to certain proprietary information regarding Aston and its products, and now the automaker is claiming the supplier has taken unlawful advantage of that access and its copyrights to further its other businesses. Among its other services, Envisage operates a coachbuilding operation that handles the production of vehicles like the Eagle's customized Jaguar E-Types and the Speedback GT for David Brown Automotive. The latter, pictured here, bears more than a passing resemblance to classic Astons, and the company name itself suggests a certain affiliation as well. However both Aston Martin and David Brown Automotive insist that the lawsuit is unrelated. In correspondence with Autoblog, the latter sent the following statement: Following speculation in recent press reports that David Brown Automotive and Speedback GT are the subject of, or involved in, legal proceedings by Aston Martin Lagonda Limited against Envisage Group Limited, David Brown Automotive can confirm that it, and its products, are in no way implicated and the production of our vehicles continues unaffected by the litigation. According to the report from the Telegraph, the lawsuit filed with the UK's High Court makes specific mention of badges, wheels and headlights belonging to Aston Martin that Envisage has allegedly used in promoting its services. Featured Gallery David Brown Automotive Speedback View 18 Photos News Source: The TelegraphImage Credit: David Brown Automotive Design/Style Government/Legal Aston Martin lawsuit court david brown automotive david brown automotive speedback

Aston launches certification program for historic cars

After 102 years in business, Aston Martin has an in-house program to provide factory certification to the products it has made for more than a century. The Aston Martin Assured Provenance program is a way for owners to have their classic cars examined by the gents at Aston Martin Works at Newport Pagnell, and then - if successful - be assessed one of four levels of certification. Owners pay a fee to have their car looked over by in-house experts who perform a digital scan and then examine all of the car's visuals and mechanics. Those records are then given to the Sanctioning Committee, another group of experts that decides which level, from Platinum to Bronze, should be awarded to the vehicle. The owner pays another fee if the car get certified, after which said owner gets a photo book of the car, the certificate in a presentation case, two sets of plaques for the instrument panel and door sills, and a USB with the digital record of the car. The program is open to original vehicles and those reworked by Aston Martin. The press release below has more. Related Video: ASTON MARTIN LAUNCHES ASSURED PROVENANCE RATING FOR CLASSIC CARS 11 September 2015, Gaydon - Aston Martin is today unveiling an authoritative new Assured Provenance certification programme which, for the first time in the brand's 102-year history, comprehensively assesses the background of its heritage sports cars. Created to offer a true blue riband service to heritage car owners and collectors, and drawing on the unrivalled knowledge of a committee of authoritative Aston Martin experts, the pioneering Assured Provenance certification programme is administered and run by the brand's world-renowned in-house heritage car facility – Aston Martin Works. The first official authentication programme to be provided in-house by Aston Martin, the new scheme offers four levels of verification to take into account not simply all-original examples, but also sports cars that have been modified by Aston Martin itself over the years. As part of the painstaking procedure of examination and authentication, all cars submitted to the process will undergo a digital scan which will be verified and held in a secure archive for future reference. Every car will be assessed at Aston Martin's internationally renowned heritage restoration, service and repair facility – Aston Martin Works at Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire – where they will undergo a thorough visual and mechanical investigation.