Mercedes is more than just a technical partner for Aston Martin Lagonda as the three-pointed star is also an important shareholder. It has expressed its desire to increase its stake to as much as 20 percent by the end of 2023. In an interview with Autocar, the Chief Technical Officer in Gaydon said the collaboration between the two brands will continue in the years to come. Roberto Fedeli gave an honest answer when the delicate Euro 7 topic came up:
"Looking for the next challenge with ICE, Euro 7 [emissions regulations], without Mercedes we could be in trouble. At the same time, Mercedes isn't just an engine for us, it's [also] the base electrical architecture. We did integration of new components into the base Mercedes architecture [for the DB12]."
Aston Martin DB12
As a refresher, Aston Martin will be bidding adieu to its own V12 around 2026 because of stricter emissions regulations. Last year, then-CEO Tobias Moers pointed out the writing is on the wall for the twelve-cylinder powerhouse, mentioning a new V12 won't be developed. Instead, the current unit will be updated to comply with regulations up to a certain point. After that, it'll be retired.
Aston Martin had been working on a V6 of its own for the reborn Vanquish but the mid-engined supercar has been axed. The disclosure was made earlier this year by chairman Lawrence Stroll at the Financial Times Future of the Car summit in London. Before canceling the Ferrari 296 GTB competitor, the engineering team had switched from an in-house V6 to AMG's V8.
Deliveries of the Valhalla will commence next year, with several ICE models also in the pipeline, including a DB12 Volante to follow the stunning coupe. Already spotted underoging testing, the new Vantage can't be far behind. As for the first EV, Stroll recently said we'll learn more about it on June 27.
CTO Roberto Fedeli says future models will benefit from the lessons learned in Formula 1, adding Fernando Alonso is "one of very few F1 drivers who has an interest in the capability [of the road cars] as well."
The DBX SUV will remain in production at the St Athan factory in Wales while the front- and mid-engined models are going to be assembled at home in Gaydon. The latter site could be expanded in the coming years to accommodate the arrival of an EV, according to chairman Stroll.
