With the new DB12, Aston Martin reminded the world how beautiful cars it can design. And even though the grand tourer doesn’t have a V12 engine option (at least not for now), it offers a significantly boosted performance compared to its predecessor and a styling that matches it. The DB12 is just the beginning though, as the automaker will reportedly unveil its five-year product plan during its capital markets day on 27 June.
Autocar quotes Aston Martin’s chairman Lawrence Stroll, who said in an interview with the British publication the firm is on track to launch its first electric vehicle in 2026. This is just a small step in the luxury firm’s massive plan to become a net-zero business by the end of the decade. Not “many customers [are] asking me for a BEV,” Stroll admitted, but the good news is the electric product will be a brand new vehicle, not just a case of “putting batteries in an old platform.”
Gallery: Aston Martin DB12
“You will see we have a different target, we have in mind something completely different to the technology out there already,” technical boss Roberto Fedeli told Autocar. “Our thought is that electric is not a powertrain but a new vehicle dynamic. For this reason, we have in mind our own road map.”
In May this year, Geely – the Chinese conglomerate that owns brands such as Volvo, Polestar, Lotus, Lynk & Co, Zeekr, and others – acquired a 9.4 percent share stake at Aston Martin and Stroll announced his company will have the “opportunity to access their range of technologies." However, for its first BEV, the UK exotic car manufacturer won’t rely on a platform from Geely but will instead work on a bespoke architecture.
Combustion-powered cars won’t be left behind. Following the launch of the DB12, the next big thing coming should be the new Vantage, which will follow a sportier and more performance-oriented path than the DB12. In total, seven new models from the DB11, Vantage, and DBS families are planned. Plug-in hybrids are also in the cards with the first to hit the production line being the Valhalla supercar.
