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How chasing Ferrari improved Aston Martin, with help from Mercedes-Benz

GAYDON, England — After decades of ups and downs, British carmaker Aston Martin Lagonda is charting a more efficient and profitable way forward, leaning on technology from shareholder Mercedes-Benz to make the costly leap to electric vehicles (EVs). Less than two years after billionaire Lawrence Stroll drove to the rescue of James Bond's car brand of choice, Aston Martin has undergone a manufacturing makeover to lift margins and help it become more like rival Ferrari. Stroll, Aston Martin's largest shareholder and executive chairman, who is also an avid fan of Ferrari, says after vehicle sales jumped 82% in 2021 the carmaker's transformation to long-term profitability is well under way, with new cars coming and funding secured through 2025. But analysts say Aston Martin, which has gone bust seven times since it was founded in 1913 and has flirted with death as often as Agent 007, is still burning through piles of cash. Some question its ability to generate Ferrari-like sales to fund the vast cost of electrification. "It's precarious and it is possible for this company to go bust," said Redburn equity research analyst Charles Coldicott. "I don't think it's a controversial thing to say even though Aston wouldn't like to hear it." Asked to comment on perceptions of a shaky future, an Aston Martin spokesman reiterated Stroll's view that the carmaker is well on the way to long-term profitability and that it has adequate access to cash. On a tour of the carmaker's Gaydon factory, Tobias Moers, formerly head of Mercedes' high-performance AMG brand and Aston Martin chief executive since August 2020, rattles off a list of moves including cutting one of two assembly lines and bringing more bespoke items like seats in-house. Perhaps the biggest shift has been to focus on higher-value customer-driven and customized orders — a big part of Ferrari's success — rather than over-producing and churning out sports cars wholesale, which then had to be discounted. "When I came in, the company was manufacturing-dominated instead of engineering-led, which for an auto luxury business is insane," Moers said. "In a company this size, you need maximum flexibility and agility." Moers has cut Aston Martin's inventory to 600 sports cars from 2,000 — its cars sell for an average of around 150,000 pounds ($195,750) — and customized orders now account for 50% of sales versus 6% when he joined the firm. At that point, the carmaker was in trouble after a disastrous 2018 public listing.

Aston Martin and Gentex show off tri-camera rearview mirror system for CES

More screens and cameras are headed for Aston Martin vehicles this decade, as Gentex and Aston have just jointly revealed a new tri-camera rearview mirror system. The tech will be on display next week in a 2020 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show. This tri-camera mirror system is similar to other camera mirror systems on the market today, but there’s a twist. Instead of the whole rearview mirror being one big screen, there are two smaller screens flanking the center display. These two additional screens display a feed from cameras on the carÂ’s two side mirrors. Camera side view mirrors already exist in some cars like the Audi E-Tron and Lexus ES in other markets, but the integration is different. Instead of replacing the side mirrors with tiny camera modules, Aston Martin is keeping the mirrors and simply adding a single camera to each one. Also, instead of displaying the side camera feeds near the A-pillars, itÂ’s routed into the small screens in the mirror itself. Gentex calls it the CMS (camera monitoring system), and while Aston Martin doesnÂ’t specify which models will get it, weÂ’re told to expect it on “future Aston Martin vehicles.” One of the aspects of this system Gentex stresses is that itÂ’s weather foolproof. Even if salt, snow or rain clouds/blocks one of the cameras, the traditional mirrors are still there to be used as a backup. Vehicles that use camera mirrors exclusively are engineered to make sure the view isnÂ’t inhibited, but Gentex doesnÂ’t want to take any chances with this system. The rearview mirror can function like a normal auto-dimming mirror, too, even though that camera is unlikely to become blocked from its placement just above the rear window. The biggest advantage we see in this setup is that one glance upward can give you a full idea of whatÂ’s going on behind and beside you. ItÂ’ll require some time in the driverÂ’s seat to decide if itÂ’s too much information and too many screens in one spot. WeÂ’ll reserve final judgement when it reaches that point. Since relying solely on camera mirrors is still not allowed in the U.S., this hybrid system might be the best way to take advantage of the tech. ThereÂ’s no timeline on production readiness, but anyone in Las Vegas going to CES can see it in action.

Get your Aston Martin Vulcan in Ohio for just $3.4 million

Want to get your hands on an Aston Martin Vulcan? Good luck: the manufacturer is only building 24 of them, and each carries a price tag of over $2 million. But if you're willing to shell out, there's one for sale in Cleveland. This Fiamma Red example listed for sale on the duPont Registry is described as the first Vulcan in the United States. It bears the VIN AMLVULCANXXXXXX07, indicating that this is the seventh of those two dozen examples to be made. And it can be yours for the small matter of $3.4 million, which is one heck of a markup on a vehicle that's already enormously expensive. The Vulcan, for those unfamiliar, is the supercar that Aston Martin built specifically for use on the track. That puts it in the same league as the McLaren P1 GTR and Ferrari FXX K. The Vulcan features an old-school naturally aspirated 7.0-liter V12 rated at over 800 horsepower – mounted up front but entirely behind the axle. It's built around a carbon-fiber tub that's even stronger and lighter than the one at the center of the One-77. And that aero kit derived from Aston's GT3 racer will generate as much as 3,000 pounds of downforce at top speed. The Aston is also more rare than its counterparts, of which McLaren will build 35 and Ferrari fewer than 40. That's rather rare company indeed, in which the Vulcan looks poised to be the rarest. So if you want to gain admission into the club, it won't come cheap. Related Video: