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Aston Martin to turn an air force base into a factory to build DBX crossover

To build its upcoming DBX luxury SUV, Aston Martin needs a new factory. A year ago, the British manufacturer announced having chosen the site of St. Athan in South Wales, and the former Royal Air Force base has now been officially handed over to Aston Martin. It's a part of a growth plan outlined by the carmaker, and the site was chosen from 20 potential ones all over the world, to accompany the existing manufacturing facility in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The two factories will create 1,000 new jobs by 2020, and Aston Martin will boost employment in Wales with a further 3,000 jobs across its supply chain and local businesses related to car manufacturing. The three hangars of the location will be converted into a car factory by 2019. The former military site was formally handed over from the British Ministry of Defence to Aston Martin by Secretary of State Sir Michael Fallon at a ceremony today, including Aston Martin President and CEO Dr. Andy Palmer, and Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns and Welsh First Minister, Carwyn Jones. It's been a special day in Wales as conversion of #AstonMartinStAthan starts ahead of DBX production in 2019: https://t.co/9e6nqQiob4 pic.twitter.com/K6v3D3TPJd — Aston Martin (@astonmartin) April 6, 2017 "Due to its sheer size and scale, the St Athan Super Hangars represented an excellent opportunity for us to build our second manufacturing facility, within the envelope of an existing structure. It is perhaps fitting that St Athan is, like our headquarters and sports car factory at Gaydon, a former Royal Air Force base", says Andy Palmer. Related Video:

Aston Martin seeks ‘big brother’ despite first profit in years, IPO talk

Aston Martin just reported that it earned $121 million (or GBP87 million) in 2017, its first profit in eight years, and it's preparing for a possible initial public offering, eyeing a valuation as high as $6.95 billion (GBP5 billion). It has a strategy to begin converting its fleet to hybrid and electric powertrains. Nevertheless, the low-volume British luxury marque says it needs a helping hand to survive the wave of autonomous driving technology sweeping the automotive industry. CEO Andy Palmer tells Bloomberg it's looking for a "big brother" partner to help it with the billions of dollars in capital requirements posed by the dawn of driverless cars. "We are making a new kind of company, a company that can survive on 7,000 to 14,000 very highly priced, very profitable cars a year, but it can survive because of its partnerships," Palmer told Bloomberg TV. "It can be very profitable on that 7,000 to 14,000 cars a year but only by having a big brother that can help it out." Palmer said Aston Martin already has a partnership with Daimler AG, which owns a 5-percent stake in the company, to develop autonomous capabilities, but more help is needed. One assumes he is envious of competitors like Rolls-Royce and Bentley, which benefit from the corporate parentage and financial resources of BMW and Volkswagen, respectively. Sales grew 48 percent in 2017 to nearly 5,100 units, Aston's highest sales volume in nine years, on the strength of the DB11 sports car, which starts at $211,995. It was enough for Palmer to proclaim in a release, "The financial turnaround of Aston Martin is now complete." While it shops around for a sugar daddy, Aston Martin is busy building a new factory in Wales, set to open in 2019. It has launched new models like the DB11 Volante and Vantage, plus the limited-production DB4 GT Continuation model. Further out, the company is building 155 examples of its first electric car, the RapidE, due in 2019, and it's developing an electric version of the DBX crossover, also for 2019. Palmer has said Aston Martin will offer all six of its vehicles in hybrid variants by 2025, with 25 percent of its vehicles to be fully electric by the end of the 2020s. Related Video: Image Credit: Aston Martin Aston Martin Autonomous Vehicles Electric Luxury aston martin rapide aston martin vantage aston martin db11 aston martin dbx aston martin db11 volante

Mid-engine Aston Martin Project 003 supercar teased

Aston Martin has officially announced its next mid-engine supercar with a teaser and a working name: "Project 003." From the teaser image, it should be a stunner with a body that's all curves and wide athletic haunches. We also dig the exhaust outlets through the engine cover. Aston says the supercar will borrow some technology from the Valkyrie, with that car's lightweight construction, active aerodynamics and active suspension likely candidates. Still, Project 003 will be a very different vehicle. For one thing, it doesn't have an absurdly high-revving naturally aspirated V12. Instead, it's a gas-powered, turbocharged hybrid. Aston Martin hasn't said how many cylinders, but it seems safe to say it will have at least eight. Then there's the fact that this will be more practical for road use, with Aston specifically mentioning that this car will actually have luggage space. How novel! We expect that the car will be a bit more civilized in the ride and noise departments, too. Aston Martin says that the first of 500 total examples will reach owners starting in late 2021. While it hasn't said for sure, we expect to see the car unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show. Between the show and when it reaches customers, it will probably get a real name, just as the Valkyrie began life as Project 001, and the Valkyrie AMR Pro was Project 002. Related Video: Green Aston Martin Coupe Hybrid Luxury Supercars