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Aston Martin DBX spied with Mercedes-inspired interior exposed

Aston is out doing performance testing on its new SUV, the DBX. One of our spy photographers caught it running around the Nurburgring a short while ago, and now we have sound to go along with it. There are also a few shots of the interior that show off some of Mercedes' contributions to the crossover. If we had to guess, we'd say Mercedes-AMG is also providing the loud beast hiding underneath the hood, too. In listening to the DBX pounding around the Ring, it sounds a whole lot like the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 found in all the extra-hot AMG vehicles, from the AMG GT to the GLC 63. It's a guttural, nasty sound we've grown accustomed to out of these vehicles, and now that Aston is already using this engine for the DB11 and V8 Vantage, it's no stretch to think they'd use it again. The interior features a lot of Mercedes switchgear upon close inspection. It's impossible to confirm, but the font, menus and layout of the infotainment system look a whole lot like MBUX. Then the array of climate controls, rotary knob and buttons around it look just like the stuff out of a modern Mercedes. If you zoom way in on the key sitting in the dash, we can even see a little of what might be a three-pointed star on it. At any rate, the key is identical to what new Mercedes keys look like today. Moving on to the steering wheel, we see the exact same setup as what's on the spokes of pretty much every Mercedes equipped with MBUX. Everything down to the symbols and black touch-sensitive buttons show up here. It's important to remember this vehicle is still a prototype, so things could change. As for the exterior, we don't get to see anything new there beyond what Aston officially released awhile back. It's still wearing all the same camouflage, touting sponsors/suppliers to go along with the same zany green, yellow and red look. Aston has previously said the DBX will be officially revealed before the end of this year, and we'll expect it to go on sale in 2020.

Aston Martin close to IPO on the London Stock Exchange

According to a report from Sky News, Aston Martin is close to announcing plans to go public with an IPO on the London Stock Exchange. A listing on the New York Stock Exchange has also reportedly been considered. In December of last year, news broke that the company's owners had hired financial advisory firm Lazard to prepare for a potential offering. The report suggests that the British automaker is looking at an offering of $1.29 billion (GBP1 billion) in shares and an overall company valuation of around $6.44 billion (GBP5 billion). An Intention To Float statement could be filed as early as next week, says Sky. Last year was good for Aston Martin, with a total of 5,117 vehicles sold globally, a 58 percent jump from 2016. The company reported pre-tax profits of nearly $112 million (GBP87 million) in 2017. And it is working on a flurry of new products such as the Valkyrie supercar, an upcoming SUV, the new DBS Superleggera (shown above), and even an ultra-exclusive, real-life James Bond gadget-laden DB5. As of right now, Aston Martin's largest investors are I taly's Investindustrial and Kuwait's Investment Dar. Daimler also holds a sizable stake. Aston said it had filed a registration document with Britain's Financial Conduct Authority, a requirement for firms considering an IPO, at a time when the likes of Tesla boss Elon Musk have slammed the additional pressures of being listed. Pending a final decision from the FCA, a prospectus will be published on or around Sept. 20 as the maker of sports cars that can cost hundreds of thousands of pounds hopes to tap into global demand from wealthy buyers who want a slice of the high-end brand. The carmaker hopes to complete the flotation this year, the same target that British Prime Minister Theresa May is working towards to agree a deal for leaving the European Union. Aston sells roughly 25 percent of its cars to the EU and operates its only plant in Gaydon, central England, with a second one due to begin operations in Wales in 2019. "We can demonstrate that Brexit is not a major effect for us," Chief Executive Andy Palmer told Reuters. "If there is a tariff into Europe, it's countered by a tariff into the UK for our competitors so you might lose a little bit of market share in the EU but you pick it up in the UK," he said. Niche carmakers such as Aston and McLaren are more concerned about customs checks than tariffs as they believe many of their buyers can absorb a price hike.

Nissan could have bought a stake in Aston Martin as early as 2012

Aston Martin has a very interesting future ahead of it. While the British brand appeared to be struggling with aging tech for a while, fresh investment from Daimler may have shown a light toward the future with the brand getting engines and electronics from them. Also, former Renault-Nissan top exec Andy Palmer has jumped ship from the French/Japanese automaker to become CEO of the much smaller sports car company. Interestingly, though, new reports from unnamed Nissan sources have indicated that Palmer has been pushing to work with AM for years.
Three unnamed company insiders told Reuters that Palmer made attempts to convince Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn in 2012 and 2013 to invest in Aston Martin, but his proposals were shot down both times for unspecified reasons, according to Automotive News. "We looked carefully at the proposal but we passed on it," said one of the sources.
You can easily see why Palmer was eying Aston Martin even back in 2012. It's no secret that the British sports car mavens were in need of extra funding, well before the Daimler investment. Building vehicles these days is only getting more expensive with stronger safety and emissions requirements. Just look at the brand's desperate hope to get a side-impact crash exemption to keep selling its models in the US as an example.