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Aston Martin signs Letter of Intent for technical partnership with AMG

A little over two months ago came reports that Daimler and Aston Martin were in talks, again, about "supply and technical-cooperation agreements." The next step has been taken with Aston Martin announcing that it has signed a Letter of Intent that looks "towards a technical partnership" with Mercedes-AMG GmbH, and the two companies aiming to have definitive agreements done by year's end.
While it will get to use certain electric and electronic components from AMG, the true golden egg for the maker of the Vanquish will be the ability to develop a new line of "bespoke V8 powertrains" that will be fitted to "a new generation of models." In return for opening up the larder, Daimler will get a non-voting stake of up to five percent of Aston Martin.
Nothing else is being said about the tie-up for the moment, but there's a press release below with a few more details.

Driving the BMW M2 Competition, Honda Odyssey and Toyota RAV4 Prime | Autoblog Podcast #651

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by West Coast Editor James Riswick. This week, they talk about driving the BMW M2 Competition, Honda Odyssey and Toyota RAV4 Prime. Then they discuss James' experience testing the new Yakima CBX cargo carrier, Autoblog readers' preference for the GMC Hummer EV over the Tesla Cybertruck, and Mercedes-Benz taking a larger stake in Aston Martin. Lastly, they help James' father find a new car in the Spend My Money segment. Autoblog Podcast #651 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving 2020 BMW M2 Competition 2021 Honda Odyssey 2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime Testing the Yakima CBX Cargo Carrier on the Subaru Outback 75% of Autoblog Twitter follower prefer the GMC Hummer EV over the Tesla Cybertruck Mercedes-Benz to boost stake in Aston Martin to 20%, lend it some tech Spend JamesÂ’ fatherÂ’s money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video:

Mercedes-AMG expands V12 engine production to Mannheim

Mercedes-AMG may be downsizing some of its engines, but it hasn't given up on making V12s. In fact it has so much demand for them, and so little room to expand, that it is opening a new workshop at another location just to handle V12s. We take that as a good sign. That new location is the Daimler factory in Mannheim, in southwestern Germany, which is already dedicated to engine production and is located just an hour and a half from the Mercedes headquarters in Stuttgart and the main AMG workshop in neighboring Affalterbach. But although the assembly of its 12-cylinder engines is being moved, it will still be carried out under the "one man, one engine" philosophy that sees each motor built from start to finish by one highly skilled and specially trained AMG technician. The move will give AMG the capacity to build more of its V12 engines. But it will also make use of excess capacity at the Mannheim plant, and allow the Affalterbach site to use the space and technicians freed up by the V12 move to focus instead on V8s. Those concerned about AMG's ability to maintain its levels of quality and performance at a remote location might note that production of its turbocharged four-cylinder engines for the A45, CLA45, and GLA45 models is already carried out by MDC Power GmbH, a Daimler subsidiary in Kolleda, using the same philosophy. AMG's current 6.0-liter twin-turbo V12 engine produces a massive 621 horsepower and an even more impressive 738 pound-feet of torque. It's used in the SL65 roadster, G65 sport-ute, and S65 coupe and sedan... and maybe soon in the S65 cabrio as well. Come to think of it, a twelve-cylinder version of the new GLS seems like a good idea, too. And though Aston Martin is contracted to use AMG's eight-cylinder engines, the added capacity could get the creative juices from Gaydon flowing as well. Related Video: MERCEDES-AMG TO BUILD 12-CYLINDER ENGINES IN MANNHEIM Affalterbach. Due to strong demand for its high-performance automobiles, Mercedes-AMG is to start the assembly of its 12-cylinder engines in a new location at Daimler's site in Mannheim. The traditional AMG "one man, one engine" philosophy continues to hold true: each powerful AMG engine will be built completely by hand by just one engine fitter. The employees who currently assemble 12-cylinder engines at the AMG headquarters in Affalterbach will be shifted to the eight-cylinder engine lines.