That led to some initial niggles: Hallmark’s diagnosis is that Aston erred by overlaying its own infotainment system on top of the Mercedes one. “For the next-generation we have a mantra not to touch these core systems. Instead we’ll put all the money into the hardware and the interface: the functionality is fine, but our look-and-feel and switchgear must be totally different.”
Hallmark calculates one-third of today’s Aston components are sourced from Mercedes, a figure that will rise with the new generation. “But more than 50 per cent will be down to us. There’s no penalty for being independent, so long as there are players out there willing to provide credible technologies at a competitive cost.”
What advances will the new architecture bring?
The boss is incredibly fired up by the new architecture’s potential. “We’ve got a mathematical description of how every Aston will be in the future: in terms of vehicle [performance], this will be a revolution.” Teams have gone through 52 systems – ”from air-conditioning to steering to braking” – benchmarking today’s Astons and their rivals to drive the new cars to the next level.
As with the current sports cars, the body-in-white will consist of bonded and extruded aluminium sections. New engineering methods should deliver a stepchange in torsional rigidity with only a minor weight penalty, providing stiffer suspension mounting points to enhance dynamics and refinement. Rear-wheel steering will also sharpen the GTs’ turn-in.
The future portfolio will maintain today’s breadth: from the sports cars to the DBX SUV to a mid-engined supercar such as Valhalla, plus the specials. But there will be far more commonality between core models. Could Aston put them down the same line? “Today, no. In the future, yes.”
Better economies of scale will ”save a game-changing percentage cost of the vehicle”, and streamline the supply chain. In theory, some sports cars could even be assembled at the DBX’s factory at St Athan in Wales: today, sports car bodies are shipped there from Gaydon for painting, then returned for final assembly. This merry-go-round perfectly encapsulates another one of Hallmark’s mantras: “We are blessed with inefficiency – and opportunity.”
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