Aston Martin is developing a new modular architecture for future vehicles. Mild-hybrid power will replace plans for plug-in hybrid systems. The V12 could survive until 2035 under low-volume exemptions. Over the last couple of years, Aston Martin has refreshed its lineup, but executives are looking forward. Far forward. According to them, there’s a new clean-sheet generation of sports cars, SUVs, and supercars arriving soon on a new platform. Perhaps most important, the V12 has a future too. The goal isn’t just better performance or improved technology. Aston Martin wants to fundamentally change how it develops, builds, and profits from its vehicles. The V12 Gets A Stay Of Execution Aston Martin Let’s start with the news enthusiasts actually care about. Aston’s iconic 5.2-liter twin-turbocharged V12 may have more life left than many expected. “We’ve done some work to make the V12 compliant to European and US [regulations],” Aston Martin CEO Adrian Hallmark told Auto Express. “If we keep our V12 sales under 1,000 per year, then we’re exempt from legislation until 2035 at least.” That’s music to enthusiasts’ ears. Basically, the engine survives by staying rare. The exemption depends on Aston building fewer than 1,000 V12s a year, trading volume for the freedom to keep the twelve-cylinder alive nearly a decade longer than the regulations would otherwise allow. One Platform To Build Them All This is all taking place as Aston Martin works to simplify its business, improve profitability, and keep its cars feeling unique. The new platform is expected to underpin everything from future grand tourers and SUVs to mid-engined halo cars, creating far greater commonality between models than exists today. You’re reading that right. A future Aston halo car could share significant underpinnings with an SUV. Or maybe the better way to think of that is backwards. Hallmark described the upcoming architecture as “revolutionary,” saying it will incorporate entirely new powertrain, electronics, seating, climate-control, and chassis systems. Read: Aston Martin Cranks The Vantage Up To 11 With New Hardcore Variant The modular platform is built to accommodate multiple body styles and even future battery-electric vehicles, with sports cars and SUVs sharing far more parts and rolling down the same production line. Aston now expects those EVs to land sometime in the 2030s rather than later this decade. Aston Martin For the foreseeable future, combustion power stays central to the company’s plans. Hallmark said the shifting emissions rules and the added cost, weight, and complexity of plug-in hybrids meant the technology no longer made sense for Aston Martin, adding, “We’re not delusional, we’re pragmatic.” Rather than plug-ins, the automaker is expected to lean on 48-volt mild-hybrid systems that improve efficiency, support electrically assisted turbochargers, power auxiliary functions, and potentially allow limited engine-off running in certain conditions. Beyond powertrains, Aston expects to improve efficiency in plenty of spaces within the business. The new platform should reduce costs and complexity. The brand intends to take full advantage of every chance it has to simplify production without losing what makes Aston special. Now we wait to see if it can pull that off. Photos: Aston Martin
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