Aston Martin & Mercedes join forces

Aston Martin and Mercedes team up for new Lagondas – SUV and Saloon –  and the next generation Maybach.

This isn’t the first time we’ve talked about a partnership between Aston Martin and Mercedes, but according to Car & Driver it’s now just about a done deal.

As long ago as March 2009 we reported that Mercedes supplied the basis for the Lagonda SUV Concept (a Mercedes GL), and six months later we reported that Aston Martin were working on a Mercedes S-Class based Lagonda saloon.

More recently we reported that the GL-based Lagonda SUV was back on and that Mercedes wanted Aston Martin to put together the next generation of Maybach. And now, it seems, Aston Martin and Daimler have sorted out what’s going to happen in their ‘Partnership’.

To start with it looks like Mercedes will supply the GL platform and the S Class platform for Lagonda to propduce the Lagonda SUV and an S-CLass based Lagonda saloon. It will also deliver up engine options to replace Aston’s ageing ‘Two Mondeo V6s Bolted Together’ V12.

In return, Aston Martin will take on the production of a new generation of Maybachs based on the next generation S-Class. Mercedes believe that Aston Martin’s experience in small-run, high-value models will mean a new Maybach could be brought to market at 50% of the internal cost for Daimler.

That saving is a big incentive, and probably the only way to even start to justify producing a new generation Maybach. And if Maybach sales still stay pitifully low Aston Martin could always sub the whole thing out to CPP Manufacturing.

That seems to be a nice equal relationship, with both companies benefiting. However, it does look likely that AM will seek to get their hands on the platform that underpins the SLS to replace the ageing VH platform – a relic from Ford’s ownership – that currently underpins all their models. But that’s still up for discussion.

Which all sounds far more promising than the Mercedes-Chrysler debacle from a few years back.

Source: Car & Driver