Aston Martin unveils first tie-in with Mercedes

There are few bigger events in the motor industry than a new Aston Martin

Aston Martin’s new deal with Mercedes will secure the company’s future for the next 100 years.

That was the view of Aston Martin regional manager Neil Slade who was speaking to 7DAYS as the new DB11 model was unveiled for the first time in the Middle East yesterday.

Speaking at the Aston Martin showroom in Dubai, he said: “We want to be here for the next 100 years. Aston Martin has been bankrupt seven times in the last 100 years, we don’t want to be bankrupt again.”

The DB11, which received its worldwide debut in Geneva on March 1, is the first result of the collaboration between the iconic British car company and Daimler-Mercedes. The new model has the GT fitted with Mercedes state-of-the-art electronic hardware and satellite navigation system.

“The partnership is going really well and that means all the electronic architecture in the car now comes from them,” said Slade.

“We’ll be collaborating with Daimler-Benz to introduce V8 engines in a new line of products like the DBX crossover.”

He was speaking about Aston Martin’s new wild card concept car, which was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show. The new model is the first product launched under the company’s Second Century plan.

And Slade said: “It’s the launchpad for the future of Aston Martin. It’s our Kingpin.”

The new generation of Second Century planned cars, spearheaded by the DB11, are part of the car makers efforts to diversify their product range. Slade was quick to point out that the DB11 is not simply a slighter better DB10, which was famously used in the last James Bond movie Spectre.

One customer, who had just spent £154,900 (Dhs807,000) on the new model, said it wasn’t the Bond factor that swung it for them but the car’s “feminine lines and big hips”.

“It has much more feminine appeal than other sports cars which are too stiff. This is a completely different machine,” she said.

Slade said the company has already taken 1,000 orders for the car. He said the coupe is typical of the Aston Martin brand and bears the DB badge, named after the company’s former owner before ownership changed hands in the the 1970s.

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