How Much Do You Think Aston Martin’s IPO Will Be Worth?

You'll soon be able to own a small slice of the iconic British brand.

We’ve known for some time that Aston Martin intends to seek an initial public offering (IPO), but the question that remained is how much would the British automaker be valued at? According to a new Reuters report, Aston Martin is seeking a valuation of up to $6.7 billion. If all goes to plan, the automaker hopes to announce its final pricing early next month.

Its shares will then be admitted to the London Stock Exchange on or around October 8. The price range will be between 17.50 pounds to 22.50 pounds per share. About 25 percent of the company is up for sale publically, while the rest will continue to be owned by privately.

Ever since CEO Andy Palmer assumed the helm back in 2014, Aston Martin has been working vigorously on its turnaround plan which has so far seen the introduction of stunning new models like the DB11, Vantage, and DBS Superleggera. In the very near future, its Lagonda all-electric sub-division will launch its first of at least three new models. A new Aston Martin factory is also scheduled to open next year in the UK. This is also very impressive despite the upcoming Brexit and whatever may or may not happen in the aftermath.

However, many of Aston Martin’s plans were laid out by Palmer and his team prior to that historical vote. Instead of abandoning that bold vision, Palmer is continuing with his grand plans, although some modifications may be required.

Fortunately, Palmer is quoted as saying that investor interest has been “unprecedented” so far. “The tendency of the investors are 'long only' type investors, people who understand that this is a growth story,” Palmer stated. "The airplane is halfway down the runway but there's still half the runway to go.” With Brexit just around the corner, Palmer also confirmed the automaker has increased its stock of engines and other necessary components as a just in case scenario.

"We are up to five days of engine stock for example and we have got a very large warehouse in Wellesbourne (central England) where we have at least five days of car stock," Palmer confirmed.

But what about the effects of possible EU tariffs? "If there are tariffs… for every car we lose because of a 10 percent tariff into Europe, we presumably pick up from Ferrari and Lamborghini in the other direction because obviously their cars become more expensive in the UK," he said.

View the original article here

Aston Martin's Expansion Is Paying Off Big Time

Earnings this quarter is ten times that of last year.

Aston Martin is in the midst of a complete overhaul and expansion of its product portfolio, with the added production capacity to go with it. And it's already starting to pay off, and pay off in a big way.

The British luxury automaker recorded pre-tax profit of some $4 million this past quarter. And while that may not seem like all that much for a manufacturer selling vehicles for hundreds of thousands of dollars apiece, Automotive News Europe reports that it's actually ten times as much as it made in the same quarter last year.

The increase in profit, as you might expect, came from an increase in sales. Nearly twice as much as the same period last year, with 1,776 vehicles sold around the world so far this year. And the bulk of that increase came thanks to the vital markets in the Americas, which rose 185 percent over last year. Asia Pacific played its part as well, increasing 133 percent. That kind of performance, while expected of its vehicles, comes at a vital time for the automaker that recently listed shares on the London Stock Exchange.

The storied marque launched the DB11 just a couple of years ago, the new Vantage one year ago, and the DBS Superleggera just this past summer. It's also preparing to enter the crossover market with the forthcoming DBX, relaunching the Lagonda marque as a luxury electric vehicle brand, and is planning a string of mid-engined supercars – starting with the new Valkyrie. All the while it's transforming the old St. Athan air base in Wales into a second production facility, expanding its racing program, broadening its classics activity, and deepening its presence in markets around the world.

Here's The Engine That Will (Probably) Power Aston Martin's SUV

Is it what you expected?

We already know Aston Martin’s first SUV, rumored to be named Varekai, is set to begin production by late 2019. Its official debut is expected next March at Geneva. We also know its final design will not be identical to that of the DBX Concept, but has remained relatively unknown is its powertrain. Could it be a hybrid? Plug-in hybrid? Pure internal combustion? Australia’s Motoring recently spoke with Aston Martin’s chief creative officer Marek Reichmann who hinted that it’s technically possible to drop a six-cylinder Mercedes-Benz engine under the luxury SUV’s hood.

Remember, Aston Martin is already making use of Mercedes engines in, for example, the all-new Vantage. Makes no sense to stop there. “It could (use a Mercedes-sourced six-cylinder) because that would be a pretty good engine and combination. Potentially,” said Reichmann. More specifically, Marek is very likely referring to Mercedes’ new M256 turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six, which is also connected to a mild hybrid system and can produce up to around 382 hp and 553 lb-ft of torque.

So not only will the DBX/Varekai be the brand’s first SUV crossover, but also its first hybrid vehicle. The latter trend will gradually make its way to additional Astons as well, specifically its sports and supercars. It’s also possible, though not confirmed at this time, a fully electric version of this SUV will debut, but company sources remain tight-lipped on that subject for now.

But one thing is for certain: diesel is out of the question. “Never, ever, ever, ever, never, ever, ever. Never. Never! No diesels,” Reichmann laughed. But what is happening next year is the debut of the Rapide-E, a fully-electric version of the Rapide that’s limited to only 155 examples. “Why are we doing the Rapide-E? To understand what our customers want from electrification because Aston Martins are not typically, everyday-use cars. We want to know what’s most important through feedback from the consumer,” Reichmann said. Also remember that only last March did Aston launch its new Lagonda sub-brand, which will consist of an all-electric lineup.

View the original article here

Aston Martin's Expansion Is Paying Off Big Time

Earnings this quarter is ten times that of last year.

Aston Martin is in the midst of a complete overhaul and expansion of its product portfolio, with the added production capacity to go with it. And it's already starting to pay off, and pay off in a big way.

The British luxury automaker recorded pre-tax profit of some $4 million this past quarter. And while that may not seem like all that much for a manufacturer selling vehicles for hundreds of thousands of dollars apiece, Automotive News Europe reports that it's actually ten times as much as it made in the same quarter last year.

The increase in profit, as you might expect, came from an increase in sales. Nearly twice as much as the same period last year, with 1,776 vehicles sold around the world so far this year. And the bulk of that increase came thanks to the vital markets in the Americas, which rose 185 percent over last year. Asia Pacific played its part as well, increasing 133 percent. That kind of performance, while expected of its vehicles, comes at a vital time for the automaker that recently listed shares on the London Stock Exchange.

The storied marque launched the DB11 just a couple of years ago, the new Vantage one year ago, and the DBS Superleggera just this past summer. It's also preparing to enter the crossover market with the forthcoming DBX, relaunching the Lagonda marque as a luxury electric vehicle brand, and is planning a string of mid-engined supercars – starting with the new Valkyrie. All the while it's transforming the old St. Athan air base in Wales into a second production facility, expanding its racing program, broadening its classics activity, and deepening its presence in markets around the world.

View the original article here

Watch F1 Drivers Crash Some Caravans In Aston Martins For Fun

Clarkson, Hammond and May would be proud of this senseless caravan destruction.

Even seasoned fans will probably admit that this hasn’t been the most exciting era of Formula One. We’d wager that caravan racing, where the objective is to simply destroy your competitor’s caravan, is more entertaining, and this video proves that. Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen were recently camping out at the Red Bull Ring when they decided to trade their F1 race cars for caravan-towing Aston Martins to stage a light-hearted race at the circuit. The two minute video features more excitement than your average F1 race.

Ricciardo competes in an Aston Martin Vanquish Volante with 576 hp, while Max drives the more potent Aston Martin Vanquish S Volante with 603 hp. Granted, the cars aren’t evenly matched, but that isn’t the point of this unusual race. Each caravan weighted around 400 kg and were mounted on slick Pirelli tires for added grip.

Not that they were very effective as the racing drivers teared the supercars around the circuit causing the caravans to comically flip over at every turn, much to the amusement of the racing drivers who are clearly enjoying themselves immensely. Much mayhem ensues, and by the end of the race the circuit is covered with caravan debris. Clarkson, Hammond and May would be proud to see some caravans put to good use. And if you're wondering about Red Bull's connection with Aston Martin, don't forget that the two companies are currently collaborating to produce the radical V12 Valkyrie hypercar.

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This Is When Aston Martin’s First Ever SUV Will Be Unveiled

It will be the first model that will be produced at Aston Martin’s new fancy factory in Wales.

It’s no longer a shock that Aston Martin is making an SUV. Even Ferrari is succumbing to the SUV bandwagon. If predictions are accurate, Aston Martin’s first ever SUV, which will be called the Varekai according to trademark filings, will become the brand’s best-selling model. That’s hardly surprising when you look at the monumental success of the Jaguar F-Pace and the fact that Aston Martin is a low-volume supercar maker. Details about the Varekai are still scarce, but Aston Martin has confirmed the SUV is “on schedule” for a reveal in Q4 2019, so we should see it break cover around a year from now.

It will be the first model that will be produced at Aston Martin’s new fancy factory in Wales, with prototypes slated to start production in Q1 2019. The Varekai is expected to adopt the DB11’s 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, but a 700-hp hybrid version could also be in the pipeline. That would explain why the Vareki is being built at the new factory because the site will become Aston Martin’s “home of electrification”, where the new Rapide E and luxurious Lagonda EVs will also be produced.

Aston Martin has also released the first photos of its new shiny St Athan facility, which is nearing completion. It looks very plush, as you would expect considering it's part of a $200 million+ investment. The Paint Shop is fully installed and construction of the production line is “well underway”. Around 100 employees are already working on site, but that number will increase to 200 early next year and 700 by the start of 2020 as Varekai production ramps up.

“As the St Athan facility nears completion, there is a very real sense this is the start of a bold new era for Aston Martin Lagonda,” said Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer. “A second production facility is a critical step in delivering our Second Century Plan. The St Athan facility will initially commence with the production of our first SUV but will ultimately be a global center of excellence for the production of luxury high-performance EVs, including Lagonda: the world’s first luxury electric automotive brand”.

View the original article here

Aston Martin's Expansion Is Paying Off Big Time

Earnings this quarter is ten times that of last year.

Aston Martin is in the midst of a complete overhaul and expansion of its product portfolio, with the added production capacity to go with it. And it's already starting to pay off, and pay off in a big way.

The British luxury automaker recorded pre-tax profit of some $4 million this past quarter. And while that may not seem like all that much for a manufacturer selling vehicles for hundreds of thousands of dollars apiece, Automotive News Europe reports that it's actually ten times as much as it made in the same quarter last year.

The increase in profit, as you might expect, came from an increase in sales. Nearly twice as much as the same period last year, with 1,776 vehicles sold around the world so far this year. And the bulk of that increase came thanks to the vital markets in the Americas, which rose 185 percent over last year. Asia Pacific played its part as well, increasing 133 percent. That kind of performance, while expected of its vehicles, comes at a vital time for the automaker that recently listed shares on the London Stock Exchange.

The storied marque launched the DB11 just a couple of years ago, the new Vantage one year ago, and the DBS Superleggera just this past summer. It's also preparing to enter the crossover market with the forthcoming DBX, relaunching the Lagonda marque as a luxury electric vehicle brand, and is planning a string of mid-engined supercars – starting with the new Valkyrie. All the while it's transforming the old St. Athan air base in Wales into a second production facility, expanding its racing program, broadening its classics activity, and deepening its presence in markets around the world.

View the original article here

Here's Why Aston Martin's V12 Isn't Going Anywhere

Where there's a will, there's a way.

Automakers have proven themselves more than capable of coming up with creative solutions to high-revving, large displacement, naturally aspirated engines. For example, Ferrari has already replaced its naturally aspirated V8 for an even more powerful twin-turbo V8. Lamborghini will soon be adding a hybrid system to its V12, which, impressively, will remain naturally aspirated.

Obviously, this is all done for the sake of meeting emissions standards. As for Aston Martin, its NA V12 has also already been swapped out in favor of a twin-turbo V12, but its new AMG-sourced twin-turbo V8, as some may argue, is the better engine. Does this mean that twin-turbo V12 doesn’t have a future? Nope.

Autocar reports that Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer has gone on record in an interview saying the company’s V12 very much has a future. Like Lamborghini, Aston Martin will hybridize the engine. “We see a path that enables us to conform with CAFE regulations [US fuel economy standards] with hybridization,” he said. “The idea was to priorities keeping the V12, which we think is the beating heart of the company, and offset it with a pure electric version. But as that’s matured, you see this application of hybridization instead.”

We already know the Aventador successor will feature a hybridized V12, and now that Aston Martin is planning to do the same for its future flagships could possibly represent the start of an industry trend among supercar brands. Now, some may continue to argue that only a naturally aspirated V12 will suffice, but Palmer has some words for those purists: “A purist might argue that it’s better naturally aspirated or not hybridized,” Palmer said. “But nevertheless, 12 cylinders is 12 cylinders.” We couldn’t agree more.

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Aston Martin’s Vanquish Replacement Will Have A Brand New Name

An iconic nameplate is being revived for the first time in over ten years.

The current V12-powered Aston Martin Vanquish will soon be replaced with a new flagship Super GT – and we now know its name. Aston Martin has announced the upcoming Vanquish successor will be called the DBS Superleggera. It’s the first time the iconic DBS nameplate has been used since the range-topping successor to the first-generation Vanquish based on the DB9. It first appeared in the 2006 James Bond movie Casino Royale before launching the following year.

The use of the Superleggera moniker, which is Italian for ‘super-light’ also hints at the car’s extreme capabilities, and is a nod to the original 1967 DBS. It’s previously been applied to the DB4, DB5, and the DB6 Mark 1. The DBS Superleggera completes Aston Martin’s ambitions to replace each of its existing two-door sportscar models as part of its Second Century Plan. The automaker says the new flagship model will “feature the highest levels of performance, craftmanship and design.” “When you hear the name DBS Superleggera, you know what it is. It’s the definitive Aston Martin Super GT,” said Mark Reichman, Aston Martin’s chief creative officer.

“It’s an icon, a statement and this one will be no different. We’ve pushed the boundaries of performance and design to give this car a distinct character and ensure it’s worthy of the heritage and weight that this name carries”.Technical details haven’t been released yet, but it’s believed the DBS Superleggera will pack a 5.2-liter twin-turbocharged V12 engine with over 700 horsepower.

We also get a sneak peek at the car’s front-end in an announcement video, but it isn’t very revealing. Aston Martin will be lifting the wraps off the DBS Superleggera in June, so we don’t have too long to wait. As for the Vanquish, the nameplate will be used for Aston Martin’s upcoming mid-engined supercar set to rival the Ferrari 488 GTB and McLaren 720S, according to Autocar. It’s due to enter production in 2021, will be built on an all-new platform, and will be powered by an engine not shared by other current Aston Martin models.

Aston Martin's Former Chairman Wants To Build Amphibious Cars

If anyone can make it work, it's the racing engineers at Prodrive.

Amphibious vehicles can be rather finicky. But one man is gearing up to wade into the market. And he just might have the chops to make it work. That man is David Richards, the head of British racing consultancy Prodrive and former chairman of Aston Martin. (He also basically runs Aston's racing division and once ran Honda's F1 team.) Richards recently traveled to California and came back with a Watercar Panther, a sort of Jeep modified for use across the earth's surface... and not just the dry parts. Richards has been modifying his, in part to meet European regulations.

In the process, he became interested in developing his own. So he put some of Prodrive's young engineers on it. “I went to see one in Los Angeles and was pleasantly surprised with the quality, so I bought one with the intention of importing some into Europe. But there’s lots of legislation, and it’s tricky for the EU with emissions and crash testing. Even single type approval had some insurmountable problems,” Richards told Autocar. “Now I’m inclined to do our own. We know about them, and I have some young engineers working on it – we’re all excited by it. I have a boat engineer looking at the hull.”

The idea would be to bring an amphibious off-roader to market with a turbodiesel engine for around ￡150,000 – equivalent to roughly $200,000, or about the price of a new Aston DB11. But Richards has no illusions about the task. Amphibious vehicles are typically “neither a great car nor a great boat,” he said. “That’s inevitably the case, so you err towards making it a better boat, but you can still make it a better car.” Sounds good to us, and given the bang-up job it's done on so many race and rally cars, we're looking forward to seeing what Prodrive can cook up.

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How Much Do You Think Aston Martin’s IPO Will Be Worth?

You'll soon be able to own a small slice of the iconic British brand.

We’ve known for some time that Aston Martin intends to seek an initial public offering (IPO), but the question that remained is how much would the British automaker be valued at? According to a new Reuters report, Aston Martin is seeking a valuation of up to $6.7 billion. If all goes to plan, the automaker hopes to announce its final pricing early next month.

Its shares will then be admitted to the London Stock Exchange on or around October 8. The price range will be between 17.50 pounds to 22.50 pounds per share. About 25 percent of the company is up for sale publically, while the rest will continue to be owned by privately.

Ever since CEO Andy Palmer assumed the helm back in 2014, Aston Martin has been working vigorously on its turnaround plan which has so far seen the introduction of stunning new models like the DB11, Vantage, and DBS Superleggera. In the very near future, its Lagonda all-electric sub-division will launch its first of at least three new models. A new Aston Martin factory is also scheduled to open next year in the UK. This is also very impressive despite the upcoming Brexit and whatever may or may not happen in the aftermath.

However, many of Aston Martin’s plans were laid out by Palmer and his team prior to that historical vote. Instead of abandoning that bold vision, Palmer is continuing with his grand plans, although some modifications may be required.

Fortunately, Palmer is quoted as saying that investor interest has been “unprecedented” so far. “The tendency of the investors are 'long only' type investors, people who understand that this is a growth story,” Palmer stated. "The airplane is halfway down the runway but there's still half the runway to go.” With Brexit just around the corner, Palmer also confirmed the automaker has increased its stock of engines and other necessary components as a just in case scenario.

"We are up to five days of engine stock for example and we have got a very large warehouse in Wellesbourne (central England) where we have at least five days of car stock," Palmer confirmed.

But what about the effects of possible EU tariffs? "If there are tariffs… for every car we lose because of a 10 percent tariff into Europe, we presumably pick up from Ferrari and Lamborghini in the other direction because obviously their cars become more expensive in the UK," he said.

Aston Martin's First EV Will Target Tesla Owners Tired Of Feeling Poor

Because sometimes the best still isn't good enough.

For the past few years the Tesla Model S was the so-called “it” car for what the industry calls “early adapters” with money. They love to have the latest and the best. And now Aston Martin wants their business with its upcoming RapidE. Speaking to Autocar, Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer openly acknowledged that his company is “looking to those guys looking for something above Tesla. That customer probably isn’t looking for ‘Ludicrous Mode’.

"Our offer will have very credible acceleration – equal to a petrol Aston Martin – but you’ll be able to drive the car rapidly all the way around the Nurburgring without it derating or conking out on you.” Aston Martin has already unveiled the prototype of its first EV, the RapidE, though customer deliveries won’t begin until 2019. Just 155 examples are planned, and it’s safe to assume the final production version won’t look 100 percent identical to the prototype. In fact, the prototype you see pictured here is merely a proof-of-concept. Developed in partnership with Williams Advanced Engineering, the prototype is currently powered by Williams’ Formula E battery, but the production battery will be smaller.

Unlike the Tesla Model S, the RapidE’s battery will be front-mounted as opposed to floor-mounted. Also unlike most Tesla’s today, the RapidE will be rear-wheel-drive only. Aston Martin hasn’t announced specific performance numbers, but a 155 mph top speed, at the very least, is guaranteed. Given everything, why is Aston Martin turning a V12 engine four-door coupe into an EV instead of developing something new from the ground up? “I’ve engineered cars for a long time,” Palmer said. “It’s very hard work when you try and change everything at once…I wanted to do this with a car we understand intrinsically.”