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Aston Martin DB11 key to the brand’s new product plan

If you listen to Aston Martin’s Chief Creative Officer and Design Director, Marek Reichman, the famous British luxury sports car manufacturer is about to enter what could be its most successful period ever - and it all starts with the all-new DB11.


“What we call our ‘Second Century Plan’ starts with DB11. It’s a very, very important product for us because it sets the cadence and platform for the regeneration of our sports cars, as well as the DBX crossover," Reichman told CarAdvice during this week's international launch drive in Tuscany, Italy.

Above: the DBX concept

“The all-new DB11 is the replacement for the iconic DB9. It’s a clean-sheet design that has Aston’s own turbocharged V12 engine and their own brand new platform and upper body."

It’s a crucially important car for Aston Martin, not just because it’s the first brand new model for the brand in some time, but because it is the trigger for a product pipeline that will see the company deliver seven new cars in seven years, commencing with the DB11.

Historically, Aston Martin has lacked the kind of regular drumbeat or cadence of new models and derivatives that Reichmann outlined in their ‘Second Century Plan’, instead the company has typically launched a new model, but then shrunk back until a new model arrived years later.

Above: Marek Reichman walks media through the styling and aerodynamics of the new DB11

According to Reichman, that kind of stop/start, piecemeal rollout isn’t going to happen this time around.

“The plan is to regularly introduce all-new cars. It starts with DB11, but we then get into replacing Vantage and the derivatives of those cars, like the Volante and Roadster versions that will follow. We then move on to replacing Vanquish and introducing the DBX, which have all been funded," he said

“All the new cars are funded up to the DBX. After that, it’s the sales revenue that will fund us moving forward with two Lagonda models – a sedan and SUV.”

Aston Martin also intends to counter any previous criticism that its cars looked the same, by clearly distinguishing each and every model with a unique look and feel, according to Reichman.

“When you finally see the new Vantage, you will also see clearly, the differentiation we will apply to all our new models going forward. Each model will have a clearly defined character, not just in the way they drive, but in the way they look, too."

Reichman also told journalists that Aston will continue with special project cars, which it has had enormous success with.

“The 100 GT12s (above) we built were sold out at, as were the 150 GT8s, at £250,000 ($437,000) and £160,000 respectively.

"We showed Vanquish Zagato for the first time at Villa D’Este, that’s 99 units at £500,000, which were sold out before Aston hit ‘go’ on the computer. We also announced just 24 examples of the track-only Vulcan, which again, are all sold out at £1.6 million. So we now have that same cadence in special cars that we intend for our series production cars.”

“So what these cars do for us is that they attract our rarity customer, the collector and fans that want to be part of the brand. They also help us gain critical knowledge with each new project.

“Take the Red Bull car – AM-RB 001 (below) that we are developing with Adrian Newey. That will be a carbon exterior with a carbon tub. And guess what, Vulcan is a carbon exterior and a carbon tub, so we’re learning all the time, about bonding methods and the technology to develop these high-end cars," he said.

"The 001 car will be built in numbers up to 150 cars with a sticker price of between £2,000,000-£3,000,000, but currently we have over 400 customers signed up that want one."

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