Aston Martin has confirmed that it plans to add more “derivatives” of its new DBX SUV in 2021, thanks to a healthy book of orders for the standard car.
The announcement was made as part of the firm’s first-quarter financial report, in which new executive chairman Lawrence Stroll said the Porsche Cayenne rival’s launch plan remains on track despite shutdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Stroll said: “With St Athan reopened safely last week, I’m extremely pleased that the DBX remains on track for deliveries in the summer and has a strong order book behind it extending into 2021.
“Based on these successful initial orders for the DBX, we plan to unveil future derivatives starting from 2021.”
While CEO Andy Palmer has been open about plans to introduce a hybrid version of the DBX during its life cycle, this isn’t due for at least two years, and the use of the word ‘derivatives’ strongly suggests more bodystyles are coming.
Sources suggest that Aston Martin is very keen to leverage the heavy investment in the DBX’s all-new platform as much as possible, intending to cover more bases than the existing model does.
Earlier this year, executive vice-president and chief creative officer Marek Reichman told Australian title GoAuto that two options under investigation are a sleeker, more coupé-like DBX and a stretched wheelbase variant.
Reichman said: “We’ll never go down [in size], but maybe it’s less capacity. So the wheelbase may remain the same, but maybe the box shrinks a little bit. Because in terms of downsizing, we’re never going to be a Porsche Macan versus a Cayenne.
“The Cayenne/DBX [position] is core, so downsizing [means] silhouette; upsizing is relatively simple, and that’s a potential. You could do both off that platform.”
Back in March, Aston Martin detailed a new, in-house-designed V6 hybrid powertrain. Its first application will come in 2022 in the Valhalla mid-engined supercar, and it’s believed that it will gradually replace the current Mercedes-AMG V8 found in other Aston Martins, including the DBX.
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Even the Urus is boring for a Lambo
Perhaps it is the fact they are suv's at the end of the day and need to be more boxy for one they are not mid engined and need ground clearance and look proportional the only decent looking suv.'s i m.h.o. are Range Rovers and the New Defender along with Gwagon
The Urus is also compromised
The Urus is also compromised by not being a clean sheet design, which isn't the case with the Aston
I've no issues with Aston
I've no issues with Aston doing an SUV, but it's really disappointing that when you go for the massively expensive option of a brand new clean sheet design, it should end up looking so bog standard.
Visually it's as if they took someone else's platform and were compromised in how much they could change e.g. with the Bentayaga and Urus, indeed the Urus looks more interesting than the DBX
A BS company with incredibly short memories.
So many comments already about this story yet nobody, not even the report makes mention of the most confusing information of all.
How does a healthy book of orders and plans to add more derivatives square with the report on these pages just 3 days ago, that 500 jobs are to go at Aston Martin?
Seems like both Autocar and Aston could give Donald Trump a run for his money on the subject of talking BS.
I can't believe it, not a single person has given a second thought to the reason why Aston are making up to 500 redundancies. I'll stick my neck out and say Aston are up the creek without a paddle right now.
500 + 1.
The report is obviously taken from the Q1 results when Palmer was still CEO before he got fired. And that was before the announcement of 500 layoffs. Sadly, I'd say it is just a delay from the print version of the story and on-line one being published.
With Palmer shown the door too that makes 501 layoffs...