Aston Martin is considering a rugged, high-powered super-4x4 to rival the Mercedes G-Class, Autocar can reveal.
Design proposals for the shock new model are being evaluated internally, Autocar understands, but no decision has been made yet on whether to go ahead with what would be Aston’s second SUV.
Tellingly, the Gaydon firm’s 4x4 concept is said to be dubbed ‘Project Rambo’ internally, a moniker that echoes the nickname of Lamborghini’s seminal LM002 – a radical, go-anywhere 4x4 pick-up truck with a V12 lifted from the Countach supercar.
Like the Lamborghini, Aston’s 4x4 is expected to match supreme off-road ability with supercar levels of performance and luxury credentials that befit a lofty price, should the car make production.
Aston chairman Lawrence Stroll will not give the project the green light unless it has a solid business case, but the firm has no doubt been inspired by not just the success of its own DBX SUV – which is now comfortably its best-selling model line – but also the continued prosperity of the long-running G-Class.
Mercedes’ off-roader remains highly popular and profitable in its fifth decade on sale and has just been heavily updated for 2024, with an EV option for the first time.
Autocar has heard that a build run capped at 2500 units is possible for the Aston 4x4, in a bid to preserve exclusivity.
It is not yet known where Aston could build it, but the DBX factory in St Athan would be an obvious choice given the likelihood of both SUVs using the same architecture.
A source at the company suggested to Autocar that such a niche model would not have its own platform. That means it would be likely to be closely related to the DBX, which already has two driven axles and substantial power reserves courtesy of a Mercedes-supplied V8. Notably, that engine – a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre – is already deployed in the AMG version of the G-Class, where it makes 577bhp and 627lb ft to facilitate a rapid 4.5sec 0-62mph time, figures surely befitting any Aston-badged luxurious dune-basher.
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It seems pointless to hope that Land-Rover would build a true utility vehicle that is true to its roots. Even less likely that Aston-Martin would. Also a genuine 21st Century utility vehicle would be electric, in the style of a simplified Rivian. Again, not something that the backward-looking Land-Rover or Aston-Martin are likely to build. Both brands have clearly forgotten that they used to be innovative. I'm personally looking forward to the electric Isuzu D-Max as the true modern heir to the Land-Rover pick-up. The Polaris electric UTV is probably already the present-day equivalent of an 80" Series 1 Land-Rover.
Why not go all the way, and start making Tractors again?
I am sure Clarkson would love an Aston trimmed Tractor on his Farm................