Aston Martin will now get its own special versions of AMG engines, in a new arrangement that will see Aston models using different engine tunes to differentiate them from Mercedes cars.
While different engine tunes are the only thing currently confirmed by recently-instated chairman Lawrence Stroll, different parts are clearly also an option to facilitate different engine characteristics.
Stroll was quoted widely in the motoring media after Autocar published his comments to the Financial Times Future of the Car Summit that Aston’s new AMG engines – part of an agreement that saw Mercedes initiate proceedings to take its maximum-permitted 20 per cent stake in Aston just a couple of months ago – will be “bespoke manufactured in Germany.”
This could simply refer to the fact that AMG engines are partly hand-built to order anyway, or it could mean a greater degree of separation from the Mercedes-bound items. Stroll added that the engines “will also feature unique output and torque characteristics.”
It’s logical to imagine that Aston wishes to increase the figures to suit its superior image. It asks big money for its cars even compared to AMG alternatives, so it makes sense for it to want to offer more for its customers.
Aston Martin and Mercedes-AMG have been working together since 2013, with Aston’s current models, including the DBX, DB11 and Vantage all running AMG-sourced engines. Recently a weird prototype was seen blending a modified E63 shell over a DBX platform. It may have been an old test mule for DBX development, or it might be a good place to put something new.
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