Aston Martin has never had a problem with its image. Regularly topping the polls for coolest product, and not just in the car sector, it has made some of the most beautiful, iconic cars of all time – and also has the 007 seal of approval. I’m sure that connection has weighed a little heavy at times for many at Aston trying to move away from that particular focus, but there are worse affiliations, and the free publicity must run into the many millions of pounds. So let’s get that out of the way – it’s the car James Bond drives and it is achingly cool. However, in reality, the company has been lurching from crisis to crisis for many years, even going into receivership in 1974. The models themselves, while winning scores of awards, were often criticised for being too close in terms of character, one blurring slightly into the other, with similar engine, similar handling, the biggest differentiator being the price tag.

Now, though, Aston Martin is selling cars in numbers and the company performance is moving somewhere close to reflecting the perception of the cars themselves. CEO Andy Palmer admits Aston has had problems in the past ‘because it’s always been on its knees, looking for cash’, but his financial restructuring has put it in a better position than ever before. The renaissance has come with a breathtaking ambition and plan to build at least seven new cars, with seven-year life cycles – five Aston Martins and two Lagondas. This strategy, as well as a new factory in Wales, will hopefully bring stability and an end to the boom and bust of the past. Creative director of exterior design Miles Nurnberger thinks there is broad scope for both Aston Martin and Lagonda: ‘Rolls-Royce can’t make a Ferrari and Ferrari can’t make a Rolls-Royce. With these brands, we can do both.’

This is not just a pipe dream as seen with some other car companies. Aston Martin is well on its way to achieving its goals and you only have to look at the Lagonda concept car, unveiled at  the Geneva Motor Show in March, to see the  scope of its aspirations. Lagonda is a brand older than Aston itself. Created in 1906, it was purchased by David Brown in 1948, a year after he had bought Aston Martin. The badge has adorned cars and concepts through the years, including the outrageously futuristic Aston Martin Lagonda of 1976. It is now setting its stall out to be a brand in its own right again and the first ‘luxury electric manufacturer’. This is not such a crazy move. Once the range issues associated with electrification have been solved, the super luxury sector is an obvious growth area for this powertrain. The owners will invariably have a space to recharge and won’t be put off by an ‘electric premium’ price. What’s more, the lack of a burning internal combustion engine in the front of the car frees up the architecture to allow some exciting new design thoughts on how automobiles of the future can look.

Back at Aston Martin proper, we have seen the release of two new models in the first quarter of this year. The first was the topless version of the DB11, the Volante. The DB11 carries the legendary ‘DB’ [David Brown] badge that comes with some weight of expectation. In many ways, it’s the standard bearer of the brand and a bellweather of the company’s health. It broke new ground for Aston Martin when the hard-top was released in 2016, with the company utilising Mercedes electronics for the first time after Daimler’s five per cent investment in the company. This transparent use of the German company’s components may sit a little uncomfortably with some customers (and may be a huge sigh of relief for others). However, it makes sense for Aston to use a part – say the infotainment system – that Mercedes has spent hundreds of millions developing while saving its own resources to use in other areas. Up front is the Mercedes-sourced twin-turbo V8, which is the only engine they are offering. The V12 is a wonderful motor, but I prefer the driving characteristics of the V8 in this car and, while  not much lighter as an overall package, it just feels a little more sprightly. Aston claims it will not make a V12 version of the drop-top… so we can probably expect to see one released in the next few months. On the road, this car really is the best of both worlds as with the roof up this car feels like a hard-top, with no creaky, thin, leaky roof. This is a car that is built as well as it looks.

“After years of touting the Aston Martin Vantage as a Porsche 911 competitor, it can now be claimed with confidence”

The next of this year’s furious releases is the baby of the group, the Vantage. One of the CEO’s directives was to create diversity and a distinct difference between the models. Chief engineer Matt Becker, with over 25 years at Lotus under his belt, was tasked with making this car feel different to the DB11 – namely to make the Vantage a legitimate sports car in contrast to the DB11’s grand touring character. He has risen to the task and after many years of touting the Vantage as a Porsche 911 competitor, it can now be claimed with absolute confidence. The Vantage is a sports car of sublime balance that has serious track day chops. Not content with those two, Aston Martin has more fun and games planned for 2018, with the Vanquish replacement on the way. If it creates as big a gap as the one between the DB11 and the Vantage in terms of spirit, then the Vanquish should be a special vehicle indeed. We will also see the DBX SUV unveiled sometime soon. So that’s the volume sales taken care of, with numbers aimed at 7,500 per year to match the 7,500 units being capped in the sports car division, which before long will include a mid-engined supercar in the line-up. And any self-respecting premium car brand has to have a hypercar in its stable. On the horizon is the Valkyrie, aerodynamically designed by F1 legend Adrian Newey. This revolutionary Norse warrior wants to slay all comers and aims at some astonishing performance figures: similar lap times around Silverstone to an F1 car in this road car have been mentioned. Keep an eye out – Aston Martin is on the move. l

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