Aston Martin V8 2007 News

Followers of luxury-branded soft-road wagons will have to live without an Aston Martin in the garage.The famed British brand, which has just moved out of the Ford portfolio back into private ownership, has no plans to join everyone from Porsche and BMW to Audi and Mercedes in the four-wheel-drive world.It says it's happy to stay as a solid, profitable maker of exotic sports cars."In the immediate future of 10 years I can rule it out," Aston Martin managing director Ulrich Bez says."At this moment, I do not believe a crossover wagon could help Aston Martin to add value to its brand."Speaking at the world media preview of the V8 Vantage Roadster, Bez admits he has a product plan that includes a secret teaser -- codenamed DB-X -- but will not go into details."DB-X stands for something that, in theory, adds value. I'm not going to say anything about DB-X."The company will put its four-door Rapide flagship, displayed as a concept car at the Detroit Motor Show last year, into production, but Bez says he is not keen to take the company much beyond 9000 cars a year from this year's projected production total of about 7000."A premium brand does not need volume. We will be small. We will be beautiful . . . and profitable."Bez thanks Ford for its ownership and investment and also rules out any involvement in Formula One, despite the F1 plans of Aston's new executive chairman and long-time Aston fan, David Richards."When Ford bought Aston Martin there was no strategic plan. Ford allowed us to survive and prosper. Now we can grow no further . . ," Bez says. "We don't go in Formula One."Bez's position on four-wheel drives, which have been a hit for several luxury brands and even brought Porsche back from near-bankruptcy to the cash-rich company that controls Volkswagen, is emphasised by Aston's head of product communications, Dave King."It's not in the five-year plan. It's not in the 10-year plans," King says.But other stuff is in the product plan at Aston Martin, led by the four-door Rapide. King has early details of the newest stretch of the company's modular VH alloy chassis pack."Rapide will be based on the same platform. It's been pretty much on the backburner. We've done some feasibility work," he says."Ford wasn't in a position to make an investment in that car. The new owners, as one of their first actions, have committed to making that car happen."We've kicked off full steam. We're saying nothing specific on timing except to say it will be this decade."We've been vague because it is early days. I'd anticipate that, in true AM style, it will stay close to the concept car. The production is likely to be 1000 to 2000 cars."King, like Bez, is evasive about DB-X, but rules out anything smaller than the current Vantage models."That was nothing more than a teaser. We are saying there will be more cars in the future," he says."I don't think it will be anything below V8 Vantage. There are great opportunities in there, but not for Aston Martin. Perhaps that's where Jaguar should have gone."

Nine stars of the Melbourne International Motor Show took a quick spin from City Hall to Federation Square to rev the city up for tomorrow evening's big opening at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre.Led by a beefy Chrysler 300C police car, about $2 million worth of auto exotica cruised down Swanston St.Lord Mayor John So rode James Bond-style in a $360,000 Aston Martin DB9 Volante convertible.Immediately behind him was a Bentley Continental GTC convertible worth $400,000, but even that was trumped moments later by a Ferrari 599 GTB, costing $600,000.Others in the column included a Maserati Quattroporte, the new convertibles from Volkswagen and Volvo, and a top-of-the-range Lexus LS460.Most unusual was the Bonning B3 three-wheeler, the personal project of designer and artist Brad Bonning.But there would be plenty more to see at the show itself, said the extravaganza's director, Russ Tyrie."That's just to give people a taste of what they will see on Friday," Mr Tyrie said."The parade is a great way to bring the show to Melbourne and to give people an idea of what an exciting and dynamic thing the car industry is."The covers will come off quite a few new cars at the show."With some of them it's going to be as much a surprise to us as it will to everyone else."

Members of the P1 performance club get the pick of some of the world's hottest and most expensive supercars, including brands such as Ferrari, Aston Martin and Lamborghini. P1 Australia director Peter Dempsey says the club has 12 cars and plans to add one new car for every extra five members."With our collection they can take any car out that suits them," he says. The cars are divided into five categories, the top one featuring the most expensive cars, such as a Ferrari F430 Spider and soon a Scaglietti, an Aston Martin DB9 Volante and Vanquish and a Lamborghini Murcielago.Other cars in the mix include a Bentley Continental GT, a Ferrari F430, Aston Martin V8 Vantage and various Porsches. The lower categories might not be quite as impressive, but they'll still turn heads. A BMW M5 and Z4 M Coupe, a Range Rover Sport and a Lotus Exige S2, add to the list.Dempsey says a Hummer H2 will be next to arrive, dressed with a leather package. He is also expecting the arrival of the Audi R8. But getting to drive your dream cars doesn't come cheap."There's a joining fee of $5000 and then there are three different levels of membership, $27,000, $32,000 or $36,500," Dempsey says.Top-end members have a possible 70 driving days a year, with the cheaper membership offering 50 days a year.The company originated in England six years ago, and was co-founded by former Formula One world champion Damon Hill.After two months of operation, the Sydney branch has 50 members. "In Sydney, we cap it at 150 members," Dempsey says. "That's a reflection of the sizeof commercial property that is available to store the cars."The founding British club has 74 cars, including a Ford GT and an Aerial Atom. But Dempsey says they haven't been able to bring these models, as the Atom isn't road legal in Australia and customs won't allow the GT in as it is a left-hand drive. "(But) we're the only ones doing it with the supercars, brand new cars," he says.And it seems that it's not just the usual suspects, the wealthy bankers, lawyers and financiers, who are getting on board.Dempsey says members come from all walks of life and include a greengrocer and a professional golfer. Doctors, dentists, solicitors and barristers are also taking up the chance to get behind the wheel of some amazing cars.The youngest member is a 22-year-old refrigeration engineer from western Sydney.The club takes care of all insurance, maintenance and storage fees and Dempsey says one of the main benefits is that members don't have to worry about huge depreciation on the vehicles."With high taxation, people understand that they're better off putting half a million dollars in an investment and getting to play the field (with) the cars," he says.And while the majority of those taking up the membership are male, Dempsey says women are also driving them as a memberships include two names as drivers."Often guys show the interest and then bring their wives on board as the second name driver," he says.The cars can be taken out for as little as a day, or it can run into months -- depending on members' wants and needs.Dempsey says the weather often forecasts what vehicles will be popular, with the convertibles a hit on the sunny weekends.A second British branch of the club opened in 2004 in Manchester.The Australian section will expand in March, when a Melbourne club is opened, with Formula One driver Mark Weber in attendance again. And Dempsey says that P1 International is also looking towards expanding into Dubai and Hong Kong.

Aston Martin will launch the Vantage V8 Roadster at this week's Los Angeles Motor Show, but the chance of becoming an Aston owner has now peaked, according to the brand's sales manager for Melbourne and Sydney, Rod Cullen.Cullen says dealers were told at a worldwide conference that peak production of 7000 Aston Martin cars would be reached this year, and there were no plans to increase annual production beyond that.The Roadster is mechanically identical to the Coupe, with a 4.3-litre V8 producing 283kW and 410Nm. Its roof is canvas ratherthan folding steel and retracts in 18 seconds.Pricing has not been announced but should be about $260,000, a 10 per cent premium on the Coupe.Cullen says the cap on Aston Martin production should not affect Melbourne. The new showroom due to open next month at Eureka Tower at Southbank will be allocated 35-40 cars from Britain to cover the change in dealer.Though the vehicle will debut at the Melbourne Motor Show, Victoria's first Vantage Roadsters won't go on sale until July."Each year we're given a production schedule and that's finite. You can't order another if you want it. And our order bank is regularly out six to 12 months," Cullen says."The only variance from a Melbourne perspective is that we are being allocated sufficient stock next year to justify our investment in the new showroom. We'll be happy if five to 10 of those cars are Roadsters."The Vantage Coupe and Roadster will be available with a six-speed semi-automatic manual with an automated clutch, virtually identical to the Lamborghini Gallardo's E-Gear, from next year.