In July of this year, Aston Martin and Mercedes-Benz tuner AMG signed a Letter of Intent to form a wide-ranging technical partnership aimed at providing the historic British sports car brand with access to some of AMG’s latest technology in return for some shares and other assets. Today, the parties have taken the partnership a step further by signing a final agreement.
The agreement will see Aston Martin and AMG develop bespoke V-8 engines for use in Aston Martin’s next generation of cars. In return, AMG parent company Daimler will receive up to five percent non-voting shares in Aston Martin. At the same time, Daimler will receive an observer status on the Aston Martin board.
The first recipient of the new engines will be Aston Martin's replacement for the V8 Vantage.
Beyond the new V-8 engines, the parties are working to finalize a deal on the supply of electrical components. Furthermore, the parties will investigate additional areas of cooperation in the future. One possibility is the sharing of a Mercedes-Benz SUV platform for a new Aston Martin model tipped to be called the Lagonda.
While there’s been no mention of new V-12 engines, something AMG has much experience in, Aston Martin remains committed to offering sports cars with such engines. It is believed Aston Martin’s current arrangement of sourcing a bespoke 6.0-liter V-12 from Ford will continue for at least the next five years.
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