Aston Martin has appointed for the second time in recent history a former Ferrari staffer for a senior engineering role.
The British firm on Wednesday named Joerg Ross as its new powertrain boss. Ross’ last position was head of advanced powertrain development at Maserati, and prior to that he held senior roles at Ferrari’s Formula 1 team, Ford and German engineering firm IAV.
His appointment follows the hiring of ex-Ferrari chassis and body engineering boss Maximilian Szwaj by Aston Martin in December. Szwaj was hired to head R&D.
As for Ross, his new role will see him develop next-generation engines, transmissions and electrification technology. He will be based at Aston Martin’s headquarters in Gaydon, United Kingdom and report to Szwaj.
“I’m delighted to be joining Aston Martin at what is an exciting time for the brand,” Ross said in a statement. “The company is at a significant point in its history, with the recent announcement of its first all-electric car, the RapidE.”
Ross is correct in his assertion of exciting times at Aston Martin. The automaker is in the midst of its Second Century plan which calls for seven new vehicle lines in seven years. The first was the DB11 launched in 2016. Later this year we’ll see a redesigned Vantage, and then we’ll see a redesigned Vanquish, a DBX SUV, a mid-engine supercar, and two Lagonda ultra-luxury sedans. Along the way there will also be limited edition specials such as the Valkyrie hypercar and electric RapidE.
Given its low sales of less than 10,000 cars annually, Aston Martin so far hasn’t required hybrids to meet emissions regulations in major markets. That will change as the automaker launches more and more models, thus expect to hybrid and electric cars added to the lineup in coming years. The fuel-efficient vehicles are also needed in China where the government is mandating sales of low- and zero-emission vehicles.
