The Real Reason Why Aston Martin Dropped Its Plans For A Mid

Aston Martin is no longer creating a new Vanquish, as it focuses on its front-engine sports cars, the DBX and the upcoming 'Ultra GT' segment.

Aston Martin is enjoying its 2023 so far. The Formula 1 team is on a run of four podiums thanks to Fernando Alonso, and its on-track to introduce the successor to the DB11 very shortly. Eight new cars are coming over the next 24 months, with the first of those being that successor on May 24th. However, with Lawrence Stroll at the Financial Times Future of the Car Summit right now, one thing we have learned is there will be no new mid-engined V6-powered Aston Martin Vanquish sports car.

A concept was first shown off at the 2019 Geneva Auto Show, but that was under former CEO Andy Palmer. It would have been a direct rival to the Ferrari 296GTB, but that rivalry will now not blossom in the production car world.

On paper, the idea of a new Vanquish sounded good. The concept was all set to preview the first serious production mid-engine supercar from Aston Martin. It would set the manufacturer in the fight against Ferrari, but also Lamborghini. What we saw in 2019 was a striking British Racing Green supercar, with a clamshell front fender and a sleek, sophisticated design. Calling it a British Ferrari would be easy. But that is exactly what it looked like, with the rear fascia particularly standing out thanks to its elegance and style.

Unlike the Valkyrie, the new Vanquish would have used a bespoke bonded chassis. And under the hood was to be a new V6 engine. Although it was likely more than one engine option would be available. Creating this car proved a challenge for Aston Martin, as it was taking the company in a very different direction. It was set to rival the Ferrari F8 Tributo. But the addition of the 296GTB to the Italian lineup added a whole new opponent for the new Vanquish. McLaren and Lamborghini would also have been key rivals to the company, and things looked and sounded extremely promising at the time.

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The new Vanquish was et to be an ongoing production car. Very different to the Valkyrie and Valhalla hypercars, which are of coruse limited volume models. The car looked great on paper, but a disastrous 2018 IPO meant that Aston Martin became incredibly heavily indebted. Major stockholders sold a huge chunk of their shares in the company, and Aston Martin's stock price just went into freefall. Lawrence Stroll stepped in with investors in early 2020, and at that time hired former AMG boss Tobias Moers as the CEO.

When he took charge, the problem was the engine for the new Vanquish was just a concept. This would have been an all-new 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6, all designed in-house by Aston Martin. But as it was only an idea on paper, creating this new engine would have cost Aston tens of millions of dollars. Moers himself said that "If the engine had been ready, then for sure I would have moved on it, but it was not." It was money that Aston Martin simply could not afford to spend at the time. It likely would have severely worsened their precarious financial situation.

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Moers decided to plump for the proven Mercedes-AMG 4.0-liter V8 engine instead. But even that would have been too much for Aston Martin to deal with. In the first three months of 2022, the company lost a staggering $140 million. Leading to all manner of reports about how poor 2022 was for the British manufacturer. The company was still reeling from the difficulties of the Valkyrie. And was working hard to ensure it didn't fail to deliver on the promise of the Valhalla. It couldn't afford to let down its customers.

The whole direction of the company has changed since the 2019 concept. The focus, according to Lawrence Stroll, is now firmly on front-engine sports cars. These are the core of Aston Martin, while it is still adding variants of the DBX SUV. The DBX now has a 25 percent share of the luxury ‘high-performance’ segment according to Stroll. It is little wonder that the DBX is doing so well, given the global popularity of SUVs, high-performance or not. Sales of the DBX are up a remarkable 40 percent in the first quarter of 2023, highlighting the strong package that it is.

There is more to come though from Aston Martin. The company is set to tap into its F1 knowledge to help bolster the lineup and introduce new models. The chassis for the Valhalla, for example, is directly inspired by its F1 cars. Technology end knowledge from the Formula 1 operation will be carried directly over to the road car side of things. A major advantage of Aston now being a works F1 team. Most intriguing though is a new sector Stroll says the company has created. The Canadian says that "we've created a new sector, something more superior to a GT".

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Stroll and the company have given very little away regarding what this ‘Ultra GT’ segment will feature. What we do know is that the performance, as well as the handling, of its front-engine cars should be dramatically increased. Which is great news ahead of the reveal of the new DB11 successor. Stroll has expanded upon this new GT segment, stating that it will have a true high level of luxury and come "with a high level of performance. Something new." All of which is intriguing stuff.

Performance is important to Aston Martin, but it is looking to improve in many other areas. The infotainment side of things will receive a big update, something the company calls the Human-Machine Interface or HMI. Appearance and functionality will be all worked on to make them much better, in an area which has been lacking in modern Astons. Despite all this, there will be plenty of Aston Martin fans and customers who have one question. What is going to happen to the Vanquish nameplate? Well the good news is that despite the cancelation of the Vision concept, that is not the end of the name.

Various Aston Martin sources say that the Vanquish nameplate is not going away. It remains a core part of the DNA of the company. With the name of the DB11's successor not confirmed, there is speculation it may take on the Vanquish name. More recent reports have stated that it is likely to simply bear the DB12 name, but equally the Vanquish name on the car would not be a surprise. It would certainly be a vehicle befitting of the name, thanks to the big V12 that it will have under the hood.

It seems that many of its troubles of 2022 are behind Aston Martin. Hopefully, that remains true throughout 2023 and the company continues to enjoy a successful year. The automotive world is a better place for having Aston Martin's sports cars in it.

Sources: Financial Times Future of the Car, Aston Martin

Covering anything from JDM cars to classic jets. Contributed to HotCars since the Autumn of 2018.