Aston Martin opens DBX SUV manufacturing plant

Aston Martin has confirmed its second UK manufacturing plant is now operational.

St Athan in Wales has been confirmed as the manufacturing site for the British car-maker's pioneering DBX SUV.

The 90 acre former Ministry of Defence site has been transformed into a modern manufacturing facility, creating hundreds of in-house jobs and thousands more across the broader supply chain.

Along with sole responsibility of building Aston Martin's pioneering DBX SUV, the plant has also been dubbed as the "Home of Electrification" to denote its base for the electrified Lagonda brand.

“This is an exciting time for Aston Martin Lagonda. Our second luxury manufacturing facility is now producing cars and is ready to go into full production in [the first half] of 2020," said Aston Martin chief Andy Palmer.

The Welsh factory's completion comes months out from the DBX's full unveiling, expected near the Frankfurt motor show.

Aston officials say that real world testing of the DBX has continued throughout Wales, along with more extreme environments comprising the Arctic Circle and Nurburgring.

The high-rider is set to double Aston Martin's annual production to the vicinity of 14,000 vehicles.

The Aston Martin DBX will join the brand’s predominantly sports car range, comprising the Vantage, DB11, DBS, Vanquish, Rapide, Valkyrie hypercar and 003 baby brother.

The brand is also prepping its first mid-engined production series sports car, the Vanquish Vision, for 2022.

After being in close proximity to several camouflaged Aston Martin DBX prototypes this month, carsales.com.au can report that its engine is almost certainly the same 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 from the Vantage.

Supplied by Mercedes-AMG, the turbocharged bent-eight will deliver at least 375kW of power and 685Nm of torque – and it sounds very aggressive at full noise, according to the carsales snoop.

Even if the DBX is a chubby customer, the V8 will have enough gristle to propel its tubby weight to 100km/h very swiftly – thanks in part to its all-wheel drive set-up.

Aston Martin is expected to offer hybrid versions of the lithe new SUV in due course and it may even add its silken sledgehammer – the twin-turbo V12 – to the mix, especially if rivals such as the Ferrari Purosangue decide to go the tonk with 12 cylinders.