Aston Martin taking broad view on future powertrains

Aston Martin is one of a growing number of car-makers still searching for new technologies that could take motoring beyond the battery-electric era, or allow parallel power beyond 2030, thanks to advanced hybrid systems and sustainable fuels for old-school combustion power.

The British sports car company even has a halo car, the $3m track-only 2022 Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar, which meets the world’s toughest upcoming emission requirements – Euro 7, which is set for introduction in 2025 – while running on existing petrol power.

In an interview with carsales, Aston Martin’s chief creative officer and executive vice-president, Marek Reichman, said: “I don’t think there is a single answer to future mobility.

“There has never been one single answer. Don’t forget that the adventure of mobility started with steam power.

“If you look broadly, 22 million cars is the total global industry volume in a year. So, in a two-year period you’ve got 44 million new cars going on the road.

“Should all those cars be running the same propulsion system?”

Reichman is not dismissing battery-electric motoring, with Aston close to revealing its first production EV after the failure of an earlier plan for the revival of the ultra-luxury Lagonda brand as an electric-only halo for Aston.

“Electric power is very much alive, but it doesn’t mean the internal combustion engine is dead. I love a good ICE engine,” he said.

“The Valkyrie has a hand-assembled, naturally-aspirated V12 engine. It meets Euro 7 already. And it’s oversubscribed by four times.”

Aston’s future could take many roads but, because of its close ties to Daimler in Germany, it’s most likely to mirror the powerplants in high-performance Mercedes-AMG cars.

It could also tap into the work by Porsche on synthetic fuels, including the plan for a $1 billion factory in Australia by HIF Global to create the future e-fuel.

“There are many different ways to resolve the problem. Electrification is complex and comes with its own issues,” said Reichman.

He is also watching the work on synthetic fuels and also the development of hydrogen, both for fuel-cell electric vehicles and potentially to replace petrol in combustion engines.

“You have to conquer and divide. The advantage of biofuels is there is a big push there. And there are some companies that are still developing hydrogen fuel-cells.”

But one thing is a definite for Aston, through its ties to Daimler and also its involvement in Formula 1 – the role of hybrid systems.

“We have to accept that ICE is associated with hybrid, and hybrid is the future of internal combustion technology,” he said.

“The advantage we have is that we are a small manufacturer. More than half of our products today are carrying a Daimler engine.

“We’re still developing the relationship with Daimler. And looking very closely at how they develop their hybrids, as well as their ICE engines.”

So, does Reichman see a day when there are no ICE engines, and no delicious combustion exhaust notes, at Aston Martin?

“At what point do you stop investing in your future? The later you can make that decision the better,” he said.

“When do we see a stop? We have fans of the product … and they want a hybridised ICE unit because they enjoy the connected driving it gives you.

“I cannot give you the exact year or answer. We will attempt to give our customers what they want for as long as we can.”

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