Aston Martin will carve its own EV path

Aston Martin will forge its own design path for its future battery-electric models, according to director of design Miles Nurnberger.

The latest Aston Martin DB12 and Vantage models champion a return of the traditional big-mouth Aston Martin grille, but Nurnberger says the differing requirements of EVs and balancing aerodynamics with reduced cooling needs doesn’t mean future electric Astons will simply sport a blanked off ‘face’.

“There's quite a few places you can go – but it will still have a beautiful grille and it won’t be black plastic,” Nurnberger told carsales.

“Let’s be clear, with high-performance EVs there can still be cooling requirements. There are definitely still aero requirements. We are not afraid of keeping our grille and keeping it authentic,” he said.

“Yes, that authenticity might have a different bias [to it] but not we’re scared.”

Nurnberger disputes criticism that current EV design is lazy, but he suggests brands need to remain true to their aesthetic values in the transition to battery-powered vehicles.

“There’s a lot of companies out there doing ‘EV design’, good luck to them. What they don’t have is a rich heritage and they don’t have innovation and performance driving them,” he said.

“The important thing in all of this is to stay in context, to stay authentic.”

The new Vantage delivers unmistakable links to the DB5 and other classic Astons of the past, and Nurnberger intimated that future EVs from the historic British brand will do the same.

“We have a wonderful history that can inform how we move forward… How we make new history,” he said.

“Just doing EV design for the sake of it is not the right thing for us. We’re confident to make our own path,” Nurnberger stated.

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