Aston Martin to move further upmarket?
Click above for high-res gallery of the 2009 Aston Martin V8 Vantage
Such is the logic of luxury economics: charge tens of thousands of dollars more for the same product, sell fewer of them and boost the balance sheet and your brand's long-term viability. That is what Aston Martin's considering for the next phase of its business plan, which runs from roughly 2011 to 2019 and will see the launch of DB9 and Vantage successors, the Rapide, and the renewed Lagonda brand.
The Vantage and DB9 are big sellers for Aston, but the company might be unsure of how to sustain the momentum. One option is to move the price of the $113,000 Vantage closer to the $171,000 DB9, and move that latter car closer to the $265,000 DBS, sell fewer of them but make more money. The DB9 does strike us as a (relative) bargain – it's cheaper than a Bentley GT -- but pricing the Vantage closer to the DB9 would seem to wreck its business case as a 911 fighter. Another option could be to replace the Vantage or DB9 with a mid-engined sports car, which could be drool-worthy and well worth the price bump... but perhaps un-Aston-like.
AutoWeek also appears to report that the One-77 isn't sold out, writing "Although Aston has said that it would make a maximum of 77 cars, insiders privately say the market is closer to 25." We don't know how that could be, unless a bunch of the 100 people who applied to buy the car were just kidding...
[Source: AutoWeek]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Cardude 5:34PM (10/21/2008)
How much further upmarket can they go? They're not exactly cheap as it is! Astons are nice cars though.
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Justin 1:43AM (10/22/2008)
That's what I was thinking. The few wealthier people on here aside, I think it's safe to say most of us consider Astons about as upmarket as it gets.
Mobius_1 5:37PM (10/21/2008)
Their line-up seems to me to be quite right at the moment, what the cars lack in performance (V8 vs 911, DB9 vs Conti GT?) to its price competitors they make up in style.
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ALEXDB9 5:39PM (10/21/2008)
I hope they don't go down this road.
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joe_Flow_1 5:41PM (10/21/2008)
Damn.... and now it looks like I am going to have to buy a used one now.....
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ojpjjpj 6:15PM (10/21/2008)
I say go the other way, think aston 1 series. Ha! That would rule. Maybe do a deal with hyundai. Slap an aston nose on one, add some wood and leather. BINGO! Cheap aston.
You laugh, but think of how many idiots would buy one.
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SilverAero 6:23PM (10/21/2008)
My dreams are now further from my reach.
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ugg.tryptophan 8:15PM (10/21/2008)
exactly what i was thinking
0mega 6:57PM (10/21/2008)
Bring back the Vanquish S you stupid fools. It's better than your damn DBS will EVER be, and better looking. Just give it the new style tails.
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Will 7:04PM (10/21/2008)
I'd be very disappointed to see this happen. In my opinion the best Aston is the least expensive, the V8 Vantage coupe. Moving upmarket usually means more complexity, more electronics, and the loss of some of the core of the brand.
Ferrari is a good example. Very technically impressive cars- multi-setting traction control, super-quick F1 gearboxes, trick electronic diffs and so forth. But Ferraris used to be gorgeous and pure--more about the sensation than the technology.
Aston Martin currently has the best-looking lineup of any supercar maker. Their cars have a certain bold, burly, muscular look and feel, and some of that comes from the simplicity. An Aston is a manual transmission, a large-displacement V8 or V12 up front, a beautifully carved shape and a deep-chested roar. No expensive gimmicks or flashy tech needed.
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James 7:50PM (10/21/2008)
The only problem is that they could price themselves too high and end up selling too few cars and that won't help their profit.
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jv2k 9:16PM (10/21/2008)
Meh.
Astons were already out of my league and more of a "It'd be awesome if I could have one" kind of car. It's not like the shift is suddenly going to ruin my chances of buying one.
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Charles 4:03PM (10/22/2008)
I don't like what i'm hearing so far, like many others here i would be worry if they do go down this road. Even if it does work out the way it suggested it still rather different from the Aston Martin we love and adore at the moment.
I would love to see Aston Martin continue with the level of market they involved in, position just a bit higher then the Porsche.
I see the V8 Vantage have the potential to be what 911 is to Porsche, and so does the brand image overall similar to what Porsche stands now, the difference is Porsches are calculators, as the Astons are sculptures.
I don't believe going higher up market will serve Aston any good. Then again what do i know, however do they?
Aston Martin Fan
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