Aston Martin’s return to Formula 1 has already begun to influence the company’s new car designs, and the relationship between road and racing will only grow stronger.
More and more aggressive V12 Vantage and Vantage F1 version provided a taste, while the Valhalla’s mid-engine split roof borrowed more openly from Lance Stroll’s weekend car.
“It’s been a journey we’re going through with Formula 1,” said Marek Reichman, Aston Martin’s Creative Director.
“Part of ambition Mr Stroll is that he has a Formula 1 team and he is the executive chairman of Aston Martin the PLC. There is an absolute link between these two; he said.
“Just think, where is the Aston Martin Cognizant Formula 1 team? They are in a factory they inherited, with a new car for this year. It is growing, but the website is also growing,” he said.
“Late this year/for the 2023 car, it has begun to be developed at a completely new facility. A wind tunnel comes, more technology influences… there Aston Martin Performance Technologies founded as an umbrella company.
“If I want to talk to a lightweight structural engineer now, I go to Aston Martin F1 Performance Technologies, I don’t have to go outside. The knowledge base is growing and that is a really important future,” he said.
“I think [the F1 link] can and will only get stronger,” said Mr. Reichman CarExpert.
Along with the mid-engine Vanquish, which was previewed by a concept with Valhalla, the brand is preparing to enter the world of electric vehicles.
It’s a new space for Aston Martin, which is famous for its gasoline-powered cars with classic touring proportions. Although the future looks different, even new product categories – powered by new sources of motivation – will carry connections to the legendary cars that have built the brand.
Mr Reichman says respecting Aston Martin’s legacy as its range evolves is a “critical part” of his design team’s work, because “it means you’re not a company” starting a business”.
“Having that legacy means you have something to draw on,” he said CarExpert. “Beauty is something that always comes from the past. The future beauty is very different, but it is still beauty. ”
