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Aston Martin sold!

Aston Martin sold to UK-led consortium

By Mat Watson

12th March 2007

Luxury car maker Aston Martin is finally back under British control. Ford has sold the iconic sports car maker to a consortium headed by UK entrepreneur David Richards – founder of Oxfordshire-based Prodrive - for £479million.
 
The successful bid was backed by Kuwaiti investors and will see production continue at the firm’s Gaydon factory in Warwickshire plus two new exciting cars added to the Aston line up in the next few years.
 
The first to appear will be the Rapide saloon. Dr Ulrich Bez, who will remain the manufacturer’s chief executive officer, said the project has been given the green light by its new owners and added: “Aston has a history of four door cars”. He claimed it would be “unparalleled” to anything that has gone before and promised it would provide far better economy than its rivals, such as the Bentley Flying Spur, thanks to the use of special light-weight materials.
 
The Rapide is expected to go on sale before 2010 with up to 2,000 being made each year. Its introduction will create more jobs at Aston as will the development of an all-new top-secret flagship model codenamed the DBX.
 
The firm was remaining tight-lipped over this car’s specific details although Dr Bez did reveal: “This is not a successor of the Vanquish but another car altogether. The next stage in the company’s history promises to be the most exciting yet.”
 
These fresh projects are likely to be part funded through Aston’s Kuwaiti-based backers - Investment Dar and Adeem Investment. Together these firms have assets worth almost £3billion. Ford is maintaining a £40million stake in the luxury British car maker but will not be involved in any day-to-day operations.

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