Evo article on the upcoming Aston Martin Rapide: annual sales of 3000+ cars

[Gustav]

Evo article on the Aston Martin Rapide

http://www.evo.co.uk/news/evonews/21...new_world.html

Rapide saloon will lift production to Bentley levels; fastest ever Aston to debut



" Instead, the Rapide, the eagerly awaited four-door saloon due to be launched in late 2009, will be made somewhere in Continental Europe by one of its several ‘boutique’ automotive design, engineering and manufacturing companies; in the same way that Valmet of Sweden makes the Boxster for Porsche.

While company executives have flatly declined all comment, evo has seen papers showing that Italy’s Pininfarina, Valmet itself, the Austrian-based Magna group and Germany’s Karmann have all been invited to bid for the project. Indeed, the choice may already have been made; it could hardly be long delayed if the first Rapides are to be in showrooms by the target date.

So, yet another vote of no-confidence in Britain as a manufacturing base, then?

Wrong – in part, because the Rapide is a far more ambitious project than anyone outside the company has hitherto been led to believe. Far from being the widely-expected ‘flagship’ selling a few hundred cars a year, production plans are being based on annual sales of 3000 or more. In part, too, it is because Bez believes that by then, thanks to a rash of other new DB9, DBS and V8 Vantage derivatives, the Gaydon plant will be bursting at the seams even without the Rapide."

However they are mixing up Sweden and Finland regarding Valmet