Aston Martin made 46 cars in 1992

[Gustav]

"Contrast this with TVR, making 1,200 cars in 2000, 600 five years later, and half that in 2006. Lotus was typically making 2,500 cars a year between 2001 and 2003, but scaled up to 5,000 for expansion into America in 2005. Lotus head Mike Kimberley says that the company was caught without a replacement for its 30-year-old Esprit (also a Bond car) when it was retired in 2004. The company's engineering arms had been allowed to slide. Now, he says,there are two new model launches planned for 2008 and 09. Lotus can rely on Proton, its owner for help. Kimberley, however, believes British sports cars can make money independently. Porsche is the most profitable car company in the world by a margin.
In its reborn state, Aston Martin looks the most robust in the British stable. That it is making 7,000 cars is remarkable when you consider it made 46 in 1992. Ford's achievement, says Rhys, similar to BMW's with Bentley, was to bring the marque into the top end of the larger high-end mass market, to challenge Mercedes and BMW."


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