First details of Aston Martin's all-new V6
Work on Aston's first in-house designed engine since 1968 is well under way - here's what we know so far
Aston Martin may well be associated with soulful V8s and thumping V12s these days - even if it no longer produces the former itself - but there was a time when buyers of the British marque's machines expected to find a rather different layout beneath the bonnet. From the DB2 of 1950 right up until production of the DBS ended in 1972, Astons were sold with the suck, squeeze, bang and blow of six cylinders.
That shouldn't have been the case, of course; the DBS was intended purely as a V8 and, from 1969 was sold as such alongside the straight-six. From then on, though, the company never looked back, its engines continuing to grow in size and output, right up to the naturally-aspirated 6.5-litre V12 found in its upcoming Valkyrie hypercar.
Sitting beneath that in the mid-engined pecking order of the future, though, will be the Valhalla and, while just 150 Valkyries will ever be made, up to 500 Valhallas are expected to find owners once production begins. More significantly, the engine used in the Valhalla's hybrid powertrain is set to be found in Aston's first ever mid-engined series-production car, the new Vanquish, when it arrives later this decade.
That engine is a six-cylinder unit. Not a straight-six as in years gone by, but a 3.0-litre V6 which, when paired with the rest of the hybrid tech designed for the Valhalla's powertrain will make it the most powerful set-up in the Aston Martin range. Development of the company's in-house system is well underway, and now Gaydon has revealed the first details of what we can expect.
Codenamed the TM01 - in honor of Tadek Marek, the legendary Aston engineer who developed the firm's Lagonda straight-six and V8 engines - the unit is said to have already undergone an extensive series of dyno tests, though its final power and torque figures are yet to be determined.
Many lessons learnt from the development of the Valkyrie have been applied to its design though, all of which will surely benefit the finished product. For starters, the engine has been developed with a 'hot V' layout, not only keeping its proportions compact but allowing it to weigh less than 200kg. The promise of "higher engine speeds" meanwhile, in combination with the benefits of electrification, are said to offer "an extreme level" of performance while remaining Euro 7 compliant.
Joerg Ross, Powertrain Chief Engineer said of the motor: "This project has been a great challenge from the start. Putting a team together to deliver what is going to be the future power of Aston Martin has been an honour. From the very beginning, we have had the freedom to explore and innovate in a way that we have not been able to do so in a very long time. Most importantly, we wanted to create something that is befitting of the TM01 nameplate and create something that would have impressed our predecessor and pioneering engineer, Tadek Marek".
Aston CEO, Andy Palmer, added: "Investing in your own powertrains is a tall order, but our team have risen to the challenge. Moving forward, this power unit will be integral to a lot of what we do and the first signs of what this engine will achieve are incredibly promising."
With the current financial difficulties Aston is facing, the uncertainty surrounding the economic impact of Covid-19 and the emissions regulations to which all manufacturers will have to adhere in the near future, the TM01 could well be the marque's most important ever engine. It's important it gets it right, then, and the return to six-cylinders looks to be as good a bet as any.
Read the PH review of the Aston Martin DBX here
Also, yes, you are right. The article could have done with some more technical information...
Hopefully they know what they doing financially but I can’t help thinking they would be better investing in new models and technology and use partnes as they already have done for engine supply.
Aston Martin are pulling rabbits out of hats at a time where everything is against them. It's actually quite remarkable, but for the internet, the primary indicator of the quality of Aston Martin cars, is currently the share price, and not the actual cars, which is a shame, because the cars are fantastic up and down the range.
The looks of the Vantage did not help as well to be honest. At least the DB11 looks good.
I'm going to be incredibly positive here, almost as if I was not British, and say in these dark times, I hope Aston gets through.
They have some great cars coming
1. An SUV that actually looks nice.
2. The incredible Valkyrie.
3. The Valhalla looks great too.
I would like to see Aston not be the next TVR. Sometimes you need to look on the bright side rather than just pick over the bad.
If everyone donated 50p for each post on the Coronavirus thread on PH they would be well planted for a solid future. Just a thought.
GO ASTON !
Also, yes, you are right. The article could have done with some more technical information...
We’ll all move our commutes into white boxes. But for toys... but the rich will pay whatever taxes are levied. It’ll be a tiny proportion.
Plus even long range electric cars will come with range extending ic engines for at least a decade or two I reckon.
All IMHO.
We’ll all move our commutes into white boxes. But for toys... but the rich will pay whatever taxes are levied. It’ll be a tiny proportion.
Plus even long range electric cars will come with range extending ic engines for at least a decade or two I reckon.
All IMHO.
That said, the world is changing incredibly fast at the mo, and the Aston Martin which signed this off some time ago was in a very different place to the one now. It is now largely a sunk cost so they may as well press on it with it, but suspect they would not have chosen to go down this road with hindsight.
Reminds me a bit about when TVR decided to develop their own engines for the same reasons ( and I am speaking as someone who bought a new Cerbera in 97 ). Designing an engine is one thing - building one which runs reliably is very different and can get very expensive.
I wish them well.
They could have bought in a Mercedes GLE platform for their DBX - basically reskin to get it on market very cheaply, but they went above and beyond and developed a car that should be like an Aston. Of course, we dont have that car yet and Aston could have sold a few thousand already with a MercDBX.
It really is catch 22.
I also had flashbacks of TVR making their own engines...this is never a very good idea(as it proved to be for TVR) unless the company has unlimited finances.
I wish them well.
I think Aston will see this as a USP. Their competitors are likely going the smaller displacement/cylinder route as time marches on.
Which would you pay a hefty premium for if you had the cash??
The VQ35 engine in the 350Z is widely regarded as one of THE best sounding V6. Ok, im a bit biased, i have one, but with a sports exhaust it sounds absolutely fantastic. If a new AM sounds similar it would be a very good thing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVy9LOrgWxs
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff