British luxury brand Aston Martin has announced a new supply agreement with Lucid Group, to help propel its high-performance electrification strategy and long-term growth.
The proposed agreement announced this morning to the London Stock Exchange would see Lucid, a leading designer and manufacturer of advanced electric powertrains and battery systems, supply Aston Martin with electric vehicle technologies. Access to Lucid’s current and future powertrain and battery technology will be at the centre of Aston Martin’s all-new in-house Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) platform.
The automaker says its electrification programme forms a pillar of the ultra-luxury brand’s wider Racing. Green. sustainability strategy and will see an investment of over 2 billion pounds (Rs 20,386 crore) in advanced technologies over the next five years, with investment phasing from ICE to BEV technology.
Lawrence Stroll, Executive Chairman, Aston Martin said: “The supply agreement with Lucid is a game changer for the future EV-led growth of Aston Martin. Based on our strategy and requirements, we selected Lucid, gaining access to the industry’s highest performance and most innovative technologies for our future BEV products. We will not only leverage the significant investments Lucid has made to develop its world-class technologies, but will also further enhance and differentiate the drive experience through the work Roberto Fedeli and his teams are already developing, aligned with our ultra-luxury, high-performance strategy.”
“Along with Mercedes-Benz, we now have two world-class suppliers to support the internal development and investments we are making to deliver our electrification strategy. With the recently announced long-term partnership with Geely, we will also gain the opportunity to access their range of technologies and components, as well as their deep expertise of the key strategic market of China,” added Stroll.
New platform
Aston Martin says its all-new bespoke platform will form the basis of its entire future electrified model range; from hypercars to sports cars, GTs and SUVs, the first of which is targeted for launch in 2025.
Before then Aston Martin will deliver its first plug-in hybrid – the mid-engined supercar, Valhalla – in 2024 and by 2026, all new Aston Martin model lines will feature an electrified powertrain option, with the long-term objective for its core range to be fully electrified by 2030.
As also announced, Mercedes-Benz will continue to provide Aston Martin access to a range of world-class technologies, including powertrain and electric/electronic architectures for current and future generation Aston Martin vehicles, including internal combustion engine, hybrid and electric vehicles.
Roberto Fedeli, CTO, Aston Martin said: “Combined with our internal development, the new agreement with Lucid will allow us to create a single bespoke BEV platform suitable for all future Aston Martin products, all the way from hypercars to sports cars and SUVs. In addition, we will continue to expand our in-house powertrain capabilities, allowing us to provide the thrilling performance and intense driving experience we know that our customers love and expect from Aston Martin.”
With Lucid’s powertrain technology and advanced Mercedes-Benz electronic architecture at its heart, the near-future family of electrified Aston Martins will be propelled by sustainable, next-generation technology honed to deliver the optimum blend of scintillating class leading performance and brilliantly resolved vehicle dynamics.
These advantages can be characterised by exceptional battery system efficiency, which brings major advantages in terms of packaging and mass; inverter technology that controls the rate and efficiency of energy discharge and recouperation; and twin motor technology that facilitates infinitely tuneable four-wheel torque vectoring.
Unique driving mix
The luxury car maker says that precise control of power delivery to each wheel opens new horizons for its engineers, whose focus is firmly set on not just preserving the driving experience, but elevating it to a new level of intensity and enjoyment. By precisely metering how much torque goes to each wheel there is infinite scope to apply meticulous software integration to create a unique and distinct dynamic fingerprint for each Aston Martin BEV model from the same platform and powertrain hardware and to continue to deliver class leading driving dynamics.
Assisting in this quest is Aston Martin Performance Technologies (AMPT). The consulting arm of the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One team, AMPT expertly applies the knowledge and methodologies employed in Formula One to Aston Martin road car programmes, with the rapid problem-solving skills and technology transfer accelerating the pace of development, increasing efficiency and amplifying performance.
Active aerodynamics and drag reduction will play an increasingly significant part in enhancing the efficiency and extending the range of any given BEV model. Likewise intelligent powertrain management will extract the most miles from each charge, performance for longer being the overriding objective in every area of Aston Martin’s BEV development.
Sleek, wind-cheating bodywork – facilitated by no longer needing to feed air to a hungry internal combustion engine – will play its part, with active cooling vents and airflow management around the wheel arches and underbody working to reduce the impact of wide tyres required to transmit the immense power and immediate torque delivery of the battery-electric powertrain.
Complementing development of its BEV model lines Aston Martin is working closely with other partners to raise the bar for performance and efficiency. For example, long-time technical partner Brembo is developing new brake-by-wire technology that will control the compression and retraction of brake pads electronically, thereby increasing vehicle range, improving brake response and reducing pad wear and particulate emissions. Aston Martin and Pirelli are also poised to showcase the very latest generation of P Zero R tyre featuring Pirelli Cyber Tyre: a system of sensors that gather a wide range of data and can provide a reliable gauge of the load going through each individual tyre to calculate a more accurate real-world range.
