Aston Martin’s vice president and chief creative officer has taken a potshot at Bentley and Porsche, branding them little more than “an Audi Q7 with a Bentley face” and a “Volkswagen with a Porsche face”.
Marek Reichman told CarAdvice that the Gaydon-based automaker’s upcoming DBX SUV would hold a distinct advantage by running on its own platform, rather than sharing its underpinnings with cheaper siblings.
“It’s our platform, therefore it’s our proportion. So it’s not an Audi Q7 with a Bentley face, it’s not a Volkswagen with a Porsche face – I know it [the Cayenne] came out as a Porsche, but it started as a VW,” Reichman told the Australian publication.
Reichman added that this design freedom would benefit the DBX in terms of both drive and looks.
“It’s our architecture, so every millimetre is determined where I want it, where it’s right for vehicle architecture to make it drive, ride and handle beautifully, and have a brilliant internal package.
“Can and will it be beautiful? Yes, because of that proportion. Will it look like an Aston Martin? Yes. Will it look like a DB11? No. Like a Vantage? No. It has its own character as an Aston Martin,” he said.
Reichman revealed that he expected the DBX to be “sporty and more of a competitor to a Cayenne”.
“The original sketches were extremes so we dwindled that down to one, and that one product doesn’t look like any of the others [in Aston Martin’s range], but it has their DNA.”
The Aston Martin DBX is scheduled to go into production in 2019 at the brand’s new (and still currently under construction) factory in Wales.
