In the latest twist to the Aston saga, Gaydon is now being run by a Ferrari engineering legend. Can Amedeo Felisa succeed where Tobias Moers failed?
Aston Martin has quickly gone from being run by ex-AMG boss Tobias Moers to being run by ex-Ferrari engineering chief – and later CEO – Amedeo Felisa. Executive chairman and major shareholder Lawrence Stroll now clearly sees Felisa and his associates as being the best way to make Aston into the British Ferrari. But there are questions to be answered about future investment and products as electrification looms, and doubts hover over where they’ll be developed and built.
One of Felisa’s many claims to fame is his first modular all-aluminium Ferrari architecture, capable of underpinning front- and mid-engined sports cars of all sizes. It was an ingenious concept, flexible and with potential for multi-cycle evolution.
No one can design, develop and build a better Ferrari fighter than one of the best chief engineers Ferrari ever had. But Felisa is apparently not prepared to make Gaydon his new home. Instead, he would prefer to transfer the R&D department to Italy, where talent, suppliers and facilities are readily available in the heart of the Modenese motor valley.
That would still leave Gaydon in Warwickshire and St Athan in Glamorganasproductionplants–although in theory the number of cars Aston is selling could all be built in Wales, where labour costs are cheaper.
One of Moers’ achievements in his sub-two-year stay at Aston was straightening out the convoluted production process, bringing some of his Mercedes-AMG rigour. The Aston-AMG connection doesn’t need to end just because Moers has gone. Its continuation into the longer term may depend on major investments or even takeover bids that, at the time of writing, are possibilities, but of course could come to nothing.
But loss-making Aston could certainly use the money; it needs fresh funds to develop the much-discussed mid-engined sports car and to make the leap into the electric future.
The low share price – it’s dropped in the last 12 months from £26 to £10 – makes Aston an attractive takeover candidate. Mercedes has shown some interest in the past. Audi is interested in joint efforts on the road and in F1. Lucid is apparently also interested in co-operating with Aston; it has the electric know-how, but would need a wea
