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Ford to sell Aston Martin

By Georg Kacher Motor Industry 31 August 2006 02:39 The world’s two biggest luxury goods firms – including the conglomerate behind brands like Moet and Louis Vuitton – are locked in a battle to buy Aston Martin from cash-starved Ford. Ford announced today that the British sports car manufacturer would be sold and CAR has learned that Swiss-based Richemont and the French holding company LVMH have emerged as most likely to take on Aston despite having no previous experience in the car industry. Ford desperately needs to tap into the potential $700m-$1bn the sale of Aston could generate and hopes to finalise a deal by the end of the year.

David Brown Automotive promising a new luxury British sports car

David Brown Automotive promising a new luxury British sports car The name David Brown Automotive conjures up images of the man whose initials still give us the Aston Martin DB9 – former tractor builder David Brown who bought up Aston Martin in 1947 (and subsequently Lagonda and Tickford). But this David Brown Automotive is actually a new company which promises to “…refresh the classic British sports car, for the 21st Century” with a vision for a new luxury take on the classic British Sports Car. David Brown has put together a team lead by Alan Mobberley – who was  Chief Designer at Land Rover until 2005 and cropped up recently as the designer for Eterniti Motors – and has commissioned Envisage Group (the firm that bought up what was left of CPP after Vladimir Antonov’s exploits and who are building the glorious Lyonheart E-Type) to bring his dreams to life.

BMW i3 EV will cost from £30,680 – less than we expected

The new BMW i3 EV (teased above) will costs from £30k The new BMW i3 electric City Car is due to be revealed in production guise on 29th July, ahead of which BMW has revealed it will cost from £30,680 – meaning a showroom sticker price of £25,680 after the EV taxpayer ‘grant’. That price is for the pure EV i3 – not the range-extender – which comes with a rear mounted 168bhp electric motor, a top speed of 93mph and a range (in ideal conditions) of around 80 miles between charges. At a retail price of £25k, the i3 compares favourably with other EVs like the Nissan LEAF, which costs from £21k, and the Chevy Volt at £30k (although that is a range extender).