Aston Martin CEO Confirms Ferrari 488 Rival For 2020

After launching the new DB11, Aston Martin are now looking to go deep into Ferrari and Lamborghini territory with a mid-engined supercar that will challenge the likes of the 488 and Huracan.

Confirmed to AutoExpress by the brand’s chief, Andy Palmer, it’s part of the automaker’s strategy that will eventually see the launch of seven new vehicles in as many years.

“We have one car every year, for the next seven years. It starts with our GT cars: DB11, Vantage, and Vanquish. In 2019, we’ll have the DBX, then we’ll have, for the sake of the argument, let’s call it a [Ferrari] 488 competitor, then we have Lagonda, which is Lagonda One and Lagonda Two. Each car has a seven-year life, so in 2023, you have DB12“, Palmer said.

Expected to join the Aston Martin family in 2020, the mid-engined supercar is seen as ideal to slot in “an obvious blind spot” between the current sports cars and the Valkyrie. As far as its layout goes, the marque’s head honcho said that being mid-engined is not mandatory, but it makes it “easier to get the 50:50 weight distribution“.

Moreover, it will also benefit from “some of the DNA” of the Valkyrie and, despite its mid-engine layout, it will share some parts with the DB12.

Joining the Aston Martin lineup over in the near future will also be an all-electric Rapide, which will use the technology from Faraday Future, along with the DB11 Volante, both of which are not included in the seven aforementioned models.