Aston Martin is replacing AMG's V8 with a V6 of its own design.
Aston Martin plans to replace the V8 engine currently supplied from Mercedes-AMG with a V6 engine of its own design, CEO Andy Palmer told Car and Driver in an interview published last week.
The V6 engine will be linked to Aston Martin's 5.2-liter, 3.0-liter twin-turbo V12 engine; to provide performance comparable to the AMG-supplied 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine, the engine's hybrid technology will be augmented.
The Aston Martin-specific V8 engines are rated at 503 and 542 hp. They are currently fitted to the V8 Vantage and DB11 sports cars, as well as the recently released DBX SUV.
The first use of the V6 engine is in the Valhalla hypercar, scheduled for delivery in early 2022. The engine will also be used in the Vanquish supercar.
The British company has never offered a V6 engine, but has offered inline six-cylinder engines in the past, the last being the DB7 with a 3.2-liter inline six in the 1990s.
Aston Martin reduced engine size and added hybrid technology to meet the stricter emissions regulations that will apply when the DBX, a more mainstream-oriented SUV, surpasses the 10,000 annual sales threshold likely to be reached by the time it arrives at dealers. It will need to be retrofitted, with automakers delivering 5,862 vehicles in 2019.
However, there are significant costs associated with developing all future products. In 2019, the automaker had a loss of $134 million. It needed the help of Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, who is also the main sponsor of the Racing Point F1 team. With Stroll's arrival, Racing Point will become Aston Martin's factory team from next season. Aston Martin's Lagonda revival has also been put on hold due to financial recovery.