Interesting article from pistonheads; tell me what you guys think...

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-aston/new-aston-sports-cars--what-we-can-expect/33497

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New Aston sports cars - what we can expect
posted on Monday, December 21, 2015 in PH > Aston Martin

'Sophisticated' DB11 launched in March ahead of 'scalpel-sharp' Vantage and 'bad boy' Vanquish


As we get closer to the launch of the new Aston Martin DB11 at the Geneva motor show in March, Aston is starting to talk more about how it will differentiate its core model from the Vantage below and Vanquish above in the all-important sports car range.

Expect many more DB10 hints in future Astons.
It's been said many times on here that the current range, although still head-turning, is pretty hard to separate. Aston agrees, especially between Vantage and DB9. Customers lured to the dealer were "cross shopping" between the two, Aston CEO Andy Palmer told a group of us journalists at Gaydon recently.
His plan therefore was to assign each of the new cars an incredibly detailed 'proxy' customer, in the DB11's case 'Philippe', a cultured financier who lives in London, loves the theatre and is so self-confident that he might even wear a bowler hat.

This might sound whimsical but it gave Aston a clear idea of how to design the cars. "When we came to the natural compromises we have to make, rather than talk about what Marek [Reichman, head designer] and Ian [Minards, chief engineer] would prefer we could talk about what Philippe would like. Would he prefer a beautiful drop-away roofline or a bit more space in the back?," Palmer said.

PistonHeads talked to Reichman about these imaginary customers and came away with a clearer idea of the cars themselves. The DB11 is the sophisticated one, rather like ol' Philippe himself, according to Reichman. "I can tune it for the track if I wish but most of the time I won't." he said, slipping easily into the Philippe persona.

Vulcan influence will also be evident. You'll be able to spec of lot of the same technology from high-end Mercedes-Benzes too, thanks to Aston's arrangement with Merc parent Daimler, not only on V8 engines but also electrical architecture. Again, this appeals to Philippe. "He's probably stepped out of his Mercedes S-Class daily drive. It drives itself more or less and if you want you can have that on your DB11," Reichman told us.

The Vantage guy is cockier, American, very techy and works in Silicon Valley. "He's never overt but a bit more hedonistic," said Reichman, who didn't name him. If he does wear a suit he probably pair it with trainers. In club-land he'd be a member of Soho House rather than joining Philippe in the RAC or Travellers Club. As a result the Vantage is "much more dedicated to purist performance, a scalpel," Reichman said.

As to how the Vantage will look, he says it'll have similar proportions to James Bond's limited-run DB10. The grille won't be entirely in "shadow" as it is on the DB10, but it won't be far off. "You'll probably have to search more for the grille on a Vantage than you do for the DB11," he said. The DB11 face is "much prouder" he added. As to how it drives, we're told that our Vantage proxy buyer will "accept a little more of a harsh sound, a bit more feedback of the engine and feedback from the gearbox, because it's about driving".

Then there's Vanquish, expected to be the last of the trio to arrive. "It starts at bad boy and gets worse," Reichman says of the Vanquish's driving demeanour and particular the noise. The customer for the most powerful of the three sports cars is quite the character. Again we weren't told his name, but he's in Germany and has an "insane amount of confidence", according to Reichman. He wants the most extravagant wing, the widest wheels, but won't buy a Lamborghini "because everyone will look at me and say, tasteless", says Reichman. Styling-wise, Reichman points to the Vulcan limited-run hypercar as a clue.
You'll hear plenty more about the DB11 when it launches in March ahead of sales toward the end of next year. Until then, Philippe, if you're reading this (of course he's a member), we hope the bonus is good.

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I like where this is going

 

I hate all these comparisons to silicon valley persona tho

 

Agree with you on that. What I like is that they're giving each car a very distinct persona, and I think it'll play well in diversifying the models. The personas themselves are... a bit laughable. But as a thought exercise for the design team, it was a great move.

 

+1 agree. They should also add that these proxies have "punch-face" as a defining characteristic.

As long as it results in better cars with distinct driving personalities, I suppose these extreme caricatures were warranted.

I still can't help but feel that they're disconnected from some of their current owners (us), which worries me.

And yeah, I'm not a fan of all the Silicon Valley bandwagoning either. Their proxy customer for the DBX, "Charlotte" was also from there:
"a mid-30s female from Silicon Valley and she is an entrepreneur/CEO/blue-chip investor. And she has a family, a young family, she is Gen-X/Gen-Y. She didn't grow up thinking of the automotive world in the traditional sense. But she is a style follower. She loves luxury, she likes her fashion, she loves Valentino, she loves Jimmy Choo. And she loves luxury brands."

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-show...arek-reichman/

 

They could have left off the location of where these guys are from, it's a stereotype nobody appreciates and could even be insulting to some. But I do like the different personality car concept, and also like what he describes for each. I fear my little old Vantage will be a relic soon

 

At work I refer to these silicon valley personas as "single adult living in city based studio apartments creating solutions for other singles living in bachelor pads" haha

 

Accurate.

 

I would change it to ...working on solutions with a goal to enrich themselves and their buddies by selling their half baked but promising software to a soulless software corporation that will destroy whatever good that was there. Rinse, lather, repeat. And here I go generalizing

 

My type is never profiled :-)
30-35 year old construction worker who lives in the suburbs and drives an Aston and Lambo with a wife who has an X5M grocery getter/kid hauler.

 

That article makes me cringe.

I accept that the company has to have marketing strategies (however bizarre and childish-sounding they may be), but I'd rather not hear about them. It reminds me of another article awhile back describing Andy Palmer's typical work day; that thankfully stopped short of detailing his bathroom breaks.

Stop the silly hype, Mr. Palmer & Mr. Reichmann - it sounds like you are desperate (sorry, I know this is a perpetual state of being at Aston), and with nothing to back it up. If you want to use clichés, here are some I suggest you recall as you are busy steering the brand away from the reserved cool and effortless class that took 100 years to build: Less is more; Walk softly and carry a big stick; Let the product speak for itself.

 

I've been to a few of these "brain storming" sessions with huge branding firms in NYC for work, and it doesn't help that most of these firms employ urban millenials... so most of the target audience and product ideas they end up sending back to me makes me face palm myself haha

 

That's because your type doesn't buy Astons. Construction workers who can buy one either own the company or inherited their money. If you are the former I'd call you a business owner rather than a construction worker 😀

 

Isn't this mindfulness/branding-****e a bit over the top? I know you have to adapt your product to market but I've always believed in Aston Martins strong design-language. To me a technological upgrade (better gearboxes, cabin-interface and suspension systems) plus a light facelift would be sufficient to extend the life of the current range of products. Ofcourse Mr. Palmer has been appointed to double sales to 8000 units or so in the next 5 years; hence the addition of DBX. I think an SUV is the last thing AM shall be looking at

I just hope the strong heritage-feel that the Vantage, DB9, Vanquish and Rapide (Dr. Bez era) represented in my opinion to their predecessors during the David Brown-era, also continues with the new DB11 towards its predecessor.

I know volume means profit but I'd rather see Aston Martin to maintain its exclusive position in the market as it does today. Let's see, time will tell and hopefully proves me wrong :-)

 

The personas aren't meant to identify which car is meant for which customer. It's meant to keep the design team from turning a variety of cars into one. It's to maintain differentiation during design. They need distinct vehicles to appeal to more people - right now all Astons are pretty much the same, and if one doesn't suit a prospective customer, that customer might assume none do.

It's odd that they're being as open about the personae as they are, but the reason for them is sound. They're just.... weird.