Under the direction of CEO Andy Palmer, Aston Martin is branching out into all sorts of new directions. The Valkyrie hypercar, shown above and designed in collaboration with Red Bull Racing, is set to hit production in 2019. Soon after, Aston will add a second mid-engine car below the Valkyrie: Speaking to Auto Express, Palmer has confirmed that a Ferrari 488-rivaling sports car will arrive in 2020.



This yet-unnamed mid-engine sports car is expected to sit somewhere above the upcoming Vanquish, but significantly cheaper than the Valkyrie's rumored $3 million price tag.

"Within our price pillars, we’ll have Vantage, DB11 and Vanquish—then you have nothing up above them," Palmer told Auto Express. "We have an obvious blind spot where the likes of the 488 sit."

Palmer said that Red Bull Racing, and its lead designer Adrian Newey, will have a hand in engineering Aston's 488 rival, which will receive some technology from the Valkyrie. Previously, Palmer hinted to Car and Driver that this mid-engine car could be V12 powered, perhaps using the new 5.2-liter twin-turbo unit that made its debut in the DB11.

Aston Martin will launch a handful of new front-engine cars before it gets to this mid-engine model, though. A new V8 Vantage is expected at some point this year, with the Vanquish following in 2018; the DBX crossover is set to arrive in 2019. After the mid-engine sports car, Aston will focus on launching two sedans under the Lagonda brand.

This will be a tough segment for Aston to enter, especially with a new batch of mid-engine sports cars from Ferrari, McLaren, and Lamborghini likely arrive around the same time. We’re very curious to see how this future Aston will stack up.



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