India's automobile development expertise finally drove to the global arena with the unveiling of a new luxury car prototype by Britain-based Aston Martin at the international motor show in Detroit on Monday.
Built by Mumbai-based designer Dilip Chhabria, the prototype of the 'AMV8 Vantage Concept' car was unveiled at a glittering show by chairman and CEO of Prime Automotive Group Mark Fields to the world media at the ongoing North American International Motor Show.
Prime Automotive Group handles all the premier brands of the world's second largest automaker Ford Motor Company, like Aston Martin, Volvo, Jaguar and Land Rover.
This is the first time that an international car maker has utilised the services of an Indian design firm for prototype building and it is likely to give Dilip Chhabria Design a much-needed stepping stone for foraying into the highly-competitive global automobile design market.
What landed Chhabria the job was his impressive display of the 'Infidel', at the Geneva Motor Show in March last year. DC Design has built the entire compact two-seater from the scratch based on designs supplied by Aston Martin.
The prototype is powered by an all-new V8 engine and its body and chassis is made of aluminium and carbon fibre composites.
Aston Martin CEO Ulrich Bez said the prototype was of 'very good quality' and its platform would be the basis for all future models of the company, whose cars have been made legendary by the James Bond movies.
Ulrich Bez said the car would showcase the brand, design and volume of Aston Martin and would be cheaper than previous models manufactured by the company.
The 'AM V8 Vantage Concept' is likely to be pitted against the 'Porsche 911' car in pricing thus making it the 'most accessible' Aston Martin car ever, which sells only about 1,500 cars a year worldwide.
The car would be hand-built at Aston Martin's new plant in the United Kingdom and sit alongside the company's existing models like 'DB7' and the flagship 'Vanquish' when launched in 2005.
