18 replies to this topic

[Jean Todt]

MARCH 8, 2007
So David Richards of Aston Martin ... what now?

David Richards is expected to announce in Geneva tomorrow that his bid for Aston Martin has been successful and that he is in charge of Britain's glossiest car company. The reports to date have all indicated that Richards has been acting independently of Prodrive but there is no doubt that there are considerable synergies between the two firms and that it would make a lot of sense for Richards to go ahead and brand F1 engines, if not the whole car, as Aston Martin. This is the kind of marketing tool that Richards would love to have for Aston Martin, if the books can be made to balance. Aston Martin does not make sufficient money to fund an entire programme itself but would no doubt be happy to use the brand if others can be found to pay the bills.

The drawback with this idea is that other teams that might be willing to supply chassis to Prodrive may not want to do that if they aer supporting a rival car company. That is not really a huge problem because Cosworth has the very potent 2.4 litre Cosworth CA V8 engine sitting around doing nothing and with F1 engines currently frozen it would not be that difficult for the Cosworths to be competitive. The differences between the various V8s in F1 nowadays is minimal and certainly not the key factor is deciding who wins and who loses.

Success remains a question of getting everything right but most people agree that the deciding factor is not good software or seamless gearchanges but rather efficient aerodynamics. Thus the real question is whether or not Prodrive can buy a chassis from someone else as was originally planned or whether it has to do its own thing - which is still possible in the time available. The team has always had the long-term goal of doing its own thing. It makes no sense to do anything other that.

There will no doubt be support within the company for a move into F1 as the firm is managed by Ulrich Bez, an automobile executive who has unfinished business in Formula 1. Bez started his career at Porsche, where he developed cars such as the 911 Turbo, the Carrera 2.7, the 968 and the 993. He was involved in the successful TAG turbo F1 engine programme but later led the ill-fated Porsche V12 programme with Arrows in 1990. He went on to become the first director of BMW Technik, developing the Z1 and then moved to Daewoo where he tried on several occasions to lure the company into the sport. He has been running Aston Martin since 2000. He is a keen amateur racer himself, most recently at the wheel of an Aston Martin V8 Vantage in the 2006 Nurburgring 24 Hours endurance race.

If it is all down to money, Richards's alliance with Naeem Capital will certainly help. Naeem Capital is often reported to be an Egyptian company but that is not the whole story. It was founded in Saudi Arabia in 2003 as Naeem Financial Services but two years later was acquired by the Saudi Investment Bank, a Saudi Arabian government-controlled business. Naeem Holding was established in Egypt to run all the non-Saudi activities of Naeem in order to take advantage of the Egyptian government's "free zone" regulations which mean that firms located in free zones do not pay taxes or duties on imports and exports, do not pay taxes on profits beyond 1% of total revenues. They are also guaranteed not to be nationalised, confiscated or interferred with by the Egyptian government.

The reality, therefore, is that Naeem is a way in which Saudi Arabia can invest some of its vast oil industry profits in what amounts to a tax-free environment. Naeem Holding has several hundred different shareholders as a result of the company floating 60% of its shares but 37% of the business is held by the Saudis and that means they are in control. The firm has made investments in many different businesses, notably in banking and financial services firms but also in real estate, oil and other Middle Eastern infrastructure companies.



http://totalf1.com/v...p?newsid=195597

[Autumnpuma]

First, Richards in charge of AM is a good thing. Not only is he a brit, but he's got a racer's heart; two things that have been lacking of late over at Aston.

Second, the only car company on the F1 grid that is considered a market competition to aston would be Ferrari. BMW and Mercedes sell cars that compete with the Aston, but the majority of their fare is tamer than the Aston.

Third, I would welcome Aston to the F1 grid in whatever capacity it chooses to show itself.

Last I would gloss over the political/economic motives of the peoples involved if the above-stated goals are reached.

Go Aston Martin!!

[shampion]

David Richards.....  

My mom as aways said..."If you don't have anything nice to say .... say nothing."

Well.....

" ....................................... "

But I do/did like Aston Martin.... Maybe he'll change my mind about him.

[goferrarigo]

Autumnpuma, on Mar 8 2007, 03:12 PM, said:

First, Richards in charge of AM is a good thing. Not only is he a brit, but he's got a racer's heart; two things that have been lacking of late over at Aston.

Second, the only car company on the F1 grid that is considered a market competition to aston would be Ferrari. BMW and Mercedes sell cars that compete with the Aston, but the majority of their fare is tamer than the Aston.

Third, I would welcome Aston to the F1 grid in whatever capacity it chooses to show itself.

Last I would gloss over the political/economic motives of the peoples involved if the above-stated goals are reached.

Go Aston Martin!!

VW needs to bring Audi in the field

[F1 FANatic]

Autumnpuma, on Mar 8 2007, 01:12 PM, said:

Second, the only car company on the F1 grid that is considered a market competition to aston would be Ferrari.

wouldnt that be a turn off for them, there is no way they will beat Ferrari and probuably they wont even beat Honda or Toyota, so I would see it as bad marketing, but then again, all publicity is good publicity.

[Jean Todt]

Autumnpuma, on Mar 8 2007, 09:12 PM, said:

First, Richards in charge of AM is a good thing. Not only is he a brit, but he's got a racer's heart; two things that have been lacking of late over at Aston.

Second, the only car company on the F1 grid that is considered a market competition to aston would be Ferrari. BMW and Mercedes sell cars that compete with the Aston, but the majority of their fare is tamer than the Aston.

Third, I would welcome Aston to the F1 grid in whatever capacity it chooses to show itself.

Last I would gloss over the political/economic motives of the peoples involved if the above-stated goals are reached.

Go Aston Martin!!

   I feel, Richards will enter f1 initially with the name prodrive, and look to improve, when they become good enough to challenge the midfields and podiums, he MAY bring Aston in.
    
  I too feel its a good thing that Richards is taking over, because he may be able to tame those cars  better. One thing that Astons suffered is their excessive weights, I think he may be able to address those problems. I hope they dont scrap their plans to build the Rapide! Its one of the best looking cars on this planet!

[David Adams]

abbas_gear, on Mar 9 2007, 07:03 AM, said:

I feel, Richards will enter f1 initially with the name prodrive, and look to improve, when they become good enough to challenge the midfields and podiums, he MAY bring Aston in.
    
  I too feel its a good thing that Richards is taking over, because he may be able to tame those cars  better. One thing that Astons suffered is their excessive weights, I think he may be able to address those problems. I hope they dont scrap their plans to build the Rapide! Its one of the best looking cars on this planet!

Well said, couldnt agree more with any of that

I just watched casino royale the other day too, maybe they could help with a proper rollbar to help with such things as what happens in that

[jemstride]

DR, from what i've seen, read and heard being an F1 follower, is a pure twat. But if he were to bring in an Aston Martin F1 team, then fair play to him and I would love to see it, and would like to see it do well.
On the other hand, the whole thing would be just another Jaguar, which as we all know was 1 massive disappointment

[monza gorilla]

Doesn't he already run the DBR9 racing team?

[jemstride]

monza gorilla, on Mar 9 2007, 01:07 PM, said:

Doesn't he already run the DBR9 racing team?

is that in le mans? i'm not much of an expert on GT & sportscar racing.

But DR has a great record in rallying and he had a pretty darned good couple of years at BAR (not many people will remember his stint at benetton in 1998 when he didnt really do much cos Rocco Benetton decided to take over and ruin everything).

He's got what it takes to be a team boss, albeit an outspoken penisface, but I cant imagine he's going to trouble the big teams with old mclaren chassis

[Jean Todt]

jemstride, on Mar 9 2007, 02:10 PM, said:

is that in le mans? i'm not much of an expert on GT & sportscar racing.

But DR has a great record in rallying and he had a pretty darned good couple of years at BAR (not many people will remember his stint at benetton in 1998 when he didnt really do much cos Rocco Benetton decided to take over and ruin everything).

He's got what it takes to be a team boss, albeit an outspoken penisface, but I cant imagine he's going to trouble the big teams with old mclaren chassis

He runs the Subaru team right?

[Player(1)]

abbas_gear, on Mar 9 2007, 06:17 PM, said:

He runs the Subaru team right?

They build them for lots of different racing series.

Maybe I should post my pictures from a Prodrive tour sometime, taken on a 2MP camera phone so not the best quality though.

[Jean Todt]

Player(1), on Mar 9 2007, 06:34 PM, said:

They build them for lots of different racing series.

Maybe I should post my pictures from a Prodrive tour sometime, taken on a 2MP camera phone so not the best quality though.

So they do run the Subaru rally program!
http://www.prodrive....evel3.html?id=9

[Autumnpuma]

monza gorilla, on Mar 9 2007, 05:07 AM, said:

Doesn't he already run the DBR9 racing team?

Prodrive does run that. It's hard to notice that because the team runs under the Aston Martin name and is listed (in ALMS for example) as being run by Aston Martin. Prodrive in fact runs it.

[Jean Todt]

Autumnpuma, on Mar 9 2007, 08:38 PM, said:

Prodrive does run that. It's hard to notice that because the team runs under the Aston Martin name and is listed (in ALMS for example) as being run by Aston Martin. Prodrive in fact runs it.

He runs a couple of racing teams branded with manufacturer's names. Just like you pointed out, he runs Subaru and he also used to run ford. He also prepares Subaru customer rally cars. I think he has got a solid team of technical staffs behind. I still dont think he is going to enter f1 with the name Aston Martin, he may change it to Aston Martin later.

[FantasticoKimi]

goferrarigo, on Mar 9 2007, 12:04 AM, said:

VW needs to bring Audi in the field

100% Agree i would love to see Audi in the lineup.  Chances are that if VW ever did enter the F1 world it would be under the Lamborghini badge.  I don't see them taking a chance with Audi, since they already own the Prototype class of ALMS and LeMans.  Do you think we will ever see the return of Lambo or a VW entry, possibly Porsche??  VW has so many great mfgs under it's flag, that they would have to have some interest.  Pipedream I'm sure.

[Jean Todt]

Fantastic! Aston is now safer!       

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luxury car firm Aston Martin is heading back into British hands after being sold by Ford in a £479m ($924m) deal.

Oxford-based Dave Richards, boss of motorsport firm Prodrive, is heading the UK-led consortium buying Aston. Kuwaiti investors are also involved.

Ford is selling off the marque - made famous by James Bond - for $439m as it tackles its own financial woes, but the group is holding onto a £40m stake.

Ford bought a 75% stake in Aston Martin in 1987, and bought the rest later.

Aston Martin will remain at its purpose-built factory in Gaydon in Warwickshire, which employs 1,800 people.

'Incredible opportunity'


This next stage in the company's history promises to be the most exciting yet
Ulrich Bez
Aston Martin chief executive



Mr Richards - who is making his investment in a personal capacity - is a former accountant who was a co-driver in professional car rallies and has been described as the "Richard Branson of motorsport".

His company Prodrive already runs the Aston Martin racing team in the sports car series around the world, as well as the Subaru world rally team.

"This is an incredible opportunity - Aston Martin is one of the world's most iconic brands," he said.

"We are confident we now have all the right ingredients to take Aston Martin to even greater heights."

Also in the consortium is John Sinders, a banker in finance and shipping who spends his time between Texas and Dubai.

"The dream for me was to own an Aston Martin, never to own part of the company. It's a dream come true," Mr Sinders told the BBC.

Two Kuwaiti companies - Investment Dar and Adeem Investment - complete the group.


ASTON MARTIN HISTORY
Aston Martin DBS
1913: Founded by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford
1975: Sold to American owners
1987: Ford buys 75% stake
1994: Ford takes full control
2005: Record 4,500 sales
2006 - Ford puts Aston Martin up for sale with price tag of $1bn
2007: Sold by Ford to a UK-led consortium

Carmaker 'has great future'

'Tremendously exciting'

Aston Martin chief executive Ulrich Bez said the partnership was "a tremendously exciting opportunity".

"It is a new beginning which will give the company the opportunity to attain an even higher level of excellence," he said.

"This next stage in the company's history promises to be the most exciting yet."

Mr Richards' consortium also said that earlier speculation that Prodrive may brand its cars Aston Martin when it enters Formula One racing next year was completely unfounded.

Analysts have said that the greatest challenge for the new owners will be whether they have deep enough pockets to fund the car models needed to keep the business competitive against its top-end rivals.

Six months ago Ford put the marque back up for sale in response to its financial problems.

Ford lost more than $12bn in 2006, and has had to take out a $23bn mortgage to cover its restructuring.

It said the sale was "good news" for both Ford and Aston Martin.

[Wez]

I love Aston Martins & it would be fantastic to see Richards brand his new team as Aston Martin in formula 1!!!

[Player(1)]

Funnily enough the idea of an Aston Martin F1 car makes me think of a 900kg car while the rest are 605kg...relly nothing charming about their cars for me.

They will go with Prodrive and a McLaren chassis in 2008 then when they get to making their own chassis and possibly engine they will come out as Aston Martin, only way i can see it happening.