Aston Martin chief executive Andy Palmer has hit out at the booming luxury SUV market after claiming that it’s impossible to design an attractive SUV.
Aston Martin has made no secret of the fact that it is planning on putting its DBX concept crossover into production. The DBX will be unlike any other car produced by the British automaker and it’s clear that Aston is determined for it not to be confused with or branded an SUV.
While recently speaking with The Drive, Palmer said “Practically speaking, every one of our customers has a Range Rover sitting in their garage. So the sensible decision would be to make a Range Rover. But our DNA doesn’t allow us to go there. There is no beauty in there. You cannot make a beautiful SUV, it’s impossible. Because the raison d’être of an SUV is basically maximizing versatility, maximizing space, which means you make a box. And boxes aren’t beautiful.”
Palmer is keen to point out that the DBX will focus heavily on form over function meaning it won’t have enough space “to load the dogs and three weeks of luggage.” With that being said, he did say that it will be reasonably versatile with luggage compartments at both the front and rear.
Other details about the production-spec DBX are relatively murky but it could be underpinned by a tweaked version of the Aston Martin’s impending new vehicle architecture set to debut in the DB9’s successor. On the other hand, the DBX could use the same platform as the brand new Mercedes-Benz GLC making use of Aston Martin’s alliance with Daimler.
