The big news this week for Aston Martin fans is that the luxury sports car maker made famous by James Bond 007 is returning to British hands.

Ford has announced it has sold the company to a UK-led group headed by Dave Richards, head of respected motorsports specialist Prodrive, for £479m.

The American car giant has had a large stake in Aston Martin since 1987, buying the company outright in 1994 and overseeing a period of unprecedented sales success. Under Ford ownership, the company developed a series of respected new models and reported record sales of 7,000 cars in 2006.

But with the onset of Ford’s financial problems, the group decided to sell the luxury brand. Ford lost more than $12 billion in 2006 and faces huge restructuring costs. However, the group has still held on to a £40m slice of the company.

The sports car specialist will remain at its purpose-built factory in Gaydon, Warwickshire, where 1,800 people work.

drive success

Under the leadership of Dave Richards, Prodrive has built a formidable reputation in motorsports, running the Aston Martin racing team in the worldwide sports car series, as well as the successful Subaru rally team.

Dave Richards also managed the BAR Formula One team from 2002 to 2004, taking the team from eighth to second in the constructors’ world championship in that period, before Honda took on a larger role and the BAR team was renamed. . Richards was also a leading figure in the Benetton F1 team in the late 1990s.

Most interesting to motorsports fans is that Prodrive owns a slot to enter the 2008 F1 World Championship. But the consortium has called speculation ‘unfounded’ that Prodrive may now brand its F1 cars as Aston Martins. .

Also in the consortium with Dave Richards is finance and shipping banker John Sinders and two Kuwaiti investment companies.

Richards assured Aston Martin fans that the new owners were committed to the company for the long term and would not seek a quick turnaround as many private equity groups do.

exciting future

As well as the potential for an Aston Martin presence in F1 racing to excite fans, the company’s new owners have announced plans to increase production by more than a quarter in the next three years.

Growth will be fueled by the launch of two new models: the DBS, as seen in the latest James Bond Casino Royale, and the four-door Rapide, bringing the brand’s range to seven cars.

As a result, at least 200 more workers are expected to be hired at an expanded plant in Warwickshire.

questions ahead

But looking ahead, the biggest question facing new owners is, without the backing of a major well-financed car group enjoyed by many of Aston Martin’s main rivals, will they have enough money to spend on developing the cars? brand cars to maintain them. ahead of the competition.

Another threat is the looming EU car emissions regulation. If these are rolled out per manufacturer, that would present a huge problem for independent carmakers like Aston Martin, unable to meet average emissions limits across their range by balancing the inevitably higher performance of their powerful sports models with the city. low emissions. automobiles, as the large automobile groups will be able to do.

For the company to survive under such an imposed EU regime, a huge investment would be needed to produce low-emission power plants that nevertheless maintain the required level of power and performance. Though exactly how the EU will enforce the lower emission limits on carmakers that have been agreed remains to be seen.