Aston Martin, the maker of luxury sports cars preferred by fictional British spy James Bond, and Toulouse-based aerospace giant Airbus are teaming up on a new venture. The product? It's still a mystery.
Aston Martin Lagonda and Airbus Corporate Helicopters entered into a new partnership that will bring together "the best of automotive and aeronautical design," they said in a joint statement. The product is set to be revealed early next year.
"Applying our own automotive design principles in the aerospace world is a fascinating challenge and one that we are very much enjoying," Marek Reichman, Aston Martin Lagonda vice president and chief creative officer, said in the statement.
For the past 12 months designers from both companies have worked together on the aesthetic styling of the first product from their new collaboration, which is set to be revealed early in the first quarter of 2020.
“This is a bold cooperation which corresponds to our tradition of experimenting with new design approaches, the result is a unique creation of breathtaking design accomplishment and beauty," Frédéric Lemos, head of Airbus Corporate Helicopters, said.
Neither company specified what will be produced as a result of their new collaboration.
The first "creation" of the Aston Martin and Airbus Corporate Helicopters partnership will be revealed at Courchevel, in the French Alps on January 3, the companies said.
Airbus Corporate Helicopters is a major player in the private and business jet market with more than 1,800 aircraft fielded in 130 countries and a market share in excess of 50 per cent.
In July 2018. Aston Martin separately revealed what it dubbed a "sports car for the skies".
Aston Martin unveiled the three-seater hybrid-electric vehicle at the Farnborough International Airshow.
The Volante Vision Concept design has vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capabilities and will be able to hit speeds of around 200 miles per hour (322 kph), Reuters reported.
