From the start of October 2004, production of engines for Aston Martin
was brought back in house following the opening of AM's first dedicated
engine plant.
Based in a separate and AM branded building within the much larger Ford
Niehl Engine Plant, Cologne, Germany, the 12,500 square metre facility
has the capacity to produce upto 5000 engines a year (both V8 and V12)
by 100 especially trained personnel.
Like with the old V8, assembly of each unit will be entrusted to a
single technician from a pool of 30. But unlike the old V8, the V12 can
be assembled in a shade under 20 hours.
By bringing engine production back to within the company, the promise is
that AM will be able to produce small runs of higher performance
variants; a tantalising prospect.