Aston Martin CEO Hints at a Special Surprise for the Geneva Motor Show

TopSpeed

By Kirby Garlitos

Published Feb 28, 2018

Let the speculation run wild on what these two surprises are

Aston Martin will be in attendance at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show, and it’s not going there with the usual cadre of models that we’ve already seen. On the contrary, the British automaker is lining up an epic roster of showcase models, including what CEO Andy Palmer describes as “one or two surprises.” We don’t know what these two surprises are, but since it came from Palmer himself, we’re going to go out on a limb and say that we could be in for a quite a treat when we stop by Aston’s booth in Geneva.

Any time an automaker reveals plans that include a few “surprises,” it sends a lot of people into full-blown speculation mode. Aston CEO Andy Palmer did his part in getting the word out. “It’s always a proud moment to see the fruits of the company’s efforts on show in one place, but this year’s Geneva Show promises to be extra special,” Palmer said in a press release. “Who knows, we may even have one or two surprises in store.”

While we can’t say with full certainty what these surprises are, we do have a few candidates.

One is the production version of the DBX, which would be a big surprise because we’ve heard little about the SUV since Aston Martin announced plans to turn it into a production model. The British automaker plans to start selling it sometime in 2019, so it makes sense for the company to at least showcase the production-ready model sooner rather than later.

Another candidate would be the highly touted mid-engine sports car that Aston Martin has been talking about in recent months. The company even admitted that it’s setting its sights on the Ferrari 488 with the development of its car. A Geneva unveiling would definitely be a “surprise” because it’s going to come at a time when nobody expects it to arrive.

Ultimately, I do not think that these are the two surprises that Palmer is referring to. Both models are significant enough for Aston Martin to draw up a hype plan to get public anticipation going. The DBX and the new sports car are two models that deserve teasers of their own, and so far, we haven’t seen any for either model.

My best guesses are two special edition models of Aston’s current lineup. One could be based on the DB11, and another could be based on the all-new Vantage, which itself is making its “global motor show” debut in Geneva. For what it’s worth, both the DB11 Coupe and DB11 Volante will also be in attendance at the auto show. So will Aston Martin Racing’s 2018 WEC Vantage GTE race car. If it's not a pair of special editions, it could be the two Lagonda sedans that have been in the works for some time now.

There are a lot of possibilities here, but I’m confident that at least one of them is a special edition model that will be based on any one of Aston Martin’s current models.