Spotted a test mule of Aston Martin wearing Mercedes-AMG bodywork: what is the British brand up to?

We all know that Mercedes-AMG and Aston Martin share a close relationship, something that is evident in the British brand’s lineup of vehicles. In recent years, Mercedes and Aston Martin reached an agreement for the latter to use both its technology and its engines, but it has recently come to light that their partnership would go even further. Perhaps this closer link between the two brands is behind this curious test mule which, although it bears no resemblance whatsoever to the vehicle that will reach production, gives us an idea of what to expect.

At first glance, and as is customary, prototypes of future road cars play at misdirection. This case is even more striking than usual, since we are literally looking at a Aston Martin wearing the body of a Mercedes-AMG E 63, a combination that results in a rather odd vehicle but one that may be concealing a future SUV from the British marque.

Setting aside the German bodywork of the test mule, we notice the same wheels fitted to the Aston Martin DBX. Furthermore, a considerable ground clearance leads us to classify this car as an SUV, a concept that is no longer unusual, or unlikely, among sports car makers, with Lamborghini and Maserati being two clear examples of this.

In this way, it makes perfect sense for the British brand to be developing a smaller sibling to the DBX that could rival the Mercedes-AMG GLC 63, the Porsche Macan and the Audi RS Q3. Given that this future Aston Martin will have a German heart, we can fairly confidently predict the engine that will power it in the not-too-distant future.

Indeed, there are only two plausible options for this future sports-oriented SUV. One is the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 that powers some of its siblings in the range and its cousins, the Mercedes-AMG models; the other, on the other hand, would require the rumour that the brand with the star will turn to a four-cylinder hybrid engine to power its next batch of AMG models, and therefore also the future offspring of Aston Martin, to come true.

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Be that as it may, it is clear that the British brand will have a great deal to do with the future of Mercedes and its performance vehicle division. At the same time, we may also come across synergies in the other direction and, who knows, perhaps the future successor to the current AMG GT will have the soul of a Aston Martin.