Rumours and hazy facts are circulating on that there t'internet suggesting that Aston Martin has received £100 million (almost €120m at the time of writing) of new investment - but from where is not clear. However, the company's chief financial officer, Hanno Kirner, is happy to go on record as saying the money "provides a solid foundation for the execution of our future product plan", which is certainly encouraging for fans of the marque.
The money was this week announced by Aston Martin Holdings (UK) as US$165 million of senior subordinated pay-in-kind notes, with repayment due no later than 2018.
The belief is that Aston can now go about developing a whole new range of cars that. The most likely pioneer of this brave new dawn is some sort of SUV, possibly bearing the old Lagonda moniker, which has been in the Aston pipeline for many a year now but has never come close to being fully realised.
Anything else?
While the source waters of this funding are murky, to say the least, let us not forget that Aston last year announced a tie-up with Mercedes-Benz that will see the two giants of the industry sharing components, potentially including drivetrains. There is no confirmation as yet but this latest injection of funds could be money from Daimler, as the Germans do already own five per cent of Aston Martin.