Aston Martin SUV To Utilise Mercedes GL Bones: Report

According to Brit mag Autocar, Aston Martin has all but locked in the current Mercedes-Benz GL's platform for its future SUV, with Mercedes-Benz saying that it is "open" to the idea of platform-sharing.

The news shouldn't come as any great surprise, however. The use of a Mercedes chassis (be it GL or ML) is a no-brainer given both automakers announced an engineering tie-up in the middle of last year.

And rumours of the GL platform being the chassis of choice for the Aston SUV have been circulating since October last year, when Aston CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez reportedly said that platform sharing between Aston Martin and Mercedes-Benz would be "good business".

Currently the technology-sharing agreement only covers engines and electrical architecture, however it could easily be extended to include vehicle architectures. 

However, don't expect to see any AMG or Benz badging on Aston's SUV. Mercedes-Benz boss Dieter Zetsche says that he would rather the technology transfer between the companies was "subtle".