Aston Martin’s new boss hasn’t let the grass grow before embossing his personal style on the 102-year-old car maker. His spin doctors have placed interviews and thrown informal suppers where this former Nissan executive has aired his thoughts. Then, at last week’s Geneva motor show, Palmer introduced three new concepts, the last, an electric-powered DBX crossover, a complete surprise to the world’s media.
Was this a mistake? Making disproportionate amounts of PR “noise” is an essential prerequisite for any tiny manufacturer, but there’s recent sad and hubristic history. Motor industry observers might recall the experiences at Lotus, where marketing guru Dany Bahar joined from Ferrari as chief executive in 2009. Equally generous with his opinions, Bahar introduced five new Lotus concept cars at the Paris show in 2010. Not one has made it to production and in 2012 Bahar was sacked amid allegations of reckless overspending. Lotus remains in serious jeopardy.
Yet when you sit opposite Palmer, with his chief stoker’s hair and generous, listening manner, there’s not a trace of either the bombast or the Walter Mitty style of some would-be kings of the British sports car industry. Over a cuppa and endearingly old-school custard creams, Palmer enquires after the DBX unveiling: “We discussed doing this for months,” he says. “It’s nice to get some surprise back into the motor shows.”