Aston Martins Built With Volvo Parts

Come again? Aston Martin is cutting a few corners in order to make a buck? Well, that's not exactly moral, since the hefty price tag on these cars is meant to stand for exclusivity. What's the point in paying 80 large (pounds not dollars, mind you) for a car, if you have the floorpan from a Jaguar, the key from a Volvo, taillights from a Volkswagen and the sat-nav from a Ford?

This question does raise a few eyebrows but that's exactly what happened to a now unhappy and possibly angry Aston Martin owner who discovered, much to his dismay, that his V8 Vantage, the pinnacle of English style and exclusivity, actually nicked the key model from Volvo, as Car Magazine discovered.

His leather-clad key got scuffed one day and what the man saw left him flabbergasted: under the posh leather cover, stood written in silver font “VOLVO”. Not something you'd want to show someone who's paid a lot of money for his Aston.

Actually Aston Martin takes parts from a series of vehicle and marks: the DB7 uses the XJS floorpan, the DBS takes its taillights from the Hilman Hunter, while the ones on the DB6 are taken from the Triumph TR4. The Virage took its rear lights from the Volkswagen Scirocco and the headlights from the Audi 100. Neat, huh?

This is actually a very common habit these days, especially among marks that are owned by another automotive brand. Quentin Parker, the general manager for Aston Workshop in County Durham, said on the matter “Manufacturers have to take hardnosed decisions”.

Still, when they spend so much time and financial resources on designing such a beautiful and powerful car, you'd think they'd put about 5 minutes-worth of time into designing a friggin' ignition key. Or at least hire someone to take the decals off the nicked model first – it's a matter of taste really.