Reference Auto

James Bond fans will finally get to drive his car with Aston Martin unveiling plans to roll out its models in the country from this month itself.

Aston Martin, made famous by the Bond films, will need no brand introduction and could witness a huge fan following among the country’s youth right from the start. The carmaker will not have to spend that extra bit to raise awareness about its brand.

In fact, the start has been good for the British car maker. It has targeted sales of 30 cars for the year and has already received 20 bookings.

Aston Martin will come into India with its full range, except city-car Cygnet.

The luxury car maker has already elicited an enquiry for its most expensive car – the One-77.

“We have got an enquiry in the country for the One-77 but as a policy we do not reveal the names of our owners,” Mark Kenworthy, general manager – Middle East and North America, Aston Martin, said.

Coming for a cool Rs 20 crore, the One-77 definitive sports car has just five cars left worldwide of the 77 made. West Asia is the largest market for the One-77, with sales of around 25%, followed by the UK. The company has shelved plans to further produce this car.

At the lower end, the company will sell the V8 Vantage for Rs 1.55 crore and the Rapide for Rs 2.15 crore. Other models to be sold in India are V12 Vantage, DB9 Coupe, DB9 Volante, DBS Coupe, among others, and the price range will be between Rs 1.3 and Rs 2.9 crore.

Aston Martin will tie up with Infinity Cars, which will officially distribute the British brand in India. Infinity sells BMW cars via its dealerships in Mumbai and Nagpur.

The growth story of India’s premium cars market does not end here with Italian sports car maker Ferrari planning to launch some of its cars this month itself.

The Italian company will foray into the country with the Ferrari California, 458 Italia, 599 GTB Fiorano and the latest model, FF, at prices beginning from Rs 2.2 crore.

During the month, Italy’s Maserati and British luxury car giant Bentley have driven in their range of cars.

India’s luxury or premium cars market has been witnessing phenomenal growth with international auto makers bringing in models to cater to the over 70 per cent growth.

According to Sweden’s Volvo, size of the premium cars market in India could see a surge to 20,000 units in 2011.

Car makers like Rolls Royce, Bentley, Bugatti, Porsche, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are already present in India, eyeing to grab a substantial pie of this lucrative market.

Compared with other cars in the premium segment, Aston Martin not only offers the high performance of a supercar but its elegance, styling and comfort are unmatched.

But Aston Martin’s late move could put it behind its British peers, Rolls Royce and Bentley, which have already revved up presence in the high-end luxury category (cars that are priced above the Rs 1 crore-mark).

Still it’s never to late to mend as predictions show: According to BMW India president Andreas Schaaf, the luxury cars market in India could skyrocket ten-fold to between 1.5 lakh and 2 lakh cars in the next decade and James Bond’s Aston Martin could well find a place for itself in this market.