The British carmaker Aston Martin developed the vertical–horizontal (VH) vehicle platform to serve as the basis of most of the mass-produced vehicles in its lineup manufactured between 2003 and 2016, comprising the DB9, followed by the Vantage, DBS, Rapide and Vanquish. The limited-production Virage, DB10 and Lagonda Taraf also used this platform.
Ulrich Bez was appointed chief executive officer and chairman of Aston Martin in July 2000. At that time, the company had made significant investments in the V12 Vanquish's structural platform and determined that developing a separate platform for a single model would not be a prudent use of resources. In 2001, Bez initiated the development of a new versatile architecture intended to accompany automobiles of various sizes; most of the developments were done within that year. Aston Martin implemented modifications to enhance assembly efficiency, aiming for thirty minutes per unit, compared to the four hours required for the V12 Vanquish. The VH platform was developed to be flexible.[1] Every vehicle that uses it incorporates bonded and riveted aluminium to reduce weight.[2] The term "vertical" indicates that the platform can accommodate various applications and can be adjusted in size to meet the requirements of future models. The term "horizontal" signifies that components of the platform can be used across different models within the Aston Martin lineup.
The first vehicle to use the VH platform was the DB9, which constituted the platform's first generation. The Vantage, introduced in 2005, used the second generation of the platform, along with the DBS and DB10, introduced in 2007 and 2014, respectively. The third generation of the platform was used by the Virage in 2011, the 2012 facelift of the DB9 and the 2012 Vanquish. The Rapide and Lagonda Taraf used the fourth generation, an extended version of the platform.[3] The cars have since been discontinued. The Virage and DBS both ended production in 2012,[4] [5] followed by the DB10 in 2015. The DB9 and Taraf were discontinued in 2016,[6] [7] while the Vantage and Vanquish ended production in 2018.[8] [9] Production of the Rapide ended in 2020.
| Model | ||||||
| Name | Image | Introduction (year) | Discontinuation (year) | Generation | ||
| Grand tourer | DB9 | 2004 | 2016 | First (2012 facelift used third) | [10] [11] | |
| Sports car | Vantage | 2005 | 2018 | Second | [12] [13] | |
| Grand tourer | DBS | 2007 | 2012 | Second | [14] [15] | |
| Executive car | Rapide | 2010 | 2020 | Fourth | [16] [17] [18] | |
| Grand tourer | Vanquish | 2012 | 2018 | Third | [19] [20] | |
| Model | ||||||
| Name | Image | Introduction (year) | Discontinuation (year) | Generation | ||
| Grand tourer | Virage | 2011 | 2012 | Third | [21] [22] [23] | |
| Grand tourer | DB10 | 2014 | 2015 | Second | [24] [25] | |
| Full-size luxury car | Lagonda Taraf | 2015 | 2016 | Fourth | [26] | |