Aston Martin Reportedly Working On Hybrid I-6 to Replace AMG-Borrowed V-8

Even though recent Aston Martins have enjoyed engine donations courtesy of Mercedes-AMG—a benefit of being partly owned by Daimler—a recent report suggests that the British car firm is developing a new, comparable powertrain of its own. 

According to Autocar, Aston is currently working on a new inline-six powerplant that may be coupled to a hybrid system to eventually replace the twin-turbo, 4.0-liter V-8 it gets from AMG. The in-house I-6 will apparently help Aston Martin meet more stringent emissions regulations and find its first home under the hood of the upcoming DBX SUV. 

While technical details on the future six-cylinder are scarce, Autocar speculates that the mill could be a derivation of the company's 5.2-liter V-12 (that'd just be a matter of slicing the V in half, right?) and use hybrid tech taken from the Rapide E electric car. 

In the meantime, Aston will continue to use AMG-sourced V-8s in lieu of its own bespoke powerplants with the DBX set to launch with the option of the aforementioned 4.0-liter or Aston's own V-12. The AMG V-8 also lives inside the Vantage and the V-8 version of the DB11 grand tourer. 

On the other side of the power spectrum, the brand recently released details on its 1,000-horsepower, 11,100-rpm, 6.5-liter V-12 that'll power the $3.3 million Valkyrie hybrid hypercar. Developed in collaboration with Cosworth, that beast of a motor is said to be "loosely derived" from the engine used in 2010's Williams F1 car. 

If electrified straight-sixes are what the EPA wants Aston to build so they're allowed to also do stuff like this, bring 'em on.