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Aston Martin is not on the market, company chairman and Prodrive boss David Richards has said.
“This speculation is only there because we are talking to people all the time about engines. But we are always talking to people, and it doesn’t mean we’re for sale,” Richards said during this weekend’s Nurburgring 24hr race, where his N24 Vantages finished first, second and third in their class. “The company is not for sale,” he insisted.
Ever since Richards led the partnership that bought Aston...Read the full article

I know this is a stretch, but why doesn’t Aston design and manufacture their engine right in the UK?

It's debatable what part of any manufacturer is 'original' nowadays! The car is made by a 1,000 or more specialist companies. Take an engine. The electronic management control is Bosch. The valves, gaskets, piston heads, cranks etc are all specialist supplied components.

TVR got into the realm of 'trying to reinvent the wheel' a bit too often. Their engines were fantastic for the budget but a tad unreliable. Using component suppliers gives you the opportunity to draw on a vast research and skills base no single manufacturer could ever attempt to replicate. The job would be too vast an undertaking and too expensive.

Are manufacturers just 'assemblers' and organisers of the final product. Are they just the engine? Seems to me manufacturers are more 'designers' than benders of metal nowadays. Nothing against that so long as Chris Bangle isn't doing the shaping!

I understand your point about sourcing parts globally and maybe that would be fine for econboxes because it makes sense. But how would you feel about a Fiat sourced engine for a Boxster or a GM engine in a Ferrari. The Aston is such an iconic British car it deserves a UK designed and manufactured mill. I fully realize other companies have success in this segment using sourced engines, Pagani, Lamborghini, and Lotus to name a few but if Aston Martin wants to ride on its success as a marque born of a historic racing heritage it needs to manufacture its own engines, otherwise it’s just another Lotus with a Toyota engine.

I think you mean 'assemble' their own engines. Aston is not a metal bender or foundry. No car manufacturer, even Porsche, actualy 'make' their own engines. All are assemblers of engines, even Aston.

I've no objection to Porsche, Lotus or BMW taking someone elses engine of the shelf - the Mini uses a GM unit I think - so long as they tune and 'fettle' the engine (say new free-flow exhaust manifolds etc) and do something 'original' with the engine.  

Manufacture to me means design and assemble, not to mine the ore or mold and cast the material to produce the engine block. If you want Mercedes design/power why buy Aston at all, get yourself a nice SL instead. In other words what expertise does Mercedes bring to the table that Aston Martin does not possess or cannot acquire, and if it is a matter of cost do you really want a car of this caliber that was designed on the cheap? It’s just one more thing Aston will have no control over, and what will they learn about building a better mousetrap if someone else is doing it for them? Like I said, this method may be a fine way to produce Astras, but should never be used for high dollar/pound sports cars.