MAREK REICHMAN

Marek Reichman has shaped a flourishing range of Astons and outlasted a succession of CEOs. He tells Steve Cropley what inspires him - and which boss was his favourite

- Steve Cropley

In a stellar career that he insists has "years to run", Aston Martin design chief Marek Reichman has led the creation of more than 50 Aston Martin and Lagonda models in 19 years. It's an achievement like no other in the marque's 111-year history, yet while unique, it is just one of a suite of compelling reasons why Autocar is delighted to present Reichman with the 2024 Sturmey Award for innovation.

Perhaps the most obvious and striking reason is the unfailingly progressive nature of Reichman's work, especially since he has maintained this upward trajectory under no fewer than five Aston Martin CEOs, all diverse in style, emphasis and character. Starting at a point where the company was selling two decent but slightly steady sports models (DB9 and V8 Vantage), Reichman has more than doubled the model range, has launched a family of stratospherically priced special models, has built a bigger and much more versatile Aston Martin design group and, with some boldness, has opened the company to unfamiliar but much-needed new product types.

Most of all, he has upped greatly the built-in guts and determination of Aston Martins and unashamedly injected them with chutzpah. Astons may once have been characterised as well-mannered GTs for people of breeding, but Reichman reckoned they needed to embody performance and capability, too, and get more youthful. The beautiful, muscular shapes he has devised since his arrival have really given Aston Martin's chassis and powertrain people something to live up to.

The rule-breaking DBX SUV, launched four years ago and recently updated, now accounts for an indispensable 50% of Aston sales and has been every bit as successful as Porsche's Cayenne or Taycan at carrying the maker's brand values forward- without being an actual sports car or a GT. It's hard to believe these days that straying from those old-school values was ever a concern.