VIENNA - Luxury car maker Aston Martin, whose DB5 model was driven by James Bond, is to assemble vehicles outside Britain for the first time after a deal with Austria's Magna Steyr, the UK company said.
Magna Steyr is a unit of Canada's Magna International.
The four-door Rapidewill be assembled at Graz in southern Austria from late 2009 with production expected at around 2000 a year, Aston Martin said in a statement. It already makes engines in Germany.
The DB5 was famously driven by the fictional spy James Bond in early films including Goldfinger. Bond also drove other Aston Martins including the DBS in Casino Royale and the V12 Vanquish in Die Another Day.
Magna Steyr, with a history dating to the early days of motoring, has assembled vehicles for makers like BMW and Saab.
An Aston Martin spokeswoman said the car had not been priced yet but auto writers expect the Rapide to cost about US$250,000 ($314,000).
Aston Martin is 50 per cent owned by Kuwait's Investment Dar, part of a group fronted by former Benetton racing boss David Richards that bought the marque from Ford Motor in March 2007 for £479 million.
Bond's Aston Martins