It certainly looks that...

It certainly looks that way. That"s because the David Richards-led buyout was financed by a group of businessmen from the Middle East, and it"s believed the deal is the first in the motor industry to be fully compliant with Islamic sharia law, which opposes the speculative borrowing of money.

This means that while a large part of the deal to buy Aston will be funded with a bank loan, much of the money will be in cash - which will give Aston Martin spending power that it hasn"t previously enjoyed. The net result of this is that Aston will be able to speed development of cars such as the four-door Rapide (pictured).

"We will be able to do things now that we have never been able to achieve before," said the firm"s chief executive, Ulrich Bez. "Under Ford, we always lost out because there had been other calls on the money. Furthermore, there is no longer a ceiling on our production numbers. The only limit is the capacity at the factory in Gaydon, Warks.

"We have no problems with engine supply, a V8 Vantage Sport will come in the autumn, and the DBS is slated for an October launch. The Rapide will appear in 2008, and production of the saloon will rise to 2,000 cars a year."