Aston Martin expands engineering team with key industry hires

Aston Martin has further strengthened its world-class vehicle dynamics and engineering team with two key appointments - Chris Goodwin, former Chief Test Driver of McLaren Automotive, who joins Aston Martin as Expert High Performance Test Driver, and Simone Rizzuto, previously responsible for vehicle performance testing and integration at Maserati and Alfa Romeo, who takes up the key role of Chief Engineer, Vehicle Dynamics.

Their recruitment comes in a phase of intensive product development for Aston Martin - one that will see the brand expand its existing model porfolio with cars such as the DBX, the company's first sport utility vehicle and a yet-to-be-named series production mid-engined supercar, plus the introduction of all-electric and hybrid powertrains.

Andy Palmer, CEO Aston Martin, said of Goodwin and Rizzuto's appointments, "I'm thrilled to have people of Chris and Simone's calibre join Aston Martin's already stellar engineering and dynamics team. Their decision is a great endorsement of our future plans while the skills and experience they bring is second to none. As we enter the next crucial phase in the development of our growing product and powertrain portfolios they will make an invaluable contribution in shaping an exceptional new family of Aston Martin models."