Why Fraser Dunn's leaving Aston Martin to join Project Arrow

Someone who builds world-famous luxury sports cars should hardly want for excitement.

But Fraser Dunn, chief engineer at England’s Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd., was looking for a fresh challenge. It came in the form of an unlikely offer from Canada.

In August, Dunn takes over as chief engineer for Project Arrow, launched last year by the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (APMA) to showcase the capabilities of Canada’s auto sector.

After initial skepticism, Dunn seized the opportunity to create a vehicle that would be engineered for future production.

“One of the nice things about this project is, to be quite frank, there isn’t any kind of hidden agendas other than can we build a really good car that has got a Canadian narrative,” he said in an interview from his home in Stratfordupon-Avon, northwest of London.

The objective, Dunn said, is to create something that people will think is cool and would buy. And it should “be a credible competitor with certain American and German brands.”

MOVING ON FROM SUPERCARS

Dunn, 42, has spent his entire career at Aston Martin, in 19 years rising from a university internship to chief engineer at the luxury and performance carmaker.

It was while working on Aston Martin’s Valkyrie hypercar project, led by Formula One engineer Adrian Newey, that Dunn met Marcello Grassi, a materials specialist whose resume includes work with supercar maker McLaren.

He and Grassi became friends. Grassi now chairs the advisory board of Project Arrow, whose name echoes Canada’s groundbreaking but doomed Avro Arrow jet fighter of the 1950s.

“He kind of sounded me out on it,” Dunn said. “To begin with, I thought, I don’t know, it wasn’t expected, it was sort of left field.”

Dunn’s time at Aston Martin has been interspersed with stints working on special projects such as the Williams-Jaguar C-X75, the Alset hydrogen-powered race car and stunt cars for the latest James Bond film. The idea of another megabuck supercar faded, and Project Arrow’s vision intrigued him.

“One of the things that’s becoming quite apparent in the automotive environment is that everyone needs to start taking the environmental responsibility seriously,” he said.

Project Arrow’s goal is to develop a relatively affordable zero-emission battery-electric concept vehicle capable of volume production. It’s scheduled to debut digitally this year and in the metal form in 2022, followed by a tour of industry events.

“If you were then to take this to production, you would need at least another two years,” Dunn said.

MAKE THE DREAM DRIVABLE

APMA President Flavio Volpe said that a request for proposals from suppliers generated about 300 submissions. Of that number, 100 likely will be chosen to work on the vehicle.

Dunn, he said, “is going to take the dream and build it.”

The overall Project Arrow budget is estimated at around $30 million, including in-kind contributions from partner companies and about $5 million to $6 million in cash.

The concept vehicle’s look germinated from a student design competition won by a team from the Carleton University School of Industrial Design whose entry vaguely resembles a Range Rover Evoque.

The student effort was essentially a styling exercise that will need a lot to realize, Dunn said. But the use of Canadian off-the-shelf and adapted components should ease the engineering work.

“You’re not starting with a blank sheet of paper on everything,” he said. “It is a ground-up vehicle, but a lot of the components and hardware that we can get our hands on out of Canada already exist.”

Some parts may have to be sourced outside Canada, Dunn said, but he hopes participants here will push themselves to innovate.

For example, brake modulators, needed to control antilock brake systems and regenerative braking, are not made in Canada. But the project leaders are talking with a Canadian company that has an electrically actuated hydraulic unit “that we’re going to look at and understand how that works.”

Dunn’s experience building a handful of replica Aston Martin DB5s as stunt cars for the as-yet unreleased James Bond film No Time to Die also will come in handy.

The cost of buying and modifying up to seven of the iconic Astons was prohibitive. Dunn was able to produce perfect replicas with tubular frames, carbon-fibre bodies and drivetrains from BMW.

“One of the big benefits of my career is that I’ve done many relatively quick-turnaround programs,” he said. “You start to get a feel of what is a credible solution and what is not a credible solution.”

Dunn assumes his role officially Aug. 1 but because of the pandemic will work from England. A move to Canada depends on the needs of his young family and wife, who works in automotive marketing and promotion.

“I’ve been to Canada once and I thought it was an amazing place,” Dunn said. “The challenge might be demonstrating that to the wife.”