Aston Martin Vulcan-The Most Extreme Aston to Date!

[King T]

[King T]

Aston Martin's latest creation is this $2.3 million track-only supercar powered by a naturally aspirated V12. Exact specifications are still a little hazy, but we know it produces over 800 hp and Aston Martin claims that its power to weight ratio will surpass that of the GTE cars in the FIA's World Endurance Championship.

The 7 liter powerplant was co-developed with Aston Martin racing.

Styled in-house by Chief Creative Officer Marek Reichmann, the Vulcan gives hints of the design language of the next generation of Aston Martin sports cars.

An extensive training program will be made available to owners to help prepare them for the experience of racing a vehicle with this type of power. A series of driver training events and the support of professional race car drivers like Le Mans winner Darren Turner as well as the availability of track time with other Aston Martins including the One-77 round out what looks to be a dream experience for aspiring race car drivers.

(from Aston Martin Press Release) ON TRACK FOR GLORY: ASTON MARTIN VULCAN PREPARES FOR TAKE-OFF

Geneva global reveal for limited edition, track-only, 7.0-litre V12 supercar
Motorsport-developed technology for extreme on-track performance
Expert tuition, technical support and experience programme for owners
Introducing the Aston Martin Vulcan – a track-only supercar and the British luxury brand’s most intense and exhilarating creation to date.

Born out of extensive motorsport experience – and using the brand’s acknowledged flair for design and engineering ingenuity – the 800-plus bhp, all-carbon fibre Aston Martin Vulcan promises truly extreme performance.

Uniquely for Aston Martin, the new supercar – limited to just 24 examples worldwide – will allow owners the opportunity to precisely tailor their track day experience through a graduating scale of detailed power and dynamic performance adjustments.

CEO, Dr Andy Palmer, said: “Aston Martin Vulcan is, by its very nature, a rare and thrilling supercar. Designed and engineered to deliver a genuinely bespoke driving experience that draws on our rich heritage, this car tailors its power and handling to both the capabilities of the driver and the characteristics of the track.

“A sports car for true sports car lovers, I believe the Aston Martin Vulcan – and the unique ownership programme that sits behind it – sets a whole new standard in the ultra-high luxury supercar class.”

Motorsport-inspired

Styled entirely in-house by the Aston Martin design team led by Chief Creative Officer Marek Reichman, and with a design language hinting at the next generation of Aston Martin sports cars, this supercar is powered by the most potent iteration yet of the company’s naturally-aspirated, 7.0-litre V12 petrol engine.

With its 800-plus bhp powerplant developed in conjunction with Aston Martin Racing, this front mid-engined, rear-wheel drive sports car draws extensively on the brand’s rich GT motorsport experience.

Utilising the techniques of world-class motorsport engineering, the supercar sees its power-to-weight ratio exceed those of the GTE cars which compete in the FIA’s annual World Endurance Championship.

Comprising cutting edge engineering including that sourced from the brand’s successful GT racing campaign, the car features a carbon fibre monocoque and body constructed by Aston Martin’s long-term specialist body engineering and manufacturing partner Multimatic, integral limited-slip differential, magnesium torque tube with carbon fibre propeller shaft and Brembo racing calipers acting on carbon ceramic racing disc brakes which measure 380mm in diameter at the front and 360mm at the rear.

Drive is channelled to the 345/30 x19 rear wheels and Michelin race specification tyres through a race-bred rear mid-mounted Xtrac six-speed sequential shift gearbox.

Track-derived pushrod suspension with anti-dive geometry is complemented by Multimatic’s Dynamic Suspension Spool Valve (DSSV) adjustable dampers and anti-roll bars front and rear, driver-adjustable anti-lock braking, and variable traction control.

The new track car will comply with all relevant FIA race safety requirements.

Aston Martin’s Director of Special Projects and Motorsport, David King, said: “Taking the extensive learning from our various successful racing programmes and applying it to this exceptional track car for customers has been an exciting and sometimes challenging task for the team here at Gaydon.

“Our deep and broad motorsport experience, allied to our renowned road car expertise, has allowed us to make the Aston Martin Vulcan the absolutely compelling proposition it is today.”

Fast-track training

Prior to taking delivery of their cars, owners will be offered the opportunity to take part in an extensive and detailed programme of intensive track driver training.

Experienced racers including Aston Martin Racing’s Le Mans-winning Darren Turner will support owners on their learning journey, offering them the chance to refine their track driving technique and increase their ability through a carefully-constructed series of practical and theoretical driver training events.

Using a number of exciting high performance Aston Martins including the V12 Vantage S and One-77 road cars and the Vantage GT4 race car, customers will gradually build experience and develop their track technique, before beginning their thrilling personal journeys into the immense performance potential of their Aston Martin Vulcan.

David King said: “We will be running a series of exclusive track day events commencing in 2016 that will offer the opportunity for these customers to explore their driving capabilities, and the car’s performance potential, on some of the world’s most famous and glamorous race circuits.”

There will also be the option of time in the virtual race car world of Darren Turner’s Base Performance Simulators, where buyers will have ample opportunity to further refine their driving style in the safety of the digital race track.

No longer the exclusive preserve of Formula 1, it is widely acknowledged that using a simulator can help prepare a driver for any race; improving technique and consistency as well as, ultimately, lap times.

Almost infinitely flexible in terms of colour and trim options, the exclusive new sports car will be offered to buyers through Aston Martin’s VIP sales programme, using the expertise and luxury customer service that is now a hallmark of the brand’s ‘Q by Aston Martin’ bespoke personalisation service.

Dr Palmer added: “We have already received strong interest from the customers we have spoken to about Aston Martin Vulcan.

“The cars will blend our traditional Aston Martin values of Power, Beauty and Soul with an unrivalled ownership experience; a unique combination that will guarantee their place in the brand’s rich and charismatic history.”

Performance data, together with further technical details about the ultra-exclusive track-only supercar, will be released closer to its track debut later this year.

[King T]

Aston Martin Vulcan First Look
We Interview Andy Palmer, The Man Driving Aston Martin Into a New Era

Aston Martin's factory is built on the site of an old Royal Air Force base, RAF Gaydon. At the height of the Cold War, Gaydon was home to one of Britain's nuclear-capable first strike squadrons, known as the V-force because of the three bombers they flew: the Vickers Valiant, the Handley Page Victor, and the Avro Vulcan. The thundering, delta-wing Vulcan played a starring role in the opening scenes of the 1965 James Bond film, "Thunderball," a film that also marked the second appearance of Bond's gadget-laden Aston Martin DB5, the most famous movie car of all time. Now Vulcan is the name of the loudest, fastest, most extreme Aston sports car in history. Oh, and Aston's new CEO, Andy Palmer, went to school in a small village barely a mile from the southwestern end of RAF Gaydon's main runway. How's that for six degrees of separation?

Palmer left school at 16 to become an apprentice at a nearby automotive components manufacturer, but attended night classes to get a management degree, and then went to work for British automaker Austin Rover. He joined Nissan in 1991, rising to become global product chief and chairman of Infiniti, reporting directly to Carlos Ghosn. His departure from Nissan last year was sudden and surprising. What happened? "It was clear the top job was locked out," he says bluntly. In other words, Ghosn wasn't going anywhere in a hurry. And that didn't fit with Andy Palmer's personal timetable.

"I set myself targets: that I would be a director by the time I was 35, and a chief executive by 45," Palmer says in a profile in the Aston Martin magazine AM. The profile also reveals his parents gave him a leather briefcase for his 21st birthday with a note that read: "Thought this might be useful for a chief executive to carry his board papers in. Hope you make it to the top." Palmer kept the briefcase unused for 30 years, until he attended his first board meeting as Aston Martin CEO. He was only six years behind schedule.

"There are fewer zeros on the end, but the basics are the same," says Palmer of the transition from Nissan to Aston Martin. "Developing a new car costs a lot of money, and the main difference is we have to justify our existence to external investors." Sold by Ford in 2007 after almost 20 years of sometimes aimless ownership, Aston Martishareholders include European and Kuwaiti-based investment firms and Daimler, which last year increased its stake to 5 percent.

The relationship with Daimler is crucial, says Palmer, who knows the German automaker's chief, Dieter Zetsche, very well through a Renault-Nissan-Daimler joint venture project to share small car platforms and powertrains. Daimler will provide new powertrains and electrical architectures for Aston Martin, two elements of vehicle development that would otherwise be beyond the company's financial capability.

Palmer brushes off suggestions that Daimler's decision to increase its stake last year is a precursor to an outright purchase of Aston Martin. "We will always have a big relationship with a big company, but they don't have to own us," he says. "And we don't particularly want to be part of a big company," Palmer insists, saying big company systems and procedures would hobble Aston's ability to be fast and nimble.

With Ford money and a disciplined, strategic approach to product planning, former CEO Ulrich Bez put Aston Martin, which has lurched on the brink of bankruptcy several times in its 102-year history, on a relatively stable footing. But Bez's clever VH architecture, which underpins all Astons, from V8 to Rapide, is now more than a decade old. And Bez's insistence on a strong family resemblance across all models has led to criticisms of "cookie-cutter" styling.

All that is about to change. An all-new vehicle architecture is being developed to underpin the next generation of Aston Martins. And while beauty will remain a core Aston value -- "we will not necessarily be the fastest cars in the segment, but we will always be the most beautiful" -- there will be greater design differences between the pure sports cars, the GTs, and the sedans.

Palmer wants to be producing 10,000 Aston Martins a year by the mid-2020s. That's more than double its current sales and more than Ferrari currently sells each year, and it means adding more Aston models to the lineup. "I want to expand the portfolio," Palmer confirms. He's tight-lipped on the detail, but one of his ideas is to create an Aston Martin that will attract more women drivers to the brand. Bez categorically refused to consider a mid-engine Aston Martin, but Palmer takes a different view: "I wouldn't rule it out." And he hints at a new performance flagship for the brand: "In our sports car range we need something to take on the Ferrari F12."

Consider the $2 million-plus, 225-mph, track-focused, limited-edition Aston Martin Vulcan a first strike. Look out, Ferrari.

[King T]

Of course, we’ll start with the gianormous rear wing dominating the Vulcan’s back end. I’ve been in bars that had shorter counters than that XXL spoiler but when it comes to drag and downforce, Aston Martin just couldn’t make any compromise.

Second in line, Vulcan is made of 100% carbon fiber both on the inside and on the outside, making it a track-only demon ready to haunt the likes of LaFerrari FXX K and McLaren P1 GTR.

In order to pull such a stunt, Aston Martin installed a naturally aspirated V12 evil heart inside the Vulcan and connected it to a mid-mounted six-speed sequential transmission. The 7.0-liter engine (yes, that’s correct, you did read s-e-v-e-n) is rated at over 800 HP.

The Vulcan’s look is also important for Aston Martin as future GT models will draw a lot from that, as well as the sportier Vantage family. Sure this will take time, but we really can’t be bothered, not since we saw the concept in the metal and also took some pictures of it.

It seems like the supercar or hypercar scene never ceases to amaze us and no matter how many crazy concepts will be presented as time goes by, there’s also room for more as carmakers start showing off and flexing their muscles more often than ever.

The Aston Martin Vulcan will be limited to just 24 examples worldwide - our bet is that most of them will go to the Middle East - but we’d also like to see what price tag British officials have in store for their supercar.

[King T]

[King T]

[Apex Motorsports]

[King T]

[King T]

Originally Posted by Apex Motorsports

[King T]

[King T]

[ilirg]

Work of art, I don't think there is anything as beautiful out there right now.

[IBM]

Am I the only one that thinks this thing is really ugly?

[87GNX]

Originally Posted by IBM

Am I the only one that thinks this thing is really ugly?

No, I think it's ugly too.