Aston Martin’s take on a raw and uncompromising two-seat drivers’ car becomes a dramatic carbon-fibre reality today with the unveiling of the new V12 Speedster. Its debut, online rather than in the flesh at the cancelled Geneva Motor Show, comes 12 months after the concept was first teased.
Aston’s answer to the swelling ranks of speedster-style cars like the reborn Ferrari Monza, new McLaren Elva and just-announced Bentley Bacalar, the V12 Speedster is aimed at what Aston chief Andy Palmer calls “our most demanding and enthusiastic customers”.
A maximum of 88 cars will be built, priced from £765,000 and with first deliveries expected a year from now. The model has been created as a showcase for the Q by Aston Martin customisation arm which will hand-craft each car, based on the bonded aluminium foundations of the firm’s flagship model, the DBS Superleggera, with elements from the Vantage also featuring
The first pictures reveal a car with a strong Aston Martin personality with lots of familiar design cues whose notably long and low form is highlighted by the complete absence of any windscreen, or even aeroscreens. The car’s cabin is open, without any hood, but split into two distinct cocoons by a central spine.
Twin humps behind the seats instantly define the style as a speedster, recalling ‘50s sports racers like Aston’s most illustrious racecar, the Le Mans-winning DBR1 which the company says provided the inspiration for this ultimate Aston road car. Without the DBR1’s more voluptuous form the V12 Speedster is more clearly related to the CC100 Speedster concept conceived to mark Aston’s centenary in 2013. Unlike the CC100, which had open sides, the V12 Speedster comes with regular doors.
Aston design director Miles Nurnberger says: “Since the DB11 launch, everything has been focused and very forward looking. Here though, we go back a step and look into our past for inspiration. There’s clear lineage from the 1959 Le Mans-winning DBR1 to our Centenary celebratory CC100 Speedster Concept in 2013. There is also a bit of 1953 DB3S in the mid-section, so it really is our latest incarnation of the Speedster concept.”
The V12 Speedster’s bespoke platform is fitted with double wishbone front suspension and a multi-link rear end. The wheels are 21-inch forged centre-lock alloys and the brakes carbon ceramic, 410mm on the front axle and 360mm at the rear. Adaptive damping offers Sport, Sport+ and Track modes.
Powering the V12 Speedster is Aston Martin’s 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12 engine, with a peak output of 700PS (690bhp) and 753Nm (555lb ft) of torque. Front mid-mounted, the all-alloy, quad cam 48-valve engine is mated to a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission and drives the rear wheels via a limited-slip differential. Performance is quoted as 0-62mph in 3.5 seconds and a top speed reined back to 186mph.
Aston does not say how windy that speed might be but it does say how splendid the performance will sound: a bespoke stainless-steel exhaust system exiting centrally into the diffuser surface delivers what the firms says is an even more rousing sound. All in all it promises to be a visceral experience. As Matt Becker, Aston’s chief engineer, tells us: “Driving doesn’t get any purer than this. The V12 Speedster engages on every level.”
As well as calling on Aston design heritage the V12 Speedster as shown draws inspiration from aeronautical design. Many of the cabin details, trim and materials make up an optional specification pack, inspired by America’s F/A-18 fighter jet and created by Q by Aston Martin in partnership with Boeing.
The first V12 Speedster is finished in Skyfall Silver with contrasting satin black on the exhaust tips, vent grilles and vanes. The dark theme is carried through to the interior, with satin dark chrome, machined aluminium and black leather with vivid red Aston Martin detailing, like the door pulls.
“Nothing demonstrates Aston Martin’s commitment to providing unique, special models to its customers more than the V12 Speedster,” said Aston Martin Lagonda CEO Andy Palmer at the car’s unveiling. “The 88 hand-built cars will be sought after by driving enthusiasts and collectors alike all around the world.”
Visceral, open-cockpit driving machines are currently enjoying a resurgence among the supercar companies. Porsche may have coined the name Speedster back in the 1950s, but as a generic for uncompromising power and performance in a stripped-back road car – often lacking windscreen, windows and roof – the style has taken on a new lease of life.
Aston V12 Speedster McLaren Elva Bentley Bacalar
Layout Front engine Mid engine Front engine
Seats 2 2 2
Windscreen? No Optional Yes
Hood? No No No
Engine 5.2 turbo V12 4.0 turbo V8 6.0 turbo W12
Power 690bhp 804bhp 650bhp
Torque 753Nm 800Nm 900Nm
0-62mph 3.5secs 2.9secs 3.8secs*
Top speed 186mph (limited) 200mph* 200mph*
Price (from) £765,000 £1.425m £1.8m
Number to be made 88 399 12
First deliveries 2021 2020 2020
*To be confirmed
Aston Martin
V12 Speedster
Vantage