Let’s start with the name of Aston’s new megapowered track star first. It almost certainly has you thinking of Mr. Spock, or possibly—if you’re too sad to be seen in public—another more obscure
Star Trek character, like T’Pau. But Aston Martin’s Britishness means the Vulcan name is more likely a reference to the astonishingly loud Cold War bombers.
Regardless of its namesake, the Vulcan is set to be the most extreme not-quite-roadgoing Aston Martin yet, a limited-edition, track-only hypercar that’s clearly aimed at the same bit of the market as
the Ferrari FXX K and
the McLaren P1 GTR. You know, the bit where the billionaire adrenaline junkies hang out. Only 24 Vulcans will be produced, and buyers will also get, according to the official release, “the opportunity to precisely tailor their track-day experience through a graduating scale of detailed power and dynamic performance adjustments.”
Power comes from a version of the company’s familiar V-12 engine that’s been developed with assistance from Aston Martin Racing. It displaces 7.0 liters and produces “800-plus” horsepower. For reference,
the Aston One-77, which was rarely accused of being a slouch, managed 750 horsepower from 7.3 liters.
The rest of the Vulcan’s specifications are similarly unobtanium-grade. It’s built around a carbon-fiber monocoque and has carbon bodywork. The engine is connected to a magnesium torque tube and a carbon-fiber driveshaft that channels power to a racing-spec Xtrac six-speed sequential gearbox. Braking is accomplished by Brembo racing calipers gripping carbon-ceramic discs at all four corners (15.0 inches in diameter at the front, 14.2 at the rear), and the car sits on Michelin racing tires. The Vulcan apparently has been built to FIA safety standards, and the chassis also has a racing-style pushrod-operated suspension, adjustable spool-valve dampers all around, and adjustable anti-roll bars. It also gets driver-adjustable anti-lock brakes and traction control.
There’s no mention of any roadgoing or full-bore competition variants, although the design certainly looks as if it could spawn a street-legal version. Aston insiders have previously indicated that design cues from these “special” models are likely to be seen in the company’s more-affordable models in the medium-term. Color and trim options seem to be fully negotiable, with Aston’s bespoke “Q” division charged with making sure each customer gets exactly what they want, presumably up to and including “Blood of My Enemies” paintwork or Chihuahua-hide trim.
The official release is noticeably silent on the matter of money. This means, we presume, that the Vulcan will be sold at a substantial discount to Aston’s other models on account of the fact that you won’t be able to drive it anywhere except on a racetrack. What sounds fair? $80,000? $60,000?
We kid, of course. The lack of price is almost certainly explained by that old line about your need to know being inversely proportionate to your ability to afford. Don’t be at all surprised if the Vulcan ends up costing more than even the One-77 did, which commanded just shy of $2 million.
(UPDATE: We’ve now learned that the Vulcan will cost £1.5 million, which converts to $2.3 million as of this writing.)
Owners will get the chance to have a range of tuition options to help them get the best out of the car, up to and including time in Aston’s GT racers and professional motorsports simulators. Thereafter the company is planning “a series of exclusive track-day events . . . 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.” Or, in short, pretty much the same deal offered to buyers of the FXX K and the P1 GTR.
Let’s just hope that some freak triple-booking incident sees all three makers bringing their cars to the same track at the same time.
