Aston’s hypercar now fully revealed

Massive price tag, massive power and only for the track

Low-slung styling is a hint towards the looks of next DB9 and Vantage.
Low-slung styling is a hint towards the looks of next DB9 and Vantage.

Having heavily trailed its new hypercar this week, Aston Martin has now shown us the whole enchilada – the 800hp-plus, £1.8-million track-only Vulcan. That low, low bonnet line and barely-there headlamps are supposed to be a big clue as to what the next-generations of DB9 and Vantage are going to look like, although in the Vulcan they're carbon-fibre compared to the standard cars' aluminium.

The long-lived 6.0-litre V12 engine has been boosted to a full-on 7.0-litres and while Aston isn’t giving away the full power figure, it is claiming in excess of 800hp.

Unlike its rivals, the McLaren P1 GTR and Ferrari FXX-K, there's no electrical or battery boost for that titanic engine. But there are massive 380mm Brembo brakes, a sequential six-speed transmission developed by racing experts XTrac and bespoke Michelin track tyres.

Interior is pared back to the bare minimum.
Interior is pared back to the bare minimum.

Track? Oh yes, for all your millions, you won't be able to drive this Aston on the road. It's strictly for well-heeled owners to spend the day pretending to be Fangio and/or Moss at their nearest or favourite race track. As part of the purchase package, Aston will bring owners into its race-team for training, give them time on the DBR9 race-car simulator to build up experience and grant them one-on-one tips with works Le Mans driver Darren Turner. There will even be practice runs in Aston's ultra-rare One-77 supercar before you're let loose in the Vulcan.

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Only two-dozen lucky and staggeringly wealthy people will ever get to experience all this though. Aston has said it will only build 24 Vulcans. Even Avro built more than that…

Neil Briscoe

Neil Briscoe

Neil Briscoe, a contributor to The Irish Times, specialises in motoring