One-77 fuses advanced technology with stunning Aston Martin design to create possibly the world’s most desirable automotive art form. Based on a sophisticated carbon-fibre One-77 chassis with a hand-crafted aluminium body, this 7.3 litre V12 supercar will deliver exhilarating performance for a strictly limited number of discerning customers.
Base Price: Aston Martin One-77: EU 1 million.Final Aston Martin One-77 Design Released, Awards Start Pouring In
The Aston Martin One-77 has been a long time coming. The super-expensive British supercar has been teased and teased, Aston even having gone so far as showing the car's form on the auto show circuit, only leaving it under a cloth throughout the show. Aston Martin set up a dedicated website for the most powerful production Aston Martin ever, which can still be found at www.one-77.com. In March we got One-77 technical specs and pre-production performance numbers. Now the cat is finally out of the bag, with Aston's showing of the final One-77 production car design at the Italian Concorso D’Eleganza Villa D’Este design-centric autoshow.
Carrying a base price of a cool EU 1 million and headed for final production in a limited run of only 77 units, the One-77 is undoubtedly targeted at the type of attention-seeking car customer probably not too affected by the global economic recession currently gripping the auto industry as a whole.
Aston Martin's full design muscle was directed toward the One-77's development, being the first truly all-new Aston model in years. The proof is in the pudding, as the Aston Martin One-77 production model just won one of the industry's most coveted design awards, the Concorso d’Eleganza Design Award for Concept Cars and Prototypes at Como Lake, Italy.
Let's talk numbers. The One-77 carries a 6.0 liter V12 tightly based on the powerplants used in the V12 Vanquish and newer V12 Vantage, but reengineered completely for this application to produce more than 700 horsepower. Aston Martin says the One-77 was developed with DTM series race cars in mind, and if the new supercar proves as capable on the road as it looks on paper, those 77 examples should be snapped up real quick.
All that power is thrust upon the poor rear wheels through a new 6 speed true sequential manual unit Aston promises will trickle down through the rest of its product line. The striking 20 inch wheels, carrying huge Pirellis 335mm across out back, wrap new Carbon Ceramic Matrix brake technology which promises increased cooling by transmitting less kinetic energy as heat through the brake fluid and system.
With a promised curb weight of around 1500kg, the One-77 will do the 0-60 run in less than 3.5 seconds, with a top speed in excess of 200 mph. Due to the car's rarity, expense and beauty, your average Aston Martin One-77 owner will probably never have enough road to hit 150 let alone 200 mph or a race track. In an auto industry finding 100-year-old companies suddenly going bankrupt, is the One-77 at all relevant?
Official Aston Martin press documents speak of "extraordinary workmanship and money-no-object commitment to quality". It is a safe bet Aston will lose money on this car, but if the British marque can financially weather this storm and continue to make truly exceptional sports and GT cars, the real winners are the well-heeled enthusiast community. Three press releases follow detailing every aspect of the One-77 experience.
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Official Aston Martin Press Releases
Aston Martin Reveals Spectacular One-77 Technical Showcase
Gaydon, Warwickshire. Tuesday 3 March 2009. Aston Martin will present a One-77 technical showcase at the Geneva Auto Salon on 3 March 2009. Chassis no.1 will be on display as an exposé throughout the show detailing the quintessence of Aston Martin engineering and design expertise.
The One-77 is Aston Martin’s definitive sports car, one that epitomises everything Aston Martin from technology, the hand-craftsmanship of the hand rolled aluminium panels to the attention to detail. A culmination of all the marque’s know-how, the One-77 delivers effortless beauty guaranteed to stir the senses with performance potential eclipsing any previous Aston Martin.
With the performance and durability phase of the One-77’s intensive development programme soon to commence, the 79th Geneva Auto Salon provides the perfect stage on which to reveal the remarkable engineering, advanced technology and exotic materials that lie beneath the One-77’s extraordinary exterior.
For Aston Martin’s Chief Executive, Dr Ulrich Bez, revealing the One-77’s secrets is a proud moment: “Right from the very beginning of the project the vision for One-77 was very simple: It had to combine high-technology with hand-built craftsmanship, and demonstrate the unique capabilities and passion of our designers, engineers and technical partners.
“Quite simply it had to be the ultimate expression of Aston Martin. As you can now see, we have achieved that goal in magnificent style.”
Chris Porritt, One-77 Programme Manager continued: “We wanted to create something that wows you as much when you see what’s under the skin as the exterior styling itself. We started by identifying the most technologically exciting front-engined, rear-wheel drive cars in the world: those from the DTM race series. We then applied the principles and technology that feature heavily in their design and translated it to a road car application.”
Consequently the One-77’s structural core is a lightweight and immensely rigid carbon fibre monocoque. Conceived and designed at Aston Martin’s Gaydon HQ, the monocoque, or ‘tub’, has been built in partnership with Multimatic (MTC). As world leaders in carbon composite technology, advanced vehicle analysis and dynamic simulation, MTC brings unrivalled specialist capabilities to the exacting challenge of the One-77 programme.
Employing the classic formula of double wishbones at each corner, the One-77 features inboard suspension front and rear, with pushrods employed to transfer vertical suspension movements to the horizontally mounted spring/damper units. A practice taken directly from racing car design, the main advantages of inboard suspension are a reduction in unsprung weight and the ability to package the suspension components more effectively.
The dampers are fully adjustable and feature advanced Dynamic Suspension Spool Valve (DSSV) technology; a world-first for a road car application. These special valves are state-of-the-art even at the highest levels of motorsport, and use high-precision machined components to enable the shock-absorbing characteristics of the damper to be changed without having to remove them from the car, as is the norm.
Underlining the truly bespoke nature of the One-77, once delivered to its owner, the car’s suspension characteristics will be precisely set-up by Aston Martin engineers to suit their exact requirements, from settings suitable for the ultimate long-distance GT, to a machine capable of conquering the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
While functionality and efficiency are paramount in the design and construction of the One-77, so too is aesthetic beauty. To this end every single component has been crafted from the finest materials with absolute attention to detail. From the mesmerising weave of the glossy carbon fibre tub and the abstract, sculptural beauty of the dry sump’s oil reservoir, to the unerring precision of the billet machined aluminium suspension mounts, the One-77’s rolling chassis is an automotive masterpiece.
Of course the irony is that the vast majority of these exquisite components will be hidden from view in the finished car, yet each and every piece is a work of art in its own right. It’s this extraordinary workmanship and money-no-object commitment to quality that makes the One-77 unique.
Naturally, such a spectacular chassis demands – and gets – an equally exceptional drivetrain. It comes in the form of an immensely potent 7.3-litre, naturally aspirated V12 engine. Thanks to the adoption of a dry-sump oil system the engine is mounted 100mm lower than in any previous V12-engined Aston Martin road car, which helps keep the One-77’s centre-of-gravity as low as possible. To further aid agility and endow the One-77 with progressive handling and stable, predictable on-limit behaviour, the engine is also mounted 257mm aft relative to the front wheel centreline. In so doing the front-mid-engined layout shared by all of Aston Martin’s current road car range has been taken to a new level.
The One-77’s magnificent power unit is an extreme evolution of the 6.0-litre V12 engines fitted to the DBS, DB9 and new V12 Vantage models. Like the collaboration with MTC for the build of the chassis, Aston Martin has chosen a world-leading partner with which to develop the motor: legendary engine builders, Cosworth. It has proved to be the perfect collaboration, as Chris Porritt explains.
“Our brief to the engine team was for them to take the 6.0-litre V12 as far as it could go, both in terms of output and weight reduction. The targets were a power output of no less than 700bhp with a 10 per cent reduction in engine mass. Incredibly, the Aston Martin and Cosworth engineers achieved a mass reduction of some 25 per cent, and although we’ve yet to complete the final engine calibration work, I’m confident we’ll see in excess of 700bhp. It’s an awesome accomplishment, but one that’s typical of the One-77 project, for it has consistently brought out the very best in everyone involved.”
Wearing Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres (255/35 ZR20 front, 335/30 ZR20 rear) developed specifically for the One-77, all 700+bhp is transmitted to the road through the rear wheels via a new six-speed gearbox. Controlled via column-mounted paddles behind the steering wheel, this robotised sequential manual is a new generation of Aston Martin’s familiar transmission. Though it is made specifically for the One-77 and features specially strengthened internals to cope with the tremendous power and torque, the lessons learned in its development will ultimately find their way into the company’s series production models.
It’s a mark of the inherent capabilities of Aston Martin’s acclaimed lightweight Carbon Ceramic Matrix brake technology that it has been used as the basis for the One-77’s braking system. The internals of the callipers have been re-engineered to transmit less heat from the brake pads into the brake fluid, while the discs themselves have been developed to ensure the maximum possible contact area between the face of the disc and the brake pads for improved stopping power. Due to the One-77’s increased performance, special attention has also been paid to brake cooling, as the brakes have less time to cool between bursts of acceleration.
With a projected weight of 1,500kg the One-77 will occupy the very highest echelons of road car performance. Top speed is confidently predicted to be in excess of 200mph, with a 0-60mph time in approximately 3.5sec. Perhaps more importantly, thanks to the purity of a front-engined, rear-drive layout, the responsiveness and immense tractability of a naturally aspirated V12 and the low mass, high-rigidity properties of a carbon fibre chassis, the One-77 promises a driving experience of unrivalled intensity and excitement while representing the world’s most desirable automotive art form.
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Aston Martin’s One-77 concept set for world debut at Concorso D’Eleganza Villa D’Este
Gaydon, Warwickshire, 23 April 2009. Aston Martin has confirmed the first public display of the complete One-77 concept will be held at the world renowned Concorso d’Eleganza event in the grounds of the Grand Hotel Villa d’Este on the shores of Lake Como, Italy on 24-26 April 2009.
The One-77 is Aston Martin’s definitive sports car, one that epitomises everything Aston Martin from technology, hand-craftsmanship of the hand rolled aluminium panels to the attention to detail. A culmination of all the marque’s know-how, the One-77 delivers effortless beauty guaranteed to stir the senses with performance potential eclipsing any previous Aston Martin. It’s this extraordinary workmanship and money-no-object commitment to quality that makes the One-77 unique. It promises a driving experience of unrivalled intensity and excitement while representing the world’s most desirable automotive art form.
The One-77 concept will be revealed in the perfect setting at Lake Como showcasing for the first time a complete concept; including full running powertrain and the world premiere of the eagerly anticipated interior design. The interior environment blends the stunning detail of the exterior and draws it inside with incredible meticulousness through the use of exotic materials and hand made parts detailing the quintessence of Aston Martin engineering and design expertise.
Last month Aston Martin showcased a technical illustration of the One-77 at the Geneva Auto Salon, revealing the technical intricacies and engineering excellence that will exist beneath the One-77’s handmade body. Since then, the technical illustration has undergone painstaking handcraftsmanship to be developed into a complete car.
Aston Martin Chief Executive, Dr Ulrich Bez said: “The One-77 demonstrates the unique capabilities of our company – it encompasses engineering excellence with a great passion from our engineers, designers and technical partners.
”This is a major step in One-77’s engineering programme, showing the first complete car, and will demonstrate new benchmarks in many different fields of automotive design.
“The craftsmanship and design that has gone into the creation of the Aston Martin One-77 lifts automotive engineering into the realm of art. With its finely sculpted forms and sleek lines, it is an expression of unparalleled beauty that embodies everything Aston Martin stands for.”
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Aston Martin One-77 wins top design award at the Concorso d’Eleganza, Villa d’Este
Gaydon, Warwickshire 26 April 2009. At its world debut this weekend, the Aston Martin One-77 has won the Concorso d’Eleganza Design Award for Concept Cars and Prototypes on the shores of Lake Como, Italy.
Following the Geneva Auto Salon in March, where the technical illustration was first shown, the rolling chassis has since been completed by hand into the first car presented at Villa d’Este this weekend.
At its first public unveiling in the perfect setting of the Grand Hotel Villa d’Este, the first complete One-77 was on show. Visiting public were invited to cast their vote for the best concept and prototype. Among eight entries from around the world, the Aston Martin One-77 was voted the best in class, eclipsing the competition with more than 30% of the total votes.
Admiring crowds viewed One-77 in its entirety for the first time. The car was showcased complete with running powertrain and the never seen before, fully hand-crafted interior.
Aston Martin Chief Executive, Dr Ulrich Bez said: “Embodying everything Aston Martin stands for; the One-77 has proven itself as the most desirable automotive art form at its premiere today.
“We have achieved a new level of design and craftsmanship which has been clearly recognised by the public here in the homeland of design at Villa d’Este.”
Aston Martin Design Director, Marek Reichman said: “To win this award at its first showing is a testament to the Aston Martin team and the original concept. Winning here today has proven One-77 as a benchmark in automotive design.”
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