The Aston Martin One-77 is the sort of car that will have the nation’s car reviewers brawling in the street as they attempt to be the first to drive it. Already its snapshot appearance at the Geneva Motor Show has whetted the appetite. The car is going to be super exclusive; only seventy seven will be built, hence the name. At a cost of £1.2million ($1.2million), it will be a first come first served for the world’s richest people to aim for. However, already there have been over two hundred and fifty expressions of interest for the One-77.
No expense was spared on the One-77, and its designers say that it represents the culmination of all that Aston Martin has learned since it was established in 1913. The aim was for it to be the ultimate expression of the talent at Aston Martin. Although there may be some divided opinions on the car’s aesthetic appeal, there is no argument at all about the mechanical design of the Aston Martin One-77.
An aluminium body rests on a carbon fibre monocoque body. The engine is a 7.3 litre V12 monster created by Cosworth. Aston Martin claims that it will produce 700 horsepower and take the driver from zero to 60mph in approximately three seconds. Top speed is two hundred miles per hour.
Aston martin wanted to produce something which was as exciting under the bonnet as the exterior shell. They spent the first part of the project identifying the best technology available, the concept was to be front engine, rear wheel drive. The idea became to transfer the technology and specifications from the DTM race series and apply it to a state of the art road car. This resulted in the lightweight, but rigid structure that became the body. It was built in conjunction with Multimatic (MTC), the leaders in carbon composite technology. They are experts at dynamic simulation and advanced vehicle analysis.
The One-77 features the latest suspension technology with inboard suspension front and rear, and employs double wishbones at each corner. Push rods transfer movement to the spring/damper units which are mounted horizontally. This is an idea taken directly from racing car design.
Dynamic Suspension spool valve technology is featured on the fully adjustable dampers. This is a world first for a road car. Even in motor sport, this is still state of the art technology. Once the new owner takes delivery of the car, Aston Martin engineers will show up to set the suspension characteristics to the owner’s requirement.
The attention to detail is applied to the outside of the car also. Every component has been crafted from the best materials available, and has been sculpted to produce an aesthetic masterpiece. Even the parts that no-one sees have been crafted to money no object standard.
The potent 7.3 litre engine has been mounted lower in the car to make the centre of gravity as low as possible. The engine has been placed slightly further back in the car to assist excellent road handling. Nothing has been left to chance. The Cosworth built engine has again been chosen to ensure that the car meets the highest standards possible for a road car. As you might expect, the car has had tyres specially designed for it. Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres have been specially designed for the One-77. A new six speed gearbox, a new generation of Aston Martin transmission is controlled by column mounted paddles. The lessons learned in the design of the new gearbox are likely to find their way to future Aston Martin models.
The brakes of the One-77 are Aston Martin’s lightweight carbon matrix technology. Re-engineering has allowed Aston Martin to reduce the heat transmitted from the pads to the brake fluid, and the pads have also been engineered to ensure maximum contact, which ensures better stopping power. Brake cooling has been improved to take into account the One-77’s increased performance.
The car has been designed to be amongst the best road performance cars on the planet. Thanks to the advances which Aston Martin have made to virtually every aspect of the car, the front engined, rear drive lay out, Aston Martin have produced a performance car which will produce an unrivalled driving experience, whilst producing a car which is beautiful and extremely pleasing to the eye. The attention to detail both below and above the surface have allowed Aston Martin to produce a car which others will be measured against. It will be interesting to see how much of this new design and technology will find its way into future Aston Martin models.
