With each new decade that passes, supercars have a more difficult time delivering the thrills of the good old days, with the ever-stricter emissions regulations and the customers' increasing demand for comfort creatures being among the main culprits. Nevertheless, a revived genre comes to deal with this and I'm talking about go-fast machines that not only ditch the roof, but also the windshield - say hello to its latest member, the Aston Martin V12 Speedster.
While the various teasers and third-party renderings based on them have taught us what to expect from the newcomer, there's nothing that can quite prepare one for the visual delight that is this open-air Gaydon model.
Having been developed by the company's Q bespoke arm over the course of the past 12 months, this brings a new iteration of the new bonded-aluminum platform serving the Vantage, the DB11 and the DBS Superleggera.
The styling mixes elements from the 1953 DB3S and the 1959 DBR1 with those coming from modern-era Astons, such as the 2013 CC100 Speedster concept.
In a bid to keep the scale footprint in check, most of the body is made from carbon fiber, with the wonder material having also found its way inside the car, where a "spine" separates the driver and the passenger area - this also works as a structural element.
The open cabin brings a melange of materials including structural satin carbon fibre, hand-crafted saddle leather, chrome, aluminum and 3D printed rubber.
With the V12 Speedster being one the machines that were supposed to debut at the Coronavirus-canceled Geneva Motor Show, we can see a few resemblances here - it lacks a roof like the Bentley Mulliner Bacalar and it pays homage to a Boeing-built fighter jet like the Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut - while the Swedish machine "borrows" the vertical stabilizers of the F-15, the aviation theme displayed on this functional show car is linked to the F/A-18 Hornet.
We're looking as a spec finished in Skyfall Silver [insert favorite Bond quote here], while its dual exhaust tips come in satin black. As for the interior, this mixes black leather and floor mats with red door straps - the configuration can be had on a custom car, obviously with the help of the said Q by Aston Martin division.
The nameplate of the vehicle lets us know this turns to a V12 to appeal to one's emotional side and you should know the twin-turbo 5.2-liter V12 delivers 700 hp and 753 Newton-meters (555 pound-feet), working with an eight-speed ZF automatic and a limited-slip diff. As such, the 0 to 62 mph sprint is covered in 3.5 seconds, while you can let the wind play with your hair up to an electronically limited top speed of 300 kph/186 mph.
While Ferrari is bringing 499 units of the Monza SP1/SP2 to the world and the production run of the McLaren Elva is limited to 500 cars, Aston Martin will only build 77 V12 Speedsters. With a price of £765,000, including 20% VAT (that's $977,612 at the current exchange rates), customer deliveries are set to kick off in the first quarter of next year, with the company currently accepting orders.
PS: You can check out the live unveiling of the V12 Speedster at the carmaker's headquarters in Gaydon thanks to the clip below (feel free to jump to the 6:55 point).
In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist. Full profile
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