From Mykonos to Ibiza, this year’s Gumball 3000 promises to be an interesting rally for the rich and famous. Starting on June 10th, the grid will include ”the only road-legal Aston Martin Vulcan” in the world.
If memory serves us well, only the RML Group can convert the Vulcan into a road-legal hypercar. As a matter of fact, this example of the breed is the same VU67 CAN from two years ago. The only change since the reveal of the one-off is the Avro Vulcan-inspired livery that brings justice to the strategic bomber from the 1950s.
Retired by the Royal Air Force in March 1984, Avro Vulcan production totals 136 units. B.1 XA897, the first one to be delivered, crashed at Heathrow in London during Operation Tasman Flight. The most recent incident dates back to May 2014, when B.2 XH558 suffered engine issues during the take-off roll at Robin Hood airport in Doncaster.
Turning our attention back to Aston Martin and the Gumball 3000, Mr. JWW will be driving the car along with G. Stepanovs and S. Tomkins. At the time of writing, Team 106 raised 2,181 pounds sterling for charity. The organisers of the rally hope to raise a total of £500,000 by 23:59 on Friday 7th as opposed to £426,702.55 last year.
As opposed to the track-only model, the camo-wrapped Vulcan allowed on public roads features a different exhaust system, headlights, a softer suspension setup, a different clutch, and different gear ratios. If you look closely, you’ll also notice the front splitter is located a little higher. Oh, and don’t forget the addition of turn signals and windshield wipers.
Both the driver and passenger have to wear headphones and talk through a microphone to hear each other because the car’s soundrpoofing is close to non-existent. Remember that old clip from Fifth Gear with Tiff Needell, comparing the McLaren F1 GTR with the Ferrari Enzo? He had to wear headphones too in the F1 because the engine’s sound dominates the cabin with the operatic orchestra of twelve cylinders.
Like the British hypercar from the 1990s, the Vulcan relies on a V12 with natural aspiration. The 7.0-liter displacement enables up to 820 horsepower, and Aston Martin limited production to 24 units of the track-only model.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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