Paris show: One-77 to be mother of all Astons

ASTON Martin has announced that the final production version of its One-77 supercar, which will make its global debut at the Paris motor show on September 30, will be powered by a 7.3-litre V12 that delivers a staggering 560kW and 750Nm.

Claimed to be the world’s most powerful naturally aspirated road car engine, the big-bore V12 will easily eclipse the power and torque outputs of hyper-cars like Pagani’s 508kW Zonda Cinque and even the racetrack-only Zonda R Clubsport.

The British supercar-maker says it holds firm deposits for more than half of the 77-car production run, the first of which will be delivered to UK customers in early 2011, and claims it has received enough “serious expressions of interest” to cover the remainder of production.



As we’ve reported previously, one well-heeled Australian enthusiast has already committed to shelling out the estimated $4 million landed cost of the One-77 Down Under, where the first and perhaps only example will arrive later next year.

Aston Martin has delivered 15 versions of the four-door Rapide grand tourer to Australian customers and dealers since it arrived here in the second quarter of this year, and says it will deliver a further 14 examples to new owners by the end of this year.

That means Australia’s 2010 allocation of the Rapide, which runs a 6.0-litre V12 and is assembled by Magna Steyr at Graz in Austria, is a sell-out.

All Aston Martin dealers in Australia now have a Rapide demonstrator available for customer road tests and, with 86 Aston deliveries booked so far this year, the brand’s local sales tally is up almost 67 per cent up on 2009 figures.

Aston says it has taken more than 2500 expressions of interest globally – including from Australia – for its tiny Toyota iQ-based, leather-lined Cygnet city-car, which was presented as a concept at the Geneva motor show in March but is expected to be produced alongside the One-77 at Aston’s Gaydon plant in Warwickshire.

The company had originally planned to give each One-77 customer a Cygnet, but now reportedly plans to attract 4000 buyers at a cost of £30,000 ($A52,800) each.



“Should the Cygnet concept materialise – which we are very confident of it doing – we would expect it to be available and on sale in Australia during 2012,” said Aston Martin’s Australian and New Zealand operations manager, Marcel Fabris.



“Australian Aston Martin dealers are already taking expressions of interest for the Cygnet.”The 1.3-litre Cygnet, which Aston originally planned to sell only in Europe, has reportedly also been confirmed for release in the US in 2012, with an all-electric version to follow in 2013.

Meantime, Aston Martin has reportedly dropped its plan to build a production version of the gigantic Mercedes-Benz M-class-based SUV concept it showed at the 2009 Geneva show, and with which it planned to revive the historic Lagonda name.

Instead, Aston is believed to be investigating the development of a large luxury sedan based on a stretched version of the platform that underpins the Rapide ‘coupe’, to compete directly with limousines like BMW’s 7 Series and Jaguar’s XJ.



“As we said at the original presentation of the Lagonda concept, the project is part of Aston Martin’s long-term plans,” said Mr Fabris. “If we do decide to pursue with Lagonda, any production car would not be seen until 2012 at the earliest.”Further afield, an all-new DB9 coupe that is said to borrow design cues from the One-77 is due on sale in 2013, while Aston is also expected to release a redesigned version of its V8 and V12 Vantage by 2014 following an upgrade in 2011.

While the production One-77 will not be unveiled at Paris until later this week, Aston Martin last week revealed a video showing the first complete engineering version, in which Aston CEO Ulrich Bez and director of design Marek Reichman are seen discussing the One-77’s unique design.



“The One-77 is approaching a production reality and of course there is considerable excitement in the project,” said Dr Bez.



“Now the next steps are all about details and refinement to complete the composition. I know the final car will demonstrate what the Aston Martin team is capable of.”Aston Martin said the One-77, which made its road-going debut as part of the London-Silverstone Tourist Trophy in April, has undergone the same rigorous engineering test program as its full-time production models over the past nine months, including extreme hot and cold weather testing plus sign-off at the Nürburgring race circuit.