Automotive

Aston Martin unveils ludicrous, roof-and-windshield-free V12 Speedster

Aston Martin unveils ludicrous, roof-and-windshield-free V12 Speedster
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I mean it does look a bit like it's had a pair of undies pulled over its head
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I mean it does look a bit like it's had a pair of undies pulled over its head
There's a bit of storage under those bumps behind your head
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There's a bit of storage under those bumps behind your head
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Aston's saucy new V12 Speedster offers a wild, 300 km/h rush of sensations with no roof or windscreen
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Aston's saucy new V12 Speedster offers a wild, 300 km/h rush of sensations with no roof or windscreen
Glassing over those little bumps was a nice touch - we hope you can't see what's stored under there though
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Glassing over those little bumps was a nice touch - we hope you can't see what's stored under there though
A thin bridge separates the driver and passenger compartments
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A thin bridge separates the driver and passenger compartments
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There are many red straps and fighter plane pictures
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There are many red straps and fighter plane pictures
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Red-strappery abounds
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Red-strappery abounds
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"Bonnet nostril" design helps fit that monster V12 under the hood
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"Bonnet nostril" design helps fit that monster V12 under the hood
A vastly excessive machine
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A vastly excessive machine
Only 88 will be made, at an eye-watering price
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Only 88 will be made, at an eye-watering price
View gallery - 16 images

As threatened earlier this year, Aston Martin has unveiled one of its most strikingly weird cars to date in the V12 Speedster. Bereft of roof and windshield, it's a two-seat, open-top, 700-hp leisure machine inspired by the F/A-18 fighter jet.

Like McLaren, Aston was forced to do its own little reveal video in place of a big-budget presentation in Geneva, thanks to an eleventh-hour cancellation of the Geneva Motor Show due to coronavirus concerns. Luckily, the company had something pretty wild to show off in the form of this special edition oddity.

A fully street-legal machine inspired by the CC100 Speedster Concept of 2013, and indeed by the DBR1 race cars of some 60-odd years hence, the V12 Speedster is a thoroughly unnecessary, totally impractical car designed purely to smash both driver and passenger with all the raw sensation their quivering nervous systems can handle.

A vastly excessive machine
A vastly excessive machine

The motor alone would be enough to overload most people; a howling 5.2-liter, twin turbo, 48-valve V12 peaking at 700 horsepower and 753 Nm (555 lb-ft) of torque. It'll propel the Speedster to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.5 seconds, on the way to a top speed that's limited to 300 km/h (186 mph) – that's scant mercy for the fragile humans within, whose cheeks will begin comically flapping and billowing long before the limiter gets out of bed and goes to work.

Of course, you're supposed to wear a helmet if you're engaging in this sort of shenanigans, but you don't buy this kind of car if you're a sensible person prone to doing what you're told, do you? What's more, if you're going to go so far as busting a helmet out, you should jolly well sack up and get on a modern supersport motorcycle to take the whole "me and the vehicle and the insane acceleration and the elements" thing up several notches from what any car can deliver.

The chassis uses bits from both the DBS Superleggera and Vantage, featuring adaptive multi-mode suspension damping, carbon ceramic brakes and 21-inch forged alloy wheels. The body, on the other hand, is an all new and very eye-catching carbon construction with a slim bridge separating the driver and passenger compartments as if the whole car's had a pair of underpants pulled over its head. Don't act like you haven't been there. Beneath the surface, there's no wall separating you from your passenger, so they're still free to punch you for going too fast.

I mean it does look a bit like it's had a pair of undies pulled over its head
I mean it does look a bit like it's had a pair of undies pulled over its head

If it looks like the hood's not shut properly, that's because the Speedster's colossal V12 simply wouldn't fit in the engine bay of a car with this silhouette without some jiggery-pokery. Aston calls this solution a "nostril vent" and is rather chuffed with how it came out.

The interior is chock full of carbon fiber, with bits of saddle leather, chrome, aluminum and even 3D printed rubber, of all things. The glove box is ditched for a removable leather bag, there's a bit of storage space under the rear bumps, and in the model in our photos, there are little red straps absolutely everywhere to make you feel like a fighter pilot. That's something to do with an "exciting new collaboration" between Aston Martin and Boeing, manufacturers of the F/A-18 fighter jet.

A thin bridge separates the driver and passenger compartments
A thin bridge separates the driver and passenger compartments

You know the deal by now: it's strictly limited to 88 examples and will cost £765,000 (near enough to US$1 million). Doubtless it'll sell out quick smart, and #88 will probably be as sought-after in China as #1 is in the high-falutin world of automobile collectors.

Where these supercar companies keep digging up customers with that kind of cash to throw at designer trifles like these? That's the real mystery here. You could have no less than nineteen equally open-topped Ariel Atom 4s in the garage for that money, with change left over to swaddle them in mink furs for that elusive luxury factor. Those are a lot quicker.

Source: Aston Martin

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10 comments
10 comments
Spud Murphy
What a ridiculous waste of money, anyone buying this needs a brain examination.
dugnology
We put a scoop in front of the hood so it the latch doesn't hold, the wind will open it up and plant it on your face.
ajl12no
A giant fly/bug catcher... Aston, it's time to think about EV more seriously; GM are.
McDesign
. . . a slim bridge separating the driver and passenger compartments as if the whole car's had a pair of underpants pulled over its head.

Oh - oh! Poetry!
paul314
So usually those kind of red straps are for things you want to remove before starting the engine or moving the vehicle. Makes perfect sense here.
Martin Hone
I agree Loz, just get a sportbike if you want this experience. Not to mention this is the ugliest Aston Martin ever.....
ei3io
I have to say the windshield in the rear not front seems spot on as I've always found i get all my dents from backing up,,,
Ste Vae
This is a really, really, REALLY STUPID IDEA. And a huge waste of money at a time when wasting money is harshly looked down upon by society.
RFM
I side with the rest of the comments: kinda sorta...stupid. And to spend to have curved glass through which nobody sitting in the car can see, well, they gotta stop chewing magic mushrooms at lunch. What's next? Hexagonal tires so you can get that "off road feeling" on street?
bwana4swahili
Even an F/A-18 fighter jet has a windshield!