Aston's then boss, Dr Ulrich Bez, shocked the car world when he announced that Aston Martin would build a limited edition supercar costing one million pounds. That's when Aston faced Bugatti and Pagani and said 'We will give our best, thank you very much, mate'.
While the One-77 has all the Aston hallmarks (wide-mouthed grille, rear-curved headlamps, elongated bonnet, and a nice positioning of the rear cabin with the tail), this isn't just another powerful, fiery Vanquish spin-off. . in paper pulp. The car is designed with a racing-spec carbon fiber monocoque with a beautiful carbon subframe supporting the mid-mounted front engine and internal suspension.
This truly uncompromising layout is then covered with new aluminum panels. Specially ordered lights, wheels, doors, and glass were made for these 77 cars. The deposit alone required to secure a niche figure – assuming you're near the top of Aston Martin's preferred client list – amounts to £200,000. That leaves £1,000,000 payable on delivery.
Aston's most expensive car to date is also its fastest.
Deep beneath the front-hinged hood lies the One-77's highlight: its incredible engine. For Aston's flagship, it could just be the typically inspired V12 engine. The company's usual 6.0-liter unit was replaced by the Cosworth, which ditched the usual cylinder lining in favor of a low-friction nanoscopic coating, which increased capacity to 7.3 liters, while the engine's actual weight dropped 15 percent to 260kg, thanks to its refined internals. lighter. This love letter to internal combustion is then tucked 100mm lower into the car than Aston's regular V12 engine, buried deep so it can't escape, or interfere with handling.
More space to suck/squeeze/hit/blow and the racer section doing all of the above means more power, of course. With 750bhp and 553 lb-ft, the One-77 was, at launch, the most powerful naturally aspirated car in the world. And while cars like the Ferrari F12 and various Zondas are quickly catching up, the One-77 remains Aston's fastest road car, capable of a top speed of 320mph, with 0-100mph achieved in 3.7 seconds.
Unlike today's exotic cars, the One-77 doesn't have many driving modes. Apart from the Sport setting for the gearbox, there's nothing to tweak or tweak: there's no multi-stage traction control here. There's active aero, but the pop-up rear spoiler doesn't seem like the kind of aerofoil that would keep this car stuck to a tunnel ceiling.
At once, the One-77 is completely cutting edge and somehow looks dated. Although it may have been overshadowed by contemporary Bugattis that went faster in a straight line – and handicapped by an archaic gearbox – it deserves to be remembered as one of the most distinctive British supercars of all time.
One-77 shows what is possible. That's what the SLR would look like if Murray could make his naturally aspirated lightweight dream come true. There's a gleeful sense of barely contained rage about the One-77, that its engine is deeply unhappy about being confined within its wondrous shell and would like to scream its way free if given half a chance.
Aston Martin dared to dress an edgy, aggressive, take-no-prisoners thoroughbred in a dignified lounge suit. Maybe that's the reason why this hypercar is not considered one of the most iconic hypercars of the early 21st century. Must. Apart from the gearbox. The One-77's transmission wasn't just a weakness – it was a war crime.
Once again, this car represents the moment before downforce, hybrid drivetrains, and overload-mode technology began to define the world's fastest road cars. So perhaps it's only fitting that this sensational engine should duel with such a formidable gearbox before it can unleash its potential on the world. These imperfections define its place in history, like the scars of Second World War shrapnel in Westminster Abbey.
Or perhaps in the next few decades, there will be a manual conversion for the One-77, as is currently the case for the original Vanquish, which was also engulfed in gearbox purgatory. The One-77 will stand for all time as one of Aston Martin's finest watches: the British Zonda, fierce and a little no-nonsense. It's just the right transmission away from being one of the greatest analog supercars of all time.
