Aston Martin One-77 to make US debut

Good news, Americans! Aston Martin has confirmed that its flagship supercar will make its US debut at the 'famed automotive week' in Monterey, California.

That flagship supercar is, of course, the Aston Martin One-77; a car that Aston itself claims is "the culmination of all our know-how, with performance potential eclipsing any previous Aston". That's quite a car.

It's younger brother, the V12 Zagato, will also make it's US debut this Wednesday at McCall's Motorworks Revival, fresh from its gruelling workout at James May's least favourite holiday destination.

Now, ancient Mesopotamian philosophy tells us that during the course of a dream, a tiny quantum of the dreamer's soul actually rises up and experiences the articles in the dream. So should these events' exclusivity rule you out, we've compiled a gallery. Dream, TopGear.commers...

Words: Vijay Pattni

"Right from the beginning of the project the vision for One-77 was simple: it had to combine high-technology with hand-built craftsmanship.

"Quite simply, it had to be the ultimate expression of Aston Martin. As you can now see, we have achieved that goal in magnificent style."

Dr Ulrich Bez, Aston Martin CEO

The One-77 has a lightweight and rigid carbon fibre monocoque at its core, conceived and designed at the company's Gaydon HQ. It features inboard suspension front and rear with pushrods to transfer vertical movements, double wishbones at each corner, and fully adjustable dampers featuring something called Dynamic Suspension Spool Valve technology.

This DSSV tech uses ‘high-precision' machined components to change the characteristics of the dampers without actually taking them off the car. And should you be lucky enough to actually own a One-77, upon delivery, Aston's engineers of luxurious oversteer will set up your car to your specifications.

Of course, the One-77 benefits from a V12 befitting its flagship status. An ‘extreme evolution' of the current 6.0-litre V12 and built in collaboration with Cosworth, the twelve-pot was increased to 7.3-litres and was targeted at producing "no less than 700bhp". It does in fact, produce 750bhp, as Aston found out when it strapped a One-77 onto a dyno and nearly broke the Earth.

That V12 gets a dry sump oil system allowing it to be mounted 100mm lower than in any other V12-engined Aston, which, being knowledgeable readers of the Internet, you'll know helps the centre of gravity and, ultimately, handling. The 750 horses are harnessed via a six-speed robotised sequential manual gearbox - a new one specifically built for the One-77 featuring ‘strengthened internals' - and unleashed onto those poor, poor, 20in Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres at the back. Pity those tyres.

Pity the brakes too, for they have the job of hauling those horses back in. Aston has manipulated the calipers so that they transmit less heat from the brake pads into the brake fluid, while the discs have been developed to make as much contact with the pads as possible. And because of the raucous nature of that V12, Aston has paid much attention to brake cooling too, "as they have less time to cool between bursts of acceleration".

Aston has aimed for a total weight of 1,500kg so the One-77 can "occupy the very highest echelons of road car performance." To give some perspective, a Ford Focus 2.0-litre TDCI weighs in at 1,461kg. Now imagine that with a 750bhp V12...

Your favourite car review on TopGear.com last month: the Ford Focus 2.0-litre TDCI 145PS

Expect a 0-62mph time of less than 3.5 seconds and a top speed of more than 200mph. The in-betweens will probably be even scarier; low weight, lots of power and a good sound will no doubt remove any necessity to confirm in-gear acceleration times. It'll be fast, plain and simple. As the name suggests, just 77 will be built. And Aston told us that although there are only ten left, it has ten ‘interested buyers'.

Ah yes, it's little brother, the V12 Zagato, will also be on display in California later this week. We saw it at the Nürburgring a couple of months ago, where both ‘Zig' and ‘Zag' clocked in their first ever race. You can read all about it here, and our full blow-by-blow report of the 2011 Nürburgring 24hr endurance race. It was mostly epic and very loud. And terrifying.