It must be quite difficult for the Aston Martin designers to come up with exciting concept cars when the brand already makes and sells one of the most alluring, concept-like sportscars ever to turn a wheel; the heart-breaking one-77.
So, when the design team at the Aston HQ in Gaydon were tasked with coming up with something sweet for Aston’s centenary, rather than taking on the future-perfect silhouette of one-77, they went for a blast to the past instead, in the slippery 60s-style shape of this new CC100 Speedster Concept. And while the CC100’s exterior may look a little old school, rest assured that under that lengthy carbon hood is a traditionally-modern big V12 engine…
The inspiration behind this curvy two-seater CC100 is the late 50s DBR1 – Aston Martin’s most successful racecar – and as the CC100 celebrates this Aston of old, it is also said to reveal design and style cues of Aston Martin models to come. Although I’m sure the new production cars will at least get some kind of roof.
It’s an interesting mix of new and old, this CC100, and we can see the familiar Aston front-end that’s all snake-like with rear-sweeping, eye-like headlights, and even a pair of ‘fangs’ in the shape of the highlighted yellow front grille struts. The doors are the merest of meagre apertures – the car seats two and there’s not a windscreen in sight – while the rear-end is as racy – all diffusers and carbon – as the front is snaky. A pure flying fantasy indeed, honed entirely from carbon fibre and powered by a suitably thumping V12 motor.
The interior too is made from the light, black weave, with much of it enticingly naked and on display; mixed of course with Aston’s trademark hand-crafted tan leather, with that motor enjoyed from two bucket seats, lavished in Alcantara.
With a full carbon body and interior, a quite stripped cockpit, the smallest of doors and zero roof, the CC100 must be as light any Aston as you can’t buy. The latest-generation AM11 6-litre V12 will likely find little troubling weight in the CC100, and this is reflected by a 0-62mph time of a sniff over four seconds, flicking through six sequential forward gears all the way to a limited 180mph top speed.
No doubt Aston would issue matching carbon fibre crash helmets to potential drivers of the windscreen-less CC100, as a fat bee in the teeth at 180mph is surely a joyless experience.
The stunning one-77 is a tough act to follow
DBR1 inspiration from the late 50s
By Dan Anslow
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