003, we’ve been expecting you… Aston Martin marks IPO confirmation with new £1m hybrid hypercar.
Aston Martin Future Plans – by STUART GALLAGHER
Within weeks of confirming that he will float Aston Martin on the London Stock Exchange, CEO Andy Palmer has revealed the company will launch its third hypercar and the next Vanquish by 2021. And before that there will be a limited run of DB4 GT Zagato Continuations and DBS GT Zagatos.
Codenamed 003, the hypercar will come from the same stable that brought us the Valkyrie (001) and Valkyrie AMR Pro (002) and will be mid-engined, carbon-tubbed and feature a 950bhp turbocharged 3.5-litre V6. Active aero and suspension will provide the coupe with its downforce and dynamic agility, with performance expected to be a step below the Valk yrie’s but considerably above that of the current DBS Superleggera and the all-new Vanquish. Adrian Newey and Red Bull Racing will be involved in the project.
Despite those performance claims the 003 will also, says Aston, offer a level of practicality when it comes to road use, which means it will have a boot for the Waitrose haul. The car will be available in both left- and right-hand drive, with production limited to 500 examples worldwide. The first cars should arrive in 2021, priced at £1million, and you can expect a Volante version to follow soon after.
Two years before customers take deliver y of their 003s, Aston Mar tin will be handing over its latest Continuation car, the DB4 GT Zagato Continuation, which customers will be obliged to pair with a DBS GT Zagato that will arrive 12 months later. With the former only legal for track work, the latter will provide the Sunday-morning thrills.
Built to commemorate Zagato’s centenary, and the 58 years Aston Mar tin has worked with the Italian coachbuilder, each pair of cars will be sold for the princely sum of £6million plus local taxes (£7. 2million for any UK readers interested).
Both Zagato specials will be built at Aston Mar tin Works in Newport Pagnell, with the DB4 constructed from aluminium over a tubular frame and powered by a 380bhp straight-six.
The DBS GT Zagato is currently still in design, but chief creative officer Marek Reichman has said it will feature a new frontal treatment and a truncated tail.
While the Continuation cars don’t form part of Palmer’s Second Century plan, 003 does and will be one of the final models before the strategy is complete. Originating with the DB11, the Vantage and DBS soon followed, interspersed by the Valkyrie. The company’s first foray into the profitable SUV market, the DBX, will arrive in 2020. Twelve months later Lagonda will be relaunched as an all-electric luxury car brand (before this Aston will make 155 all-electric Rapide saloons), which along with the DBX will be built at the company’s new plant in south Wales.
