Yahoo Finance 'Aston Martin's new roofless car is not for wimpy millionaires - especially in this wet May'
‘Please bring a rain coat, hat, gloves and possibly thermals.’ The invitation to drive Aston Martin’s most striking car to date carried a thinly veiled warning. Wimpy, well-coiffured millionaires might want to spend their money elsewhere.
Although the £765,000 Speedster is equipped with twin matching safety helmets - ingeniously stowed away beneath the rear humps - the lack of a windscreen or roof could spell disaster for pampered hairdos.
Luckily, I’m now a follically challenged quinquagenarian but you’d be nuts not wear something on your head, sans windscreen in a 5.2-litre, twin-turbo V12 made of carbon-fibre and capable of 186mph.
Today is a good example. The Northamptonshire countryside is alive with bugs as I barrel down a B-road in the Speedster, rain and airborne critters of all shapes and sizes making a kamikaze assault on my visor.
Fortunately, the cockpit is low and snug, like an F1 car but with the added bonus of a powerful heater. A heated steering wheel and bum-warmers in the wafer-thin carbon-fibre seats are optional – the rest of the unnecessary luxuries have been stripped out to save weight.
It’s not long until mid-summer but it’s only the adrenalin of flicking through Aston’s eight-speed gearbox, creating a roar from twin bulbous exhaust pipes behind my head, that keeps my fingers warm.
Chief engineer Matt Becker said: “For raw, driving thrills the Speedster is unparalleled. The open element of the car adds a new dimension to the experience. It engages on every level, delivering a precise, involving driving experience, with agility and poise.”
Aston is building just 88 examples of the Speedster and there are still ‘a few’ left for sale. This one is extra special because it’s decked out in DBR1 specification (roughly £50,000 extra), paying tribute to the legendary car that won the 1959 Le Mans 24 Hours and the Nurburgring 24 Hours races.
The retro Racing Green paintwork and silver anodised grille add even more visual drama – especially when parked next to a 60-year-old DBR1.
A minimalist cabin is decked out with some familiar Aston Martin switchgear, while driver and passenger are separated at neck height by a carbon-fibre blade running fore and aft. Be warned: it’s impossible not to bash your helmet at speed.
While the classic DBR1 racing car was a design inspiration, the two-seater was influenced by a fighter jet too. The cockpit in some Speedsters features rather naff Boeing F/A 18 Super Hornet decals and ‘Do Not Step’ warning notice underneath the central dividing blade, just in case owners plan to walk over their new Aston Martin.
Creature comforts for longer journeys are few and far between. The modest boot space is complemented by a removable leather bag, replacing a conventional glovebox on the passenger side.
Design director Miles Nurnberger said: “We went back a step and looked into our past for inspiration. No roof or screen, a big engine, low, with broad shoulders and exaggerated and emotional styling with twin humps and the spine separating the driver and passenger. It has been created to deliver an incredibly visceral experience.”
Aston Martin’s V12 Speedster is the latest, ultra-exclusive roofless roadster, following the Bentley Bacalar and Ferrari Monza. Next up this summer is the £1.4 million McLaren Elva – also devoid of windscreen but featuring a vent system that directs a shield of air in front of the cockpit to protect occupants.
Nothing quite so namby-pamby in this hairy-chested Aston Martin. Had the V12 Speedster been built in time it would no doubt have been cast as the windswept getaway car for James Bond in No Time To Die, fleeing the villains in a roofless manner.
Sign up for the Telegraph Luxury newsletter for your weekly dose of exquisite taste and expert opinion.
