Of all the millions of cars that breathe, live, and die on this Earth, not many are ever remembered. It might mean a lot to those who have lived alongside it, but for the rest of us across the ether, we might never know its story, or journeys throughout life. So far as most people are concerned, it's only those special cars who's tales are ever remembered, fondly or otherwise. They are the cars that write history in its wake to open a new chapter, or become one themselves.
Although only in its infancy, I can already tell that this is one of them; a car that has made history with its birth, and will likely create history in its footsteps... Or so I hope. This is the Aston Martin Victor, a one-off beauty commissioned by a very well-off enthusiast of the brand. If you're not ecstatic already, then perhaps some highlights would help; a naturally-aspirated V12 engine, mated to a manual gearbox, bolted onto a carbon'd tub chassis, and clothed under a retro-futuristic body that oozes lust.
Opening A Time-Capsule.
Credits to: Aston Martin Victor
But before we can unravel what it is, we ought to understand how it came to be. The Victor, although new, isn't entirely created from a blank slate. It felt as though Aston Martin rummaged around its dusty attic and found all the best bits across 107 years, and put them into one car. The job of making it all happen is Q, their in-house "whatever you want, we can make it happen" division that pampers Aston's most loyal clientele.
It's like having a suit tailor-made just for your physique and personality, allowing you to choose the fabrics, cuts, style, and all the little details possible down to every thread. So bespoke is the Victor, that it's completely different from any other Aston Martin you'd see in their showrooms. As a car then, it was conceived to be the ultimate gentlemen's, or lady's cruiser for crossing continents with great ease, but never afraid to light up the rear-tyres every now and then.
Freshly taken out of Aston's vaults, the structure underneath belongs to the old One-77; a million-pound supercar, among supercars. It's a prototype chassis, used for final refinements before putting it into production. Since they had that lying around doing nothing, they may as well make something wonderfully pretty and expensive out of it. Instead of using a traditional bonded-aluminium, the One-77's chassis is a full carbon-fibre tub, specially-conceived for it.
Credits to: Classic Driver - Aston Martin One-77, and Aston Martin V8 Vantage 'X-Pack' (1986)
Yet, they've somehow been able to make Victor much less porky than its predecessor, itself a lithe 1,630 kg (3,594 lb). Clothing all those carbon weaves is a superbly jaw-dropping bodywork, an example of how retro-futuristic designs can work well in a car. It's design is heavily inspired from the old boxy Vantages of the 70s and 80s, with its bulldog face, and almost muscle-car stance. The name comes from Mr. Victor Gauntlett, the man that ran Aston Martin at the time, which is also coincidentally a magnificent name.
It could easily looked well at home at a Texan ranch, as much as sitting parked in front of Big Ben. It's been finished in a beautifully dark Pentland Green paintwork - a historic colour for Aston - and I think is suiting of the old-school style. The front-end is equally distinctive, being mostly flat. You can see some of the carbon-fibre skeleton here, with its two rounded headlights looking like eyes, staring at you angrily, flanking its moustache-like grille.
It's certainly a unique look, alongside other Astons and their slim lights. The only thing that pokes out from the slab-sided fascia is the gigantic front-splitter, almost enough to plough snow with. Making sure you don't scrape that low, fragile, and expensive satin-carbon splitter, there are small wood inserts to absorb the blows. Yes, wood, not plastic, composite, or rubber. If what you've seen so far isn't enough to give you wood, then worry not, because there's more of it.
Credits to: Aston Martin Victor
There's also carbon, lots and lots of carbon. A plethora of ducts in the front-end help with both fooling, and aerodynamics to push weight down onto the bonnet, and channelling air around its stunning sculpture. Going along the side, you can see more of the One-77 lineage with Victor's roofline, and window sills. There's no mistaking for how large it is, yet simplistic and very understated, without massive venting or extrusions to ruin to looks.
The only major distinction here is the prominently-placed carbon-fibre skirts, with gills to help vent heat away from the side-exhausts. This is a remnant of the racy Vulcan, and I suppose its helpful to have that piece of carbon stopping you from burning your feet. The rear is as boxy and flat as the front, and certainly no less beautifully contemporary here. A bit more on the aerodynamics, Victor eschews any sort of rear-wing, which both the One-77 and Vulcan have, the former of which is actively-deployed.
Nonetheless, its simple flick of a ducktail spoiler - another inspiration from the old Vantage - is able to produce 30% more downforce at 100mph than the very latest, and rawest Vantage GT4 racer. A marvel of engineering, I'd say. This is helped by working in tandem with the preposterously-sized rear-diffuser, with more of that carbon here. The taillights are interestingly adopted from the upcoming Valkyrie, and are small LEDs individually mounted in a cluster.
Beauty Is More Than Skin Deep
Credits to: NetCarShow - Aston Martin Vulcan, and AutoEvolution - Aston Martin Vantage GT4
Perhaps more amazing than analysing Victor's skeletal structure and fleshy appearance, is seeing more of what it has for a beating heart. Even from the outset, it doesn't try to hide it. The bonnet has a large, and prominent bulge, shadowing the powerplant underneath with little subtlety, just like the old Vantage. The monstrous engine is lifted straight from a One -77, itself a massive 7.3-litre naturally-aspirated V12.
It was then brought to the masters of tuning, Cosworth. Without adding a single turbo or motor, they've boosted output by another 84hp, now producing an ungodly 836hp, and 606lb-ft of torque. Both are very healthy numbers, given that it's purely rear-wheel driven, and isn't particularly heavy. These top-trumps figures make Victor the most powerful Aston road-car so far, soon only to be topped by the Valhalla and Valkyrie. I bet it sounds great, too.
Best of all, this also makes it the most powerful Aston to be fitted with a manual gearbox. Oh yes, in this car, you have to change gears yourself, with every satisfaction to be had from clickity-clacking its gear-lever with your bare hands. The brutishly British engine is now coupled with a very Italian 6-speed box from Graziano, and it may have been the largest contributor to the weight savings, away from the clunky automated-manual in the One-77.
Credits to: Aston Martin Victor
This is proof that manual transmission really do have a place, even with the rigours of big horsepower gains in modern supercars. Although to make sure it doesn't explode every time you stamp on the throttle, they've fitted Victor with a motorsports-grade clutch, along with two independent oil-coolers. You can see it from the outside, with a slim vent just behind the doors for its rear-mounted, transaxle gearbox.
Despite a more road-going focus, there are plenty of racing-inspired componentry to help keep the immense power in check. High-tech traction-control, and electronic-stability programmes are brought over from the Vulcan, providing a computerised safety-net from you wrapping this fine-arts exhibit around a tree. There are adjustable, in-board, pushrod-actuated suspension, which can be viewed neatly through a glass panel on the rear-shelf. Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes hide behind the centre-lock, diamond-cut, honeycomb and forged AMR-style wheels.
Just as wonderful as its wheels is the interior, with sumptuous materials all around. Victor's carbon tub is most prominently seen while sitting inside, as many of the panels along the bottom, including the centre-tunnel, and door-panels are left in their bare, satin-dry carbon. It helps to save weight, while also looking pretty. In a display of traditional British craftsmanship, the rest of what's not carbon is layered in green, Bridge of Weir leather, made from the finest cowhides in the British Isles; smooth and supple to touch.
Credits to: Aston Martin Victor
The heavily-bolstered carbon-bucket seats are finished in fine leather as well, keeping you strapped-in with racing harnesses. There's plenty of excellent details to admire that highlight Aston's fantastic leathery, like the finely stitched strap on the armrest, or the loops that you need to pull on to get the door open. Then, there's that little saddle-bag on the passenger side, almost like a rich Hermes saddle. These are wholly unnecessary features, but it adds theatre and drama, which is the point for something this expensive.
The roof-lining isn't some plebeian Alcantara or suede, but a cashmere trim tailored straight from Savile Row, cut by the finest tailors in the world. Even the small, almost pointless carpets are leather-trimmed along the sides, with a layer of soft lambswool to rest your weary feet. The steering-wheel that looks like it came from an F1 car is taken straight from the Vulcan racer, with its many buttons and switches, all finished beautifully in aluminium.
Remember that wood I mentioned earlier? Well, there's some wooden trim panels behind the centre information screen. Although I would say the best application of wood is on the gorgeous stick-shift, reminding you of what driving Victor is all about. The semi-exposed gear linkages are already quite the treat, let alone putting a slab of walnut on top, with the H-pattern laser-etched into it. I can't imagine the ecstasy of resting my hands on it.
Maybe that's a great way to summarise the Victor, the fact that neither I, nor most mortals can ever rest their hands on it. Yet, I can't help but celebrate its birth, a homage to the past, and the present. It's properly old-school, with a big V12 in front, three-pedals in the middle, and a timeless design that we'll look back fondly in the decades to come. Its not just a wonderful car, but it's also a remembrance; a trinket for the future. Only time will tell, but I can say that this Victor has written history which I hope will inspire others, lest we forget.
