The Aston Martin Vulcan is a two-door, two-seat, high-performance lightweight track-only
car
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarded as ...
launched in 2015 by British luxury automobile manufacturer
Aston Martin
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with ...
at the
2015 Geneva Motor Show.
The Vulcan was designed by Aston Martin's creative officer
Marek Reichman
Marek Paul Reichman (born 1966) is an English industrial designer currently working as Chief Creative Officer and studio head at Aston Martin.
Early life and education
Reichman was born in Sheffield, then in the West Riding of Yorkshire. to an ...
, taking inspiration from the then Aston Martin current models, such as the
Vantage, the
DB9 and the
One-77
The Aston Martin One-77 is a two-door, two-seater flagship sports car built by the British car manufacturer Aston Martin. The car was first shown at the 2008 Paris Motor Show, although it remained mostly covered by a "Savile Row tailored skirt" ...
. Production totalled 24 cars, with each priced at US$2.3 million. One was included with the penthouse of
Aston Martin Residences tower in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
.
Specifications
The engine, a 7.0-litre
naturally-aspirated V12 V12 or V-12 may refer to:
Aircraft
* Mil V-12, a Soviet heavy lift helicopter
* Pilatus OV-12, a planned American military utility aircraft
* Rockwell XFV-12, an American experimental aircraft project
* Škoda-Kauba V12, a Czechoslovak experim ...
, mounted in an aluminium alloy chassis with a
carbon fibre
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...
body, has a power output of at 7,750 rpm and of torque at 6,500 rpm.
The top speed (without the wing) is 208 mph (334.6 km/h) and 0-60 time is 2.9 seconds . The Vulcan is fitted with a magnesium torque tube which has a carbon fibre propeller shaft, a limited-slip differential and an Xtrac 6-speed sequential transmission. The car has a dry kerb weight of . It uses Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, which are fitted on 19 inch APP-TECH wheels that feature
centerlock design.
Stopping power is aided courtesy of carbon-ceramic brakes, which measure at the front, at the rear, and are produced by
Brembo
Brembo S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of automotive brake systems, especially for high-performance cars and motorcycles. Its head office is in Curno, Bergamo, Italy.
History
Brembo was established in Paladina, Italy on January 11, 1961 ...
.
[Specification, Braking Syste]
”Discover the Vulcan”
Aston Martin, 2015
Engine power delivery is selectable using a selector knob in the car, with the first option setting the power to , the second option setting the power to , and the third and final option allowing the engine to deliver the full of power output.
The Vulcan generates GT3-car levels of downforce via its prominent front splitter, rear diffuser and adjustable rear wing.
Aston Martin states that the car will produce at and at its Vmax speed.
The car has a race-derived pushrod suspension with anti-dive geometry and is complemented by
Multimatic
Multimatic Inc. is a privately held Canadian corporation that supplies components, systems and engineering services to the global automotive industry. Headquartered in Markham, Ontario, Multimatic has manufacturing divisions and engineering facili ...
’s Dynamic Suspension Spool Valve (DSSV) adjustable dampers and anti-roll bars, front and rear driver-adjustable anti-lock braking, and variable traction control.
Like the
Ferrari FXX
The Ferrari FXX is a high-performance track-only developmental prototype built by Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari. The FXX is based on the street-legal flagship Enzo Ferrari. Production of the FXX began in 2005.
Overview
The FXX uses ...
,
599XX,
FXX-K, and the
McLaren P1 GTR
The McLaren P1 is a limited-production mid-engine plug-in hybrid sports car produced by British automobile manufacturer McLaren Automotive. Debuted at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, sales of the P1 began in the United Kingdom in October 2013 and al ...
, the Vulcan must be approved to drive on track day events by the factory. However, unlike those cars, customers can keep the car on their own.
Vulcan AMR Pro package
The AMR Pro package for the Vulcan was unveiled at the 2017
Goodwood Festival of Speed
The Goodwood Festival of Speed is an annual motorsports festival featuring modern and historic motor racing vehicles taking part in a hillclimbing, hill climb and other events, held in the grounds of Goodwood House, West Sussex, England, in l ...
. The package contains extra aerodynamic pieces to enhance the performance of the car, with the presence of an enhanced dual-element rear wing with a Gurney flap, large dive planes, side wheel arch louvres, and turning vanes designed to improve steering response.
These improvements allow the car's downforce performance to increase by 27%.
Balance has been improved as well, with a 47/53 weight distribution, due to the majority of the pressure going towards the centre of the car.
The car still has the same 7.0-litre naturally-aspirated V12 engine as the standard Vulcan, with the power output being unchanged. The 6-speed transmission is also retained unchanged, but shorter final driver ratio is used in order to improve acceleration.
All existing cars can be fitted with the AMR Pro package by the Aston Martin Q division at the owner's request.
File:2015 Aston Martin Vulcan 7.0 Front.jpg, AMR Pro front view
File:2015 Aston Martin Vulcan 7.0 Rear.jpg, AMR Pro rear view
Road-legal conversion
An Aston Martin Vulcan was made road-legal by British engineering company
RML Group
Ray Mallock Ltd., also known as RML Group, is a motorsports and high performance engineering company, based in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom.
Early history
Ray Mallock began building racing cars, alongside his brother Richar ...
through a series of modifications. This car remains the only Vulcan to be made legal for the road. Several changes had to be performed in order to meet road regulations. The group took 18 months to modify the entire car.
The ride height of the car is raised for ground clearance.
The rear
LED
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...
"blades" are covered with a plastic light housing for radius management. Two front integrated headlights have been added, under the inspiration of the modern Aston Martin design. The styling of the lights mimic the factory lights of the Vulcan. As for the front splitter, the car's fences, placed on the side of the aerodynamic piece for more downforce, have been removed, and the length of the carbon fibre splitter has also been shortened.
The 7.0-litre naturally-aspirated V12 is remapped for emissions, and the cooling system is replaced with a different unit for better temperature control although it retains its original power output rating. The car's gear ratios are altered, and the clutch was changed to make the launch easier than the regular Vulcan.
Spring rates and damper rates have been changed, and ride height lifting has been added to allow for easier driving on the road. The steering lock became less limited to allow the car to steer more and give a smaller turning radius.
The Vulcan's side mirrors have been replaced in favour of the
DB11's mirrors, since the regular Vulcan's mirror glass does not meet road regulations, and it does not include mirror-integrated indicators. All windows have been replaced with specific units that meet road regulations, and a
windscreen wiper
A windscreen wiper, windshield wiper, wiper blade (American English), or simply wiper, is a device used to remove rain, snow, ice, washer fluid, water, or debris from a vehicle's front window. Almost all motor vehicles, including cars, truck ...
and washer jets have been added. The rear bumper has been modified to allow for a Euro-spec
registration plate
A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British English), license plate (American English), or licence plate ( Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identificat ...
to be installed, along with plate lights, and a reflector. The rear wing plates' ends contain an amber light strip for direction indicators, and the fuel cap has been modified. As for the interior, the seats (which originally had head support) have been changed to allow for visibility, and the steering wheel has been drastically modified. The doors are central locking, and the car contains an immobiliser key.
According to RML, owners of this car can ask the group to revert the car to racing spec whenever the owner desires.
Motorsport
One example of the Vulcan was fielded in the 2022
British Endurance Championship in Class A (group
GT3) class. It previously raced in the Britcar endurance championship as an invitational entry.
References
External links
{{Aston Martin Sportscar Racers
Sports cars
Vulcan
Vulcan may refer to:
Mythology
* Vulcan (mythology), the god of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, and the forge in Roman mythology
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* Vulcan (''Star Trek''), name of a fictional race and their home p ...
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles
Cars introduced in 2015