Only 88 Speedsters will be hand built and will cost $1.6m

Get your bank details at the ready Aston Martin fans, the British luxury car-maker has unveiled the limited edition V12 Speedster priced from nearly NZ$1.6 million.

Aston Martin revealed the two-seater Speedster at its Gaydon, UK, headquarters overnight. But if you want one, you’ll have to be quick as only 88 will be available.

It is priced from £765,000 (NZ$1.56m) with orders available now for delivery in quarter one of 2021.

Created by luxury British marque’s bespoke customisation service ‘Q by Aston Martin’, the Aston Martin V12 Speedster “draws inspiration from both the brand’s rich racing history and aeronautical design”.

Aston Martin Lagonda President and Group CEO, Dr Andy Palmer said: “It makes me enormously proud to reveal Aston Martin’s latest, most exciting special model today. The V12 Speedster is an incredible demonstration of the breadth of capability and determination from the ‘Q by Aston Martin’ team, who have worked tirelessly to create this stunning, two-seat sports car aimed at our most demanding and enthusiastic customers.”

Conceived a little over a year ago, the V12 Speedster has undergone an intensive development programme, going from drawing board to production within a very short time.

Aston Martin says the V12 Speedster is a living show-car as the brand wants to deliver customers a “stunning driver’s car, using the engineering ingenuity and advanced materials evident throughout the entire Aston Martin range”.

Utilising Aston Martin’s latest bonded aluminium architecture, the V12 Speedster features elements from both the DBS Superleggera and Vantage model lines to create its own unique platform.

With independent double wishbone front, and multi-link rear suspension with coil springs and adaptive damping offering Sport, Sport+ and Track modes, the V12 Speedster also benefits from standard 21in forged centre lock alloy wheels. Carbon Ceramic Brakes of 410mm on the front axle and 360mm at the rear are also standard equipment.

Over the V12 Speedster’s unique chassis is a bespoke body constructed almost entirely from carbon fibre.

Miles Nurnberger, Director of Design, Aston Martin Lagonda, said: “With the V12 Speedster we do go back a step and look into our past for inspiration. Since the DB11 launch, everything has been focused and very forward looking. Here though, we find a different tempo.

“There’s clear lineage from the 1959 Le Mans winning DBR1 to our Centenary celebratory CC100 Speedster Concept in 2013. There is also a bit of 1953 DB3S in the mid-section, so it really is our latest incarnation of the Speedster concept.,” he said.

“It’s also inspired by fighter jets as much as it is by our history, and it has been created to deliver an incredibly visceral experience, hence why it is a V12, rather than a V8. With the V12 Speedster we are amplifying all the emotional strings that we can to the absolute maximum.”

Nurnberger adds: “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. The light, low, rear end contrasts with the bold, enlarged grille, unique headlights and bonnet nostril at the front. The bonnet nostril we haven’t done in a very long time, but we’ve brought them back. It’s a neat trick visually to allow us to win some space for the V12. It creates this iconic looking vent.”

Powering the V12 Speedster is Aston Martin’s scintillating 5.2-litre, twin-turbo V12 engine, with a peak output of 521kW and 753Nm of torque. Front mid-mounted, the all alloy, quad cam 48-valve engine is mated to a ZF 8-Speed automatic transmission with a limited-slip differential driving the rear wheels. The V12 Speedster is able to accelerate to 100km/h in 3.5 seconds on the way to a limited top speed of 300km/h.

The Speedster will also have an “invigorating aural signature” and to make this Aston Martin’s engineers have created a bespoke stainless-steel exhaust system exiting centrally into the diffuser surface at the rear of the car for an even more rousing, characterful sound from the drivetrain.

Palmer said that “nothing demonstrates Aston Martin’s commitment to providing unique, special models to its customers more than the V12 Speedster”.

“The 88 hand-built cars will be sought after by driving enthusiasts and collectors alike all around the world. I’m excited not just about what they offer drivers, but of what it represents. The V12 Speedster not just showcases our incredible engineering capability and ambition, but also celebrating Aston Martin’s rich heritage.”