Yeah, you sort of expect a 7.3-liter V12 to sound good, but hearing the big Aston for the first time was quite a shock. Literally, as the huge noise reverbated off the Villa d’Este’s walls and probably the mountains on the opposite side of Lake Como as well, wreaking havoc with George Clooney’s morning espresso.

And it’s not like there was no aural competition at the Concorso. At various points during the day, cars like a Jaguar D-Type, a Lamborghini Miura and various Ferrari 250 GT’s had their engines sent revving, noises which would normally be the high point of a car geek’s month.

There was only one car which could rise to the occasion. Although car might not be the best word to describe this most insane example of Italian engineering. Until the orange mechanical menace gets its own post, try and guess what it is:

And if you’re stuck, look up in the sky for a clue.

The £1.2 million supercar is suffering from exchange rate fluctuation-itis. Back in March it would have cost you just $1.4 million freedom dollars, but now, with a stronger pound, one of the 77 7.3-liter, 700+ HP V12 Astons will set you back a whopping $1.75 million. Bet you wished you'd placed your order earlier, don't you?

Aston Martin One-77 wins top design award at the Concorso d'Eleganza, Villa d'Este

Gaydon, Warwickshire 26 April 2009. At its world debut this weekend, the Aston Martin One-77 has won the Concorso d'Eleganza Design Award for Concept Cars and Prototypes on the shores of Lake Como, Italy.

Following the Geneva Auto Salon in March, where the technical illustration was first shown, the rolling chassis has since been completed by hand into the first car presented at Villa d'Este this weekend.

At its first public unveiling in the perfect setting of the Grand Hotel Villa d'Este, the first complete One-77 was on show. Visiting public were invited to cast their vote for the best concept and prototype. Among eight entries from around the world, the Aston Martin One-77 was voted the best in class, eclipsing the competition with more than 30% of the total votes.

Admiring crowds viewed One-77 in its entirety for the first time. The car was showcased complete with running powertrain and the never seen before, fully hand-crafted interior.

Aston Martin Chief Executive, Dr Ulrich Bez said: "Embodying everything Aston Martin stands for; the One-77 has proven itself as the most desirable automotive art form at its premiere today.

"We have achieved a new level of design and craftsmanship which has been clearly recognised by the public here in the homeland of design at Villa d'Este."

Aston Martin Design Director, Marek Reichman said: "To win this award at its first showing is a testament to the Aston Martin team and the original concept. Winning here today has proven One-77 as a benchmark in automotive design."

[images via OmniAuto and Aston Martin]

It looks like the interior will match the slick design of the One-77's exterior, looking nothing like any Aston Martin before it. you can check out the presentation document below.

(Hat Tip to Alexander)

[via 925]

Priced at £1 million, the One-77 cost $2.4 million in US currency when it was announced last August. Now, that value has fallen to just $1.415 million. At €1.55 million, the Bugatti Veyron Fbg par Hermes now costs $1.956 million.

Now, while we're assuming such trivial matters as slight variations in price due to currency fluctuations makes very little difference to a mega rich customer's wallet, this does significantly alter the bragging rights attached to these cars. Let's face it, these customers aren't buying cars like this to drive (if they were every tycoon in the world would own a Caterham 7) they're buying them to get into a pissing contest with their fellow robber barons. Buying a One-77 now means not having the most expensive car at the international arms/yacht fair, something that likely means a lot to its potential customers. And you just know that big bully the Sultan of Brunei is going to say something smart.

The press release follows:

Aston Martin Reveals Spectacular One-77 Technical Showcase

Gaydon, Warwickshire – Tuesday 3 March - Aston Martin will present a One-77 technical showcase at the Geneva Auto Salon on 3 March 2009. Chassis no.1 will be on display as an exposé throughout the show detailing the quintessence of Aston Martin engineering and design expertise.

The One-77 is Aston Martin's definitive sports car, one that epitomises everything Aston Martin from technology, the hand-craftsmanship of the hand rolled aluminium panels to the attention to detail. A culmination of all the marque's know-how, the One-77 delivers effortless beauty guaranteed to stir the senses with performance potential eclipsing any previous Aston Martin.

With the performance and durability phase of the One-77's intensive development programme soon to commence, the 79th Geneva Auto Salon provides the perfect stage on which to reveal the remarkable engineering, advanced technology and exotic materials that lie beneath the One-77's extraordinary exterior.

For Aston Martin's Chief Executive, Dr Ulrich Bez, revealing the One-77's secrets is a proud moment: "Right from the very beginning of the project the vision for One-77 was very simple: It had to combine high-technology with hand-built craftsmanship, and demonstrate the unique capabilities and passion of our designers, engineers and
technical partners.

"Quite simply it had to be the ultimate expression of Aston Martin. As you can now see, we have achieved that goal in magnificent style."

Chris Porritt, One-77 Programme Manager continued: "We wanted to create something that wows you as much when you see what's under the skin as the exterior styling itself. We started by identifying the most technologically exciting front-engined, rear-wheel drive cars in the world: those from the DTM race series. We then applied the principles and technology that feature heavily in their design and translated it to a road car application."

Consequently the One-77's structural core is a lightweight and immensely rigid carbon fibre monocoque. Conceived and designed at Aston Martin's Gaydon HQ, the monocoque, or 'tub', has been built in partnership with Multimatic (MTC). As world leaders in carbon composite technology, advanced vehicle analysis and dynamic
simulation, MTC brings unrivalled specialist capabilities to the exacting challenge of the One-77 programme.

Employing the classic formula of double wishbones at each corner, the One-77 features inboard suspension front and rear, with pushrods employed to transfer vertical suspension movements to the horizontally mounted spring/damper units. A practice taken directly from racing car design, the main advantages of inboard suspension are a reduction in unsprung weight and the ability to package the suspension components more effectively.

The dampers are fully adjustable and feature advanced Dynamic Suspension Spool Valve (DSSV) technology; a world-first for a road car application. These special valves are state-of-the-art even at the highest levels of motorsport, and use high-precision machined components to enable the shock-absorbing characteristics of the damper to be changed without having to remove them from the car, as is the norm.

Underlining the truly bespoke nature of the One-77, once delivered to its owner, the car's suspension characteristics will be precisely set-up by Aston Martin engineers to suit their exact requirements, from settings suitable for the ultimate long-distance GT, to a machine capable of conquering the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

While functionality and efficiency are paramount in the design and construction of the One-77', so too is aesthetic beauty. To this end every single component has been crafted from the finest materials with absolute attention to detail. From the mesmerising weave of the glossy carbon fibre tub and the abstract, sculptural beauty of the dry
sump's oil reservoir, to the unerring precision of the billet machined aluminium suspension mounts, the One-77's rolling chassis is an automotive masterpiece.

Of course the irony is that the vast majority of these exquisite components will be hidden from view in the finished car, yet each and every piece is a work of art in its own right. It's this extraordinary workmanship and money-no-object commitment to quality that makes the One-77 unique.

Naturally, such a spectacular chassis demands – and gets - an equally exceptional drivetrain. It comes in the form of an immensely potent 7.3-litre, naturally aspirated V12 engine. Thanks to the adoption of a dry-sump oil system the engine is mounted 100mm lower than in any previous V12-engined Aston Martin road car, which helps keep the One-77's centre-of-gravity as low as possible. To further aid agility and endow the One-77 with progressive handling and stable, predictable on-limit behaviour, the engine is also mounted 257mm aft relative to the front wheel centreline. In so doing the front-midengined layout shared by all of Aston Martin's current road car range has been taken to a new level.

The One-77's magnificent power unit is an extreme evolution of the 6.0-litre V12 engines fitted to the DBS, DB9 and new V12 Vantage models. Like the collaboration with MTC for the build of the chassis, Aston Martin has chosen a world-leading partner with which to develop the motor: legendary engine builders, Cosworth. It has proved to be the perfect collaboration, as Chris Porritt explains.

"Our brief to the engine team was for them to take the 6.0-litre V12 as far as it could go,both in terms of output and weight reduction. The targets were a power output of no less than 700bhp with a 10 per cent reduction in engine mass. Incredibly, the Aston Martin and Cosworth engineers achieved a mass reduction of some 25 per cent, and although we've yet to complete the final engine calibration work, I'm confident we'll see in excess of 700bhp. It's an awesome accomplishment, but one that's typical of the One-77 project, for it has consistently brought out the very best in everyone involved."

Wearing Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres (255/35 ZR20 front, 335/30 ZR20 rear) developed specifically for the One-77, all 700+bhp is transmitted to the road through the rear wheels via a new six-speed gearbox. Controlled via column-mounted paddles behind the steering wheel, this robotised sequential manual is a new generation of Aston Martin's familiar transmission. Though it is made specifically for the One-77 and features specially strengthened internals to cope with the tremendous power and torque, the lessons learned in its development will ultimately find their way into the company's series production models.

It's a mark of the inherent capabilities of Aston Martin's acclaimed lightweight Carbon Ceramic Matrix brake technology that it has been used as the basis for the One-77's braking system. The internals of the calipers have been re-engineered to transmit less heat from the brake pads into the brake fluid, while the discs themselves have been developed to ensure the maximum possible contact area between the face of the disc and the brake pads for improved stopping power. Due to the One-77's increased performance, special attention has also been paid to brake cooling, as the brakes have less time to cool between bursts of acceleration.

With a projected weight of 1,500kg the One-77 will occupy the very highest echelons of road car performance. Top speed is confidently predicted to be in excess of 200mph, with a 0-60mph time in approximately 3.5sec. Perhaps more importantly, thanks to the purity of a front-engined, rear-drive layout, the responsiveness and immense tractability of a naturally aspirated V12 and the low mass, high-rigidity properties of a carbon fibre chassis, the One-77 promises a driving experience of unrivalled intensity and excitement while representing the world's most desirable automotive art form.

Ferrari 599XX

If we were to describe this car to you in writing, you'd think it was lame, but somehow in pictures, it's the hottest thing since sliced bread. Inexplicable but awesome.

2010 Mazdaspeed3

Using the old model's 268 HP turbocharged engine, the Mazdaspeed gains a Furai-like grille and we're ok with that.

Bugatti Veyron Bleu Centenaire

Bugatti's got a thing for blue and it's got a super expensive hypercar to sell. So why not combine the two for a mutual win-win? As silly as we think this is, the combination of matte and gloss blue (or Bleu if you're super rich) is surprisingly nice.

Aston Martin One-77

The DB9 too common for you? Then how about a one of 77 (get it?) limited run of a super fast, super luxurious model based on the same platform? Sounds good to us, but then anything with over 750 HP sounds good to us.

2011 Opel Ampera

Just like a volt, but wearing eyeliner. Somehow, we think this is GM's attempt at a subtle insult to its more successful, better looking, but slightly effeminate European relatives.

Nissan Qazana Concept

What if we combined the sexy lines of a sportscar with the high clearance and off-road ability of a 4x4 and the luxurious interior of a sedan into one car? Great idea, let's call it a "crossover." Oh, wait; it's not 1999 anymore? Damn, back to the drawing board.

Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SuperVeloce

When I was a kid, the SV versions of Lamborghinis existed to snuff out the trashiest of the uber rich with their tacky graphics, then kill them off with dangerously unpredictable handling. It was like Lamborghini was some kind of ancient secret society that existed to promote natural selection. We're guessing Tom Hanks has somehow infiltrated the company, because this SV has AWD and won't likely kill anything but innocent spotted owls and polar bears.

Pagani Zonda R

Ray worships at the alter of this track-focused, ultra-light version of the Pagani Zonda. Somehow, that's the least disturbing thing we've found out about him this week.

Gumpert Apollo Speed

How do you make the ugliest supercar on sale even uglier? Easy: a two-tone aquamarine and white paintjob. There's also some Aurora-esque bodywork. Yuck.

Mansory Veyron LINEA Vincero

Somewhere, there's a market for tuned Veyrons. This one has 1,109 HP and exposed carbon bodywork. Who buys these things?

2010 VW Polo

There's a magical land where small cars are both appealing, good to drive, nice to sit in and highly efficient. That magical place's name is Europe, it also has good cheese. We think VW USA is crazy for giving us a rebadged Golf instead of a rebadged Diesel Polo as the Rabbit.

Koenigsegg Quant Concept

Solar electric cars get free energy from the sun, but they're really slow. Enter Koenigsegg. The 512 Quant, we don't know how they did it, but somehow it sounds like they connected the sun directly to its rear wheels.

Mitsubishi iMiEV Sport Air Concept

We kinda wish Mitsubishi would hurry up and put an iMiEV into mass production, but for the time being we're pretty happy with the Sport Air and its Tron-like interior. Sunglasses required.

Infiniti Essence Concept

Wow, probably the best looking car at the show; like a Ferrari California, but attractive. If the G37 looked like this we'd be all over it.

Ford Iosis Max Concept

Previewing the next Focus, the Iosis Max is fitted with an Ecoboost (Newspeak for turbocharger) 1.6-liter engine putting out 180 HP. Make sure you bring this one to the States please Ford.

2010 Audi TT RS

The most appealing thing about the Audi TT are its clean, uninterrupted lines. So bolting a big honking wing to the back does little for us. Having said that, the 335 HP, 331 Lb-Ft turbocharged five-cylinder does.

2010 Audi A4 Allroad Quattro

You run a successful daytime talk show in which you convince guests to dance and you need plenty of room in the trunk for your burgeoning collection of men's trousers. Your first instinct says "Subaru Outback" but you've got money now and you want something a touch classier. The A4 allroad quattro is the car for you.

Frazer-Nash Namir by Giugiaro

370 HP and a 187 MPH top speed from a .8-liter engine and two electric motors. It will also find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and single handedly save the world from aliens. Man, this car sounds awesome.

Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano HGTE

Ferrari buyers are a fickle lot, always wanting new and better features if they're going to be convinced to pry open their wallets for a new, six-figure supercar. The HGTE adds firmer suspension, stickier tires and a lower ride height.

Alfa Romeo MiTo GTA

The MiTo GTA is the best looking small car we've seen in the last thirty years or so. We're probably not going to ever get one here in Obama land. Still, those big new exhaust pipes are awful good to look at.

Rolls Royce 200EX

The new, smaller Rolls is still over a foot longer than a BMW 7-Series and every bit a Roller deserving of the retracting Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament.

Spyker C8 Aileron

Dramatic in detail, outdated in profile and mechanical spec. Yep, it's another Spyker.

Aston Martin Reveals Spectacular One-77 Technical Showcase

Gaydon, Warwickshire – Tuesday 3 March - Aston Martin will present a One-77 technical showcase at the Geneva Auto Salon on 3 March 2009. Chassis no.1 will be on display as an exposé throughout the show detailing the quintessence of Aston Martin engineering and design expertise.

The One-77 is Aston Martin's definitive sports car, one that epitomises everything Aston Martin from technology, the hand-craftsmanship of the hand rolled aluminium panels to the attention to detail. A culmination of all the marque's know-how, the One-77 delivers effortless beauty guaranteed to stir the senses with performance potential eclipsing any previous Aston Martin.

With the performance and durability phase of the One-77's intensive development programme soon to commence, the 79th Geneva Auto Salon provides the perfect stage on which to reveal the remarkable engineering, advanced technology and exotic materials that lie beneath the One-77's extraordinary exterior.

For Aston Martin's Chief Executive, Dr Ulrich Bez, revealing the One-77's secrets is a proud moment: "Right from the very beginning of the project the vision for One-77 was very simple: It had to combine high-technology with hand-built craftsmanship, and demonstrate the unique capabilities and passion of our designers, engineers and
technical partners.

"Quite simply it had to be the ultimate expression of Aston Martin. As you can now see, we have achieved that goal in magnificent style."

Chris Porritt, One-77 Programme Manager continued: "We wanted to create something that wows you as much when you see what's under the skin as the exterior styling itself. We started by identifying the most technologically exciting front-engined, rear-wheel drive cars in the world: those from the DTM race series. We then applied the principles and technology that feature heavily in their design and translated it to a road car application."

Consequently the One-77's structural core is a lightweight and immensely rigid carbon fibre monocoque. Conceived and designed at Aston Martin's Gaydon HQ, the monocoque, or 'tub', has been built in partnership with Multimatic (MTC). As world leaders in carbon composite technology, advanced vehicle analysis and dynamic
simulation, MTC brings unrivalled specialist capabilities to the exacting challenge of the One-77 programme.

Employing the classic formula of double wishbones at each corner, the One-77 features inboard suspension front and rear, with pushrods employed to transfer vertical suspension movements to the horizontally mounted spring/damper units. A practice taken directly from racing car design, the main advantages of inboard suspension are a reduction in unsprung weight and the ability to package the suspension components more effectively.

The dampers are fully adjustable and feature advanced Dynamic Suspension Spool Valve (DSSV) technology; a world-first for a road car application. These special valves are state-of-the-art even at the highest levels of motorsport, and use high-precision machined components to enable the shock-absorbing characteristics of the damper to be changed without having to remove them from the car, as is the norm.

Underlining the truly bespoke nature of the One-77, once delivered to its owner, the car's suspension characteristics will be precisely set-up by Aston Martin engineers to suit their exact requirements, from settings suitable for the ultimate long-distance GT, to a machine capable of conquering the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

While functionality and efficiency are paramount in the design and construction of the One-77', so too is aesthetic beauty. To this end every single component has been crafted from the finest materials with absolute attention to detail. From the mesmerising weave of the glossy carbon fibre tub and the abstract, sculptural beauty of the dry
sump's oil reservoir, to the unerring precision of the billet machined aluminium suspension mounts, the One-77's rolling chassis is an automotive masterpiece.

Of course the irony is that the vast majority of these exquisite components will be hidden from view in the finished car, yet each and every piece is a work of art in its own right. It's this extraordinary workmanship and money-no-object commitment to quality that makes the One-77 unique.

Naturally, such a spectacular chassis demands – and gets - an equally exceptional drivetrain. It comes in the form of an immensely potent 7.3-litre, naturally aspirated V12 engine. Thanks to the adoption of a dry-sump oil system the engine is mounted 100mm lower than in any previous V12-engined Aston Martin road car, which helps keep the One-77's centre-of-gravity as low as possible. To further aid agility and endow the One-77 with progressive handling and stable, predictable on-limit behaviour, the engine is also mounted 257mm aft relative to the front wheel centreline. In so doing the front-midengined layout shared by all of Aston Martin's current road car range has been taken to a new level.

The One-77's magnificent power unit is an extreme evolution of the 6.0-litre V12 engines fitted to the DBS, DB9 and new V12 Vantage models. Like the collaboration with MTC for the build of the chassis, Aston Martin has chosen a world-leading partner with which to develop the motor: legendary engine builders, Cosworth. It has proved to be the perfect collaboration, as Chris Porritt explains.

"Our brief to the engine team was for them to take the 6.0-litre V12 as far as it could go,both in terms of output and weight reduction. The targets were a power output of no less than 700bhp with a 10 per cent reduction in engine mass. Incredibly, the Aston Martin and Cosworth engineers achieved a mass reduction of some 25 per cent, and although we've yet to complete the final engine calibration work, I'm confident we'll see in excess of 700bhp. It's an awesome accomplishment, but one that's typical of the One-77 project, for it has consistently brought out the very best in everyone involved."

Wearing Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres (255/35 ZR20 front, 335/30 ZR20 rear) developed specifically for the One-77, all 700+bhp is transmitted to the road through the rear wheels via a new six-speed gearbox. Controlled via column-mounted paddles behind the steering wheel, this robotised sequential manual is a new generation of Aston Martin's familiar transmission. Though it is made specifically for the One-77 and features specially strengthened internals to cope with the tremendous power and torque, the lessons learned in its development will ultimately find their way into the company's series production models.

It's a mark of the inherent capabilities of Aston Martin's acclaimed lightweight Carbon Ceramic Matrix brake technology that it has been used as the basis for the One-77's braking system. The internals of the calipers have been re-engineered to transmit less heat from the brake pads into the brake fluid, while the discs themselves have been developed to ensure the maximum possible contact area between the face of the disc and the brake pads for improved stopping power. Due to the One-77's increased performance, special attention has also been paid to brake cooling, as the brakes have less time to cool between bursts of acceleration.

With a projected weight of 1,500kg the One-77 will occupy the very highest echelons of road car performance. Top speed is confidently predicted to be in excess of 200mph, with a 0-60mph time in approximately 3.5sec. Perhaps more importantly, thanks to the purity of a front-engined, rear-drive layout, the responsiveness and immense tractability of a naturally aspirated V12 and the low mass, high-rigidity properties of a carbon fibre chassis, the One-77 promises a driving experience of unrivalled intensity and excitement while representing the world's most desirable automotive art form.

Photo Credit: Autoblog.nl

The One-77 will be available in either left- or right-hand drive, has only two seats, uses a carbon monocoque chassis with hand-worked aluminum body panels, active aerodynamics (including deployable spoiler), carbon ceramic brakes and a six-speed automated manual transmission. The engine will be a naturally aspirated 7.3-liter V12, allowing the car to reach 60 in the mid three-second range and top out just north of 200mph.

That all sounds great, but what does the One-77 offer (other than good looks) that, say, a $480,000 Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 doesn’t, and for a fraction of the price? Wow, we never thought we’d ask that. Take a look at the contract and let us know if you spot something in there that’s worth $1.3 million. Us? We're still saving for a ZR1.
[925.nl via Autoblog]