Aston Martin's flagship hypercar wasn't just expensive and rare, it was also totally off limits for the press. When Ferrari shuts you out for doing what journalism is about, it's not that big a deal. You either borrow the impressions of your colleagues, or simply go and buy one you can review. But with a 1.3 million pound hypercar built for only 77 carefully selected individuals, it's a tougher challenge.
Autocar managed to get a ride in it during the development phase, but it was Top Gear who finally got one to review last September. They had to fly all the way to Mr. Al Ketbi's supercar candystore in Dubai. He must take his promises very seriously, as after he agreed to lend a One-77 to Top Gear, he got a great offer and had to sell that particular car. So he went on and bought another one, partly to keep Top Gear's Tom Ford smiling.
What we learned from that article is that the updated single clutch gearbox is still rubbish compared to the rest of the space-tech package. Not a surprise when it comes to Astons. Now Evo's Harry Metcalfe goes deeper, only to discover not only that the best of Aston Martin is basically a hatchback, but also that it's much more of a fierce beast than you would expect. And there is the noise...
Photo credit: Ben in London