Aston Martin presented 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 Nurburgring 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-mid-engined 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 callipers 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.

Aston Martin is proud to announce the return of Lagonda, one of the most iconic names in luxury car manufacturing. The intention is for Lagonda to enter the market place with a unique performance luxury product, a vehicle that combines exceptional ability with unsurpassed elegance, inside and out.

Lagonda’s return signals a major expansion of Aston Martin’s product line, taking the company into new and emerging markets around the world. To demonstrate the Lagonda vision, the LAGONDA CONCEPT has been created, a car that epitomises the intersection of craft, design and technology with Aston Martin’s established high performance expertise.

The LAGONDA CONCEPT is an avant-garde luxury vehicle; with powerful four-wheel drive, a four-seater car that will satisfy the most discerning and demanding owner. The concept demonstrates a commitment to innovative new propulsion technologies, new materials and elegant forms.

“The Lagonda is the luxury car of the future,” says Aston Martin Chief Executive, Dr Ulrich Bez, “a combination of total usability, a new form and innovative new technology and materials.”

The return of Lagonda fulfils a long-term vision. Aston Martin’s modern era began in 2001 with the launch of the V12 Vanquish and the construction of the award-winning headquarters at Gaydon, Warwickshire in 2003. In the years that followed, Aston Martin has launched four class-leading new products, revitalising the performance GT category and redefining automotive beauty.

Aston Martin’s award-winning range, the DBS, DB9, Vantage and forthcoming Rapide and One-77, represent some of the most beautiful high performance cars ever built, refined, highly crafted and extremely well-engineered. An Aston Martin will always be a sports car; modern, exclusive and beautiful, it demands to be driven, with an exceptional character that rewards the enthusiast, both on the road and on the track. Above all, an Aston Martin creates an emotional response. It is a machine with soul.

Under the leadership of Dr Ulrich Bez, Lagonda will bring performance luxury into new markets and territories around the world. Reflecting its remarkable history, Lagonda will return to Russia, enter emerging markets in the Middle East, South America, India and China, as well as responding to demand from the dynamic, innovation-focused consumers of Europe, North America and the Far East.

Not only will Lagonda join Aston Martin in existing core markets, but the unique character of the new brand will help take the company into as many as 100 territories around the world and extend the brand to new customers. “An Aston Martin is an authentic, pure sports car,” says Dr Ulrich Bez, “but Lagonda is something else, a new brand that will reach into new markets and have different values to Aston Martin.”

Heritage

Lagonda is one of the great names in automotive history, a brand associated with luxury, performance, grace and exclusivity. Since the first Lagonda production car, was built 100 years ago by the American-born Wilbur Gunn, the Lagonda name has undergone several incarnations, before it soon began to excel at creating racing cars and sporting saloons.

Gunn’s first car was built in his home workshop in Middlesex, England in 1909. In 1910, Gunn drove his 16/18hp Lagonda Tourer to victory in the Russian Reliability Trial, a spectacular event run by the Imperial Automobile Club of Russia as a public relations exercise for the country’s nascent road system. The win brought in many orders, and Gunn focused his attention on the Russian market, establishing dealerships in St Petersburg and Moscow in 1910.

In truth, Russian roads presented entrants with daunting driving conditions and the route, which included St Petersburg, Riga, Kiev and Moscow, was a rigorous test for any car. Gunn’s success was a vindication of the Lagonda’s sturdy build and swift performance. It was not until the following year that Lagonda began marketing cars in its home country, beginning a limited production of light cars that was eventually halted by the First World War.

Throughout the 20s and 30s, the company expanded its premises in Staines, England with the light cars giving way to more substantial touring models. Lagonda came to epitomise the Edwardian passion for setting new records and exploring new territories, with robust and reliable vehicles that could effortlessly forge trans-continental links.

In 1933, the manufacturer launched the M45 at the Olympia Motor Show in London, a sporting tourer powered by the Henry Meadows-designed six-cylinder 4.5-litre engine. The prototype was driven by the aristocrat and enthusiast Edward Russell, Lord de Clifford, from Dieppe to Brindisi in Greece, beating the express train along the same route by some 14 hours. The result was a media sensation.

The M45 quickly became known as a car for the discerning sportsman, fast and capable yet also sufficiently comfortable for long journeys. In its day it had the largest engine in its class, a distinction that attracted owners like the land speed record holder Sir Malcolm Campbell, who had his M45 painted in his signature blue.

The emerging sport of long-distance endurance racing also became an integral part of Lagonda’s development. In June 1935, a lightweight version of the M45 won the Le Mans 24 hours, with John Hindmarsh and Luis Fontes behind the wheel. This was a landmark achievement for the brand, as well as a highpoint of British sports car racing in the interwar era following Bentley’s heyday in the 1920s.

The same month, Lagonda was bought by Alan Good, a charismatic British lawyer whose first task was to enlist the skills of engineer W.O. Bentley. The results were the LG45 styled by Frank Feeley that represented the apex of the engineering skills of the time. In 1936, W.O. Bentley designed Lagonda’s first V12, an engine that was perfectly at home in the majestic long-wheelbase version of the new chassis.

The Lagondas of the 1930s demonstrated total harmony between engineering and appearance, including the stately LG6 model introduced in 1937. W.O. Bentley’s diligent innovation and refinement continued throughout the war, and the company developed the LG6 into a V12 model, an even more ‘imposing and dignified’ saloon that sadly ceased production before the start of the war. Simultaneously, the engineer developed a new six-cylinder engine, during the war, the benefits of which were soon to be reaped by Aston Martin.

Aston Martin’s association with Lagonda began in 1947, when David Brown, the marque’s new owner, purchased the company for ?52,500. The collaboration gave Aston Martin access to W.O.Bentley’s new 2.6L DOHC six cylinder engine, as well as the talents of the company’s long-serving bodywork stylist Frank Feeley.

Feeley was responsible for the elegant drophead variant of the new 2.6 litre, the first Lagonda of the David Brown era, produced from 1948 to 1953. At the end of 1952 the 2.6 litre was developed into the 3.0 litre, which used a revised version of the W.O. Bentley engine. The two-door saloon was soon joined by a four-door and a drophead coupe. The next Lagonda was the Touring-designed Rapide of 1963, a sleek four-door saloon that shared many components with the Aston Martin DB4. Fifty-five were built, of which 48 survive. In the late 1960s, Aston Martin’s head designer, William Towns, developed a new four-door saloon from the Aston Martin DBS. Just seven examples were built in the mid 1970s.

In 1976, Aston Martin announced a Lagonda for a new era, a unique, innovative car designed by William Towns in the contemporary ‘wedge’ fashion he made his own. Standing aesthetically and technologically distinct from the Aston Martin range, the Lagonda was bold and experimental, a high performance luxury saloon for the truly discerning.

The Lagonda name was briefly revived for the Vignale Concept, an imposing luxury saloon created by Ghia Design in 1993. One example survives. The name was also used for the strictly limited production of the Lagonda Virage Saloon and Shooting Brake in 1994.

Lagonda’s history is long and eventful, encompassing two of the most significant figures in twentieth century British engineering, W.O.Bentley and David Brown, racing glory and some of the most dramatic designs in automotive history.

In the 21st century, Lagonda will return, bringing a sense of adventure and the avant-garde to the luxury car market, honouring a remarkable history while also making a bold statement for the future.

Lagonda: Did you know?

Lagonda 2009

The LAGONDA CONCEPT celebrates 100 years of car production under the Lagonda brand, a stunning contemporary evolution of this evocative name.

The modern Lagonda marries functionalism with luxury, through organic forms, rich materials and complex surfaces. The car is based on an advanced platform that is tailored to accommodate a broad range of future powertrains, including flexfuel, low emission diesel and hybrid systems.

The LAGONDA CONCEPT is a four-seat international tourer, an avant-garde luxury car that draws inspiration from the brand’s illustrious past as well as the visual language of speedboat design, the spacious individualist environment of the upper class cabin and the bespoke feel of contemporary modern furniture. Inside, the four generous seats are divided into two zones, front and rear. The result is a relaxed, rich environment that envelops you in warm, tactile materials.

Marek Reichman, Aston Martin’s Director of Design, describes the LAGONDA CONCEPT’s design language as a fusion of fluid shapes mixed with hard, constructed lines. This organic, emotional approach eschews upright surfaces in favour of broad, flowing bodywork around the spacious passenger cabin.

The clear delineation between cabin, shoulder and flank is strongly reminiscent of the powerful and evocative lines of the 1930s era Lagondas, in particular the V12-engined version of the LG6. Viewed from the front of the concept, the deep, strong grille also evokes the presence and frontage of the cars from the inter-war era. The bold character lines that run along the sculpted flanks to the rear ensure the concept is planted firmly on the road. The large 22″ wheels and cut-away bodywork offer exceptional ground clearance, while the concept’s V12 engine delivers power through all four wheels.

A modern automotive brand must have strong core values and a broad range of abilities. The modern Lagonda will be the pre-eminent long-distance automobile, a vehicle that combines cosseting luxury with extreme functionality and technological innovation.

The Lagonda name has been an integral part of the Aston Martin story since 1947. The LAGONDA CONCEPT illustrates how the brand will once again stand together with Aston Martin as the perfect complement to modern performance. A Lagonda stands for functional elegance, performance, simplicity and comfort.

“Lagonda will create a new kind of customer relationship, instilling the spirit of travel, adventure and style into a single, formidable package,” says Dr Ulrich Bez. “An Aston Martin demands to be driven. A Lagonda demands a destination.”

]]> http://www.onlytuning.net/lagonda-revival-of-a-luxury-brand-in-geneva.html/feed 0 http://www.onlytuning.net/v12-vantage-aston-martins-most-exhilarating-sports-car.html http://www.onlytuning.net/v12-vantage-aston-martins-most-exhilarating-sports-car.html#comments Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:09:37 +0000 Tuning Manic http://www.onlytuning.net/?p=96

• Fastest and most agile Vantage ever; ultimate performance interpretation of the Vantage range
• Purposeful, striking and functional styling signalling performance capabilities
• Everyday usability associated with a modern Aston Martin
• Race-derived technology used throughout

Aston Martin will present the most potent production sports car in the marque’s 95-year history at the Geneva motor show on 3 March. Based on the hugely successful V8 Vantage, the V12 Vantage will feature a 6.0-litre V12 engine producing 510 bhp (380 kW / 517 PS), and 570 Nm (420 lb ft) of torque with a top speed of 190 mph (305 km/h) and 0-62 mph (0-100 kp/h) time of 4.2 seconds.

The latest incarnation of the Vantage family has been designed to provide a unique character, appealing to different driver tastes and complementing the other models in the current Aston Martin line-up.

The original V12 Vantage concept was unveiled to guests at the opening of the Aston Martin Design Studio in December 2007. Continuing the marque’s impressive record of bringing concepts through to production, Aston Martin engineers have brought the V12 Vantage to market in an incredible 12 months.

Aston Martin Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ulrich Bez said: “This is the ultimate performance interpretation of the Vantage range, combining our most agile model with our most powerful engine. It represents the definitive driving package; providing spectacular performance to ensure a dynamically thrilling and everyday useable driving experience.

“The V12 Vantage has a unique character, one unlike our other cars. This will appeal to different people with different tastes, allowing more people to enjoy the Aston Martin experience.

“This also illustrates one of Aston Martin’s key strengths – the ability to act quickly and turn concepts and ideas into reality.”

Designed for the focused driver, every component of the V12 Vantage has been honed with pure driving enjoyment in mind. Benefitting from race-developed materials and components, and featuring lightweight carbon fibre; performance and agility have been tuned to perfection.

Visually enticing, the V12 Vantage expresses its performance potential through its purposeful stance created by enhanced aerodynamic and cooling aids optically widening the car, while retaining traditional understated Aston Martin design. Equally inviting, the cosseting interior permits the driver to extract maximum performance ability from the car while also enjoying customary levels of Aston Martin comfort on longer journeys. High levels of power and torque are available at all engine speeds making the V12 Vantage responsive and tractable in any driving situation.

The V12 Vantage will be built at Aston Martin’s global headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire joining the DBS, DB9 and V8 Vantage model lines which are built in the state-of-the-art production facility combining hi-tech manufacturing processes with traditional hand-craftsmanship. Production will be limited up to 1,000 examples over the life span of the car, making the V12 Vantage a truly exclusive driver’s car.

Deliveries of the V12 Vantage are expected to commence during quarter three 2009 with prices to be confirmed at the Geneva motor show.