The DBS Volante is an undeniably elegant car. Aston Martin’s 16th convertible in 95 years is a 2+2 featuring two occasional rear seats. The soft-top option reduces weight by as much as 90 kilos and is as safe as a retractable hard roof thanks to an insular layer.
Design director Marek Reichman points to one crucial line on the surface of the DBS Volante which runs from the front of the bonnet, across the window graphic and onto the rear to form one continuous line.
‘It’s a very elegant flowing line,’ he muses, noting that in rear view it actually accentuates the hips, shoulder and the width of the car without making it look flat. It gives the car ‘a lot of tension’ he says, comparing it to a runner’s physique where ‘there is power’.
There is something very structured about the car’s muscularity which the designer says is very much part of the DBS formal language. ‘If it’s too masculine then it doesn’t always have the right element of beauty,’ he notes.
The car comes equipped with Bang & Olufsen’s BeoSound DBS sound system with 13 speakers as standard. ‘The sound quality is unbelievable with the top open or closed,’ the designer promises.
Aston Martin DBS Volante, £169,000 tbc, available from June 2009
www.astonmartin.com
2.Aston Martin One-77
Aston Martin finally revealed the exterior of the highly exclusive One-77 – the One stands for the price tag and the 77 for the number of units that will be produced.
Company boss Ulrich Bez has called it the ‘ultimate expression of Aston Martin’. Sitting alongside the subtle elegance of DBS Volante, the One-77 certainly looks the more self-assured of the company's current stable, but then this car is clearly about exclusivity, power and craftsmanship. The hand-made aluminium body hides a light carbon fibre chassis that houses a 7-litre V12 engine promising to produce some serious power.
The cars will be fine-tuned for each of the 77 customers. Aston Martin has historically focused on small volume exclusive cars like this and design director Marek Reichman believes it helps the marque stay relevant in the future. ‘Aston Martin is a quintessential British sports car maker and the One-77 is pure Aston Martin,’ says the designer.
‘The One-77 shows some ideas and thoughts on how our design language can evolve,’ he says, noting that for a company like Aston, change is more about evolution than revolution. The large, deep grille and low and wide stance make the car physically larger than either the DB9, DBS and V8 Vantage, yet the proportions are classic Aston Martin.
For now the interior is under wraps, although Aston Martin will unveil the complete car at the Concorso d'Eleganza at Villa d'Este, Italy, in late April. Customer deliveries are due to start in early 2010.
Aston Martin One-77, £1.2m
www.one-77.com
3.Ferrari 599XX
The new 690bhp Ferrari 599XX is a showpiece for the Italian marque’s future technologies. It is essentially a track-focused version of the 599 GTB, designed for a small group of select customers who wish to experience how extreme a Ferrari can be.
Price to be confirmed
www.ferrari.com
4.Italdesign Giugiaro Namir
Italian coachbuilder Italdesign Giugiaro and engineering firm Frazer-Nash collaborated to build the Namir. Meaning 'tiger' in Arabic, this aggressively-styled concept sports car is powered by an innovative hybrid system that combines a rotary engine with four electric motors. Promising to consume no less than 60g/km of CO2, the Namir goes straight to the top of our fantasy wishlist.
www.italdesign.it
5.Infiniti Essence
Essence is a green petrol-electric driven two-seater coupé concept from Nissan’s luxury arm, Infiniti. Showing a striking confidence in design direction for a brand that is relatively new to Europe, the Essence showcases where Infiniti intends to evolve in its newest market.
The car looks and feels premium. Group design director Shiro Nakamura talked emotively about form and character lines. He says many of the features including the shape of the grille, the rear lights as well as the body form, which has been inspired by waves, is very much part of Infiniti’s current design DNA. ‘In this car it is more enhancing, more symbolically expressed,’ he says, adding: ‘The window graphics is very unique and we will use this design theme throughout the Infiniti line.’
Nakamura says Infiniti intends to interpret aspects of older Japan. ‘On the middle of seats you have an impression of the Kimono,’ he notes. Inside the two colours -- black and purple –visually separate the driver from the passenger. ‘You are cocooned and surrounded by simplicity,’ he says.
Infiniti collaborated with Louis Vuitton on the Essence project; the luxury brand creating a clever luggage set that fits in neatly in the boot of the car. ‘They produce the bag, we the car,’ says Nakamura.
www.infiniti.com
6.Koenigsegg Quant
Quant is a four-seater electric concept car by Swedish firm Koenigsegg. The aerodynamically-design outer skin hides an electric motor stored in each wheel, which helps save on weight. Gullwing doors provide access to the interior, while swathes of solar panels from technology partner NLV Solar help keep the cabin cool.
www.Koenigsegg.com
7.Lagonda Concept
It was never going to be easy re-launching a once-desirable marque and executives at Aston Martin were perhaps ready to face the firing squad as they revealed the direction they intend to take with the revived Lagonda brand.
The Lagonda Concept car goes boldly into an unpopular market segment. A 'luxury crossover,' the car is built in collaboration with Mercedes-Benz, who provided the GL SUV platform. The decision behind the car is pretty simple; big and bulky, the new Lagonda is intended for markets and customers who want more go-anywhere ability than a relatively delicate Aston Martin sports car.
Design director Marek Reichman explains that his firm is a small volume maker of sports cars. Only around 5,000 units are made a year for as few as 30 countries. Therefore one of the main reasons for unveiling the Lagonda is that it will allow the marque to move into different markets, most crucially Russia, China, the Middle East and India. ‘It will also allow Aston Martin to remain a sports car brand,’ he says.
The four-seater concept certainly makes a statement, although Lagonda won’t have a production car on the road for another three years.
www.lagonda.com
8.Lamborghini Murcielago LP 670-4
The new Lamborghini Murcielago LP 670-4 SuperVeloce is the latest supercar from Sant’ Agata. It is a powerful machine thanks to a weight loss programme (lightweight bucket seats, Alcantara and carbon fibre trim) and a newly designed single exhaust pipe that promises to ‘perform the grand opera for 12 cylinders,’ as Lamborghini puts it poetically.
www.lamborghini.com
9.Spyker C8 Aileron
The C8 Aileron is the production version of Spyker’s second-generation sports car, the concept of which was unveiled at last year’s Geneva show. Spyker is a relatively young company, formed in 1999 to make exclusive premium sports cars (although it takes its name from a Dutch company originally founded in 1880). Founder and company boss Victor Muller notes that the new design was heavily inspired by the original marque’s aviation heritage, even the name, he says, pays tribute to this. ‘Aileron is the car which will turn the Spyker towards long-awaited profitability,’ he says.
Sales May 2009, Price around €190,000 (£173,000)
www.spykercars.com
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