One-77 article in T G magazine
Discussion
There's a video here:
http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/top-gear-magazi...
Unfortunately the idiots have put some music over the sound of one of the finest, most musical engines in the world. Idiots
http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/top-gear-magazi...
Unfortunately the idiots have put some music over the sound of one of the finest, most musical engines in the world. Idiots
Heard a little bit of it! 
"To date, no journalist in the world has managed to get behind the wheel of a One-77, following an edict from Dr Bez that only owners would ever experience the car from the driver’s seat"
Does anyone else think Herr Dr Bez needs to come up with a few less edicts and concentrate on continuing to make good cars..?
"To date, no journalist in the world has managed to get behind the wheel of a One-77, following an edict from Dr Bez that only owners would ever experience the car from the driver’s seat"
Does anyone else think Herr Dr Bez needs to come up with a few less edicts and concentrate on continuing to make good cars..?
Just bought the mag an read the article.
It seems the weak point is the gearbox, which they describe as rubbish, and liken it to the original Vanquish automated manual. Feels like that is the reason they were happy to give Steve Cropley a passenger seat in one, but wouldn't let him drive in the Autocar article from a few months back.
We all make allowances for Sportshift, and recognise that Sportshift2 is a big step forward, but a single clutch automated manual just isn't good enough in a car costing over £1M
It seems the weak point is the gearbox, which they describe as rubbish, and liken it to the original Vanquish automated manual. Feels like that is the reason they were happy to give Steve Cropley a passenger seat in one, but wouldn't let him drive in the Autocar article from a few months back.
We all make allowances for Sportshift, and recognise that Sportshift2 is a big step forward, but a single clutch automated manual just isn't good enough in a car costing over £1M
MichaelV8V said:
We all make allowances for Sportshift, and recognise that Sportshift2 is a big step forward, but a single clutch automated manual just isn't good enough in a car costing over £1M
IIRC, is this the article where they refer to the gearbox as being an evolution of that used in DB9/S, which of course it isn't ? May explain why the writer expected a smoother experience in auto mode which is almost impossible in a single clutch automated manual. Whilst I've never driven a ONE 77 of course, I've mentioned on here before that I've heard several times over the last 12+ mths that the gearbox is 'challenged' so I'm not disputing that it is probably the car's achilles' heal.
But single clutch manual can be good enough for a £1M car - it's what they use in the latest Pagani Huyara. It's also come on leaps and bounds in the aventador and whilst I understand shift times are now considered somewhat dated, it's what they used in the Enzo and the MC12. But this version is clearly not good enough.....
jonby said:
But single clutch manual can be good enough for a £1M car - it's what they use in the latest Pagani Huyara. It's also come on leaps and bounds in the aventador and whilst I understand shift times are now considered somewhat dated, it's what they used in the Enzo and the MC12. But this version is clearly not good enough.....
Maybe Im missing something here. But what are we looking for in a GBP1.4million quid 220mph supercar?1. To do 220mph every day - No.
2. To race it every day - no.
3. To expect a shift change so fast it would beat an olympic time-keeper - no.
4. To have a smooth gear change at "normal" speeds - yes, and that can be mastered unless your an idiot.
The 1-77 says the following:-
1. I'm rich, I can afford one.
2. I have a exclusive one of 77
3. My car is almost certainly quick enough that bar-bragging does not even come in to it.
4. It is a bouevard cruiser.
Lets get over the fantasy that the owners of these cars buy it becuse there too flabby and unskilled to be F1 Ferarri drivers (like most Ferarri Owners think). That car probably does no more than 30% of its potential in its own lifetime (like most supercars)and well exceeds the capability of most drivers/owners.
Me! I could not give two-fifths of FA that thw 1-77 has a shabby box. If I had the net-worth to buy one....I would do so in a heart beat.
Although I agree with Guycord about whether or not the one-77 would be used for its "published" abilities "220mph" etc etc, at the cost of over £1m you would expect that the "could" achieve all of those things, regardless of whether the driver can or would ever do them either on a daily basis or otherwise.
When someone forks out similar money for a Veyron, you know that you'll never (sometimes rarely) ever do what the car is supposedly capable of.
But like I said, for that money, the car should be capable of all the refinements and abilities it claims.
Let's face it though, there will always be some fault to find with every car ever built. It all comes down to the individual driving it and it makes them feel.
We all have different standards and expectations.
When someone forks out similar money for a Veyron, you know that you'll never (sometimes rarely) ever do what the car is supposedly capable of.
But like I said, for that money, the car should be capable of all the refinements and abilities it claims.
Let's face it though, there will always be some fault to find with every car ever built. It all comes down to the individual driving it and it makes them feel.
We all have different standards and expectations.
It will be interesting to see where demand by colectors will be in 20 years time. I sometimes think manufacturers think exclusivety equals greatness but just look at the XJ220 - a great car by all acounts, built in limited numbers , but still can be picked up for around £100k some 20 years on . Will the One-77 be the next F1 - I doubt it. Will it be seen as pushing boundaries like the Veyron - again I doubt it. Is it Astons best looking car ever - not really IMO .It is possibly Astons fastest ever production car but its not the best looking Aston ever built. If I had that type of money a DB4 Zag would be top of my list possibly followed by a Porsche GT and XJ220. Personally none of the current crop of £1m+ cars do it for me.
Guycord - agree with much of what you say, except the ONE 77 is not a boulevard cruiser - it was designed more in the spirit of V12V than the traditional Aston GT - if it was designed as a boulevard cruiser, then it's exactly the wrong type of gearbox
There is a difference between being less than perfect and fundamentally flawed, which this gearbox MAY be
Of course ONE 77 doesn't need to justify it's price and in reality, it was unlikely that Aston could ever produce a £1M car to compete in dynamic terms with Pagani, the upcoming Ferrari F car, Porsche 918, Mega Mac, Veyron, etc - it's doing something different, including being an object of complete beauty (IMO)
Hope it's OK for me to comment on it being beautiful Michael, bearing in mind I can't afford one ? :-)
There is a difference between being less than perfect and fundamentally flawed, which this gearbox MAY be
Of course ONE 77 doesn't need to justify it's price and in reality, it was unlikely that Aston could ever produce a £1M car to compete in dynamic terms with Pagani, the upcoming Ferrari F car, Porsche 918, Mega Mac, Veyron, etc - it's doing something different, including being an object of complete beauty (IMO)
Hope it's OK for me to comment on it being beautiful Michael, bearing in mind I can't afford one ? :-)
jonby said:
it was unlikely that Aston could ever produce a £1M car to compete in dynamic terms with Pagani, the upcoming Ferrari F car, Porsche 918, Mega Mac, Veyron, etc
I disagree - the Aston should beable to compete with Pagani if not the others - they all have a large parent car brand to pay the bills but Pagani does not - it has ties with Mercedes for engines of course, but then so does Aston with Ford/Cosworth. I know one is a SuperGT and one and outright Supercar, but the quality of drive should have been there.For the money, this car should have been as good as the Zonda, which is now old tech! Equally it should have been priced slightly more than the Zagato, which should have been priced to be slightly more than the V12 V
However, exclusivity can charge whatever it likes and if it was paid, then it was worth it to the buyer. Despite not being able to afford one and incurring the suit-wearing wrath of one M.Gould Esq, I also would not be interested in it, would rather a stable of older, classier cars as well. DB4GT for my ideal/dream Aston
yeti said:
jonby said:
it was unlikely that Aston could ever produce a £1M car to compete in dynamic terms with Pagani, the upcoming Ferrari F car, Porsche 918, Mega Mac, Veyron, etc
I disagree - the Aston should beable to compete with Pagani if not the others - they all have a large parent car brand to pay the bills but Pagani does not - it has ties with Mercedes for engines of course, but then so does Aston with Ford/Cosworth. I know one is a SuperGT and one and outright Supercar, but the quality of drive should have been there.In fairness, unlike the Zag which as you hint at is ludicrously over priced, there are some features on the ONE 77 that do justify some of the price - the attention to detail is unreal. Having said that, it still has the same cr*p indicator & wiper stalks that we have on our mainstream Astons - that's unforgiveable in a car where everything else is made 'just so'
From the TG article, it seems the power is there, the attention to detail is stunning, the design is fabulous. They didn't get to do many corners as they were mainly on desert roads, but they seemed OK with grip, handling and ride.
The one weak point is that gearbox. There is an excuse from AM about timescales, cost, weight, but for goodness sake, buyers of a car at this price would expect that the right development time had been spent, and using cost as an excuse is really taking the piss.
The one weak point is that gearbox. There is an excuse from AM about timescales, cost, weight, but for goodness sake, buyers of a car at this price would expect that the right development time had been spent, and using cost as an excuse is really taking the piss.
MichaelV8V said:
From the TG article, it seems the power is there, the attention to detail is stunning, the design is fabulous. They didn't get to do many corners as they were mainly on desert roads, but they seemed OK with grip, handling and ride.
The one weak point is that gearbox. There is an excuse from AM about timescales, cost, weight, but for goodness sake, buyers of a car at this price would expect that the right development time had been spent, and using cost as an excuse is really taking the piss.
The gearbox hasn't stopped them selling it though has it? The one weak point is that gearbox. There is an excuse from AM about timescales, cost, weight, but for goodness sake, buyers of a car at this price would expect that the right development time had been spent, and using cost as an excuse is really taking the piss.
Had the magazines got hold of it prior to launch, and started slating the gearbox it could possibly have made it a huge flop; but doing it this way I'd say it's been a relative sales success, in-spite of some short-comings that most owners would probably never have noticed.
I think it's important to point out that some of the ONE77 owners are really knowledgeable, enthusiastic petrolheads who are properly using the car, not just posers trawling round knightsbridge. I know some are not but for instance at Le Mans last year, there was a chap from I think Switzerland IIRC who had done about 10k already in his car and used it regularly
jonby said:
I think it's important to point out that some of the ONE77 owners are really knowledgeable, enthusiastic petrolheads who are properly using the car, not just posers trawling round knightsbridge. I know some are not but for instance at Le Mans last year, there was a chap from I think Switzerland IIRC who had done about 10k already in his car and used it regularly
Was he moaning about the gearbox in it?My point wasn't that it's just been bought by the Harrods cruisers, but that often people won't notice the misgivings of a car unless it's pointed out to them.
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