Thursday 29th June 2017

Aston Martin Vulcan AMR Pro

Track-only Aston gets the AMR Pro treatment

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It's been quite the week for Aston Martin. With news of an all-electric RapidE on Tuesday, the announcement of a V8 DB11 on Wednesday, and now the launch of the latest addition to its AMR performance range today.

Of course you'll all be familiar with the Vulcan, Aston's 832hp, track-only hypercar. Today's news is that it is no longer the pinnacle of Aston Martin performance, being replaced at the top of the tree by the Vulcan AMR Pro. Explaining the decision to further enhance what was already an incredibly potent car, Chief Special Operations Officer David King revealed that once all 24 customer cars had been delivered, "Like anything with a motorsport mindset... we started thinking about how to make it quicker."

Exactly how much quicker we don't yet know, but we do know that the focus of the work on the AMR Pro is largely aerodynamic, with increased downforce the priority.
At the front, louvred panels above the Vulcan's wheel arches extract high pressure air and reduce aerodynamic lift. A "sizeable pair" of dive planes is attached to each side of the nose, helping to pin the frontend to the track, and turning vanes are fitted to the underside of the front splitter, improving steering response.

Further back there is a new, dual plane rear wing, replacing the single plane version used previously. This features a 20mm Gurney flap, supplemented by additional 15mm Gurneys on the slotted wing endplates. The combined effect of these changes being an increase from the 321kg of downforce produced by the standard Vulcan, to the 408kg produced by the AMR Pro. For comparison, Aston's Le Mans winning Vantage GTE produced just 317kg.

The aero changes also have the added effect of improving the Vulcan's balance, shifting its Centre of Pressure closer to the middle of the car and improving traction, steering response and front-end grip in the process. The gear ratios are shortened for improved acceleration, making the Vulcan AMR Pro even more "explosive between the corners", and 5kg of weight has been saved by optimising the design and construction of the carbon fibre engine cover. According to Autocar, the upgrade will cost between £100,000 - £150,000 with around a third of Vulcan owners expected to opt for it.

Officially revealed today at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, work is already underway on upgrading the first customer cars, which are expected to be completed in the Autumn. Hopefully that paint scheme is optional!

[Bencolem]

I feel a bit cynical about this - it either suggests the car wasn't fully developed when launched or the development was 'held back' to solicit more monies from existing customers later on. Why revisit a car that has been launched and the production run fulfilled otherwise?

[Centurion07]

Mclaren are probably best placed to answer that question...

[GroundEffect]

Bencolem said:

I feel a bit cynical about this - it either suggests the car wasn't fully developed when launched or the development was 'held back' to solicit more monies from existing customers later on. Why revisit a car that has been launched and the production run fulfilled otherwise?

You can make even more money this way...

[thegreenhell]

Bencolem said:

I feel a bit cynical about this - it either suggests the car wasn't fully developed when launched or the development was 'held back' to solicit more monies from existing customers later on. Why revisit a car that has been launched and the production run fulfilled otherwise?

No car is ever 'fully developed' when launched. If they waited until they were then no cars would ever be released for sale. Every car ever has had updates, facelifts and improvements through the lifecycle of the car, whether it's a road car or racing car. The only difference here is that they're offering those updates to existing customers rather than just building a new batch of better cars. Doesn't Ferrari do the same thing with its XX series cars, later on offering an Evo package for them?

[zeDuffMan]

£150k for a bodykit on a car you just paid £2m for? Good thing I don't have that kind of money, because I'd be raging...

[FourWheelDrift]

Bencolem said:

I feel a bit cynical about this - it either suggests the car wasn't fully developed when launched or the development was 'held back' to solicit more monies from existing customers later on. Why revisit a car that has been launched and the production run fulfilled otherwise?

Well they either build a new more expensive updated car increasing the limited run exclusivity of the car for their clientele to spend more money on purchasing or offer a upgrade. Seems a sensible way to go as it maintains the exclusivity of the Vulcan and the investment. Other manufacturers would increase the production run with new models and piss their owners off if they bought into the limited production run. Also they can probably do things now that they couldn't do when launched 2 years ago.

[RobDown]

zeDuffMan said:

£150k for a bodykit on a car you just paid £2m for? Good thing I don't have that kind of money, because I'd be raging...

Why? Why would you be raging???

I think I'd be delighted.

I spent the best part of GBP2m on a 1 if 24 track car. Aston Martin have then gone and spent, however much, on research to update and improve the design. And they're selling the fruits of their research to me for 5% if the cost of the car (and I can always say no).

I dont see BMW putting huge effort into updating the, say 2010 M3 and then offering to upgrade the old cars for £2k. Nah they save their research budget for new cars. Once you've bought one, stuff you, you're on your own

So why would you be angry? Please explain

[Gandahar]

"Explaining the decision to further enhance what was already an incredibly potent car"

Please replace enhance with "milk even more money from".

Or "Tacking things on like they do at Halfords" but for the gentleman wallet, er, driver.

[Jellyfish]

The owners of these 24 cars as likely have more money than AM ever will. Their empires as likely make more profit than AM ever will.

I'm sure they don't give a flying f6@#{k about 150k and instead, are excited at the imminent 'improvements' to their (1 of only 24 in the world) toys...

Edited by Jellyfish on Thursday 29th June 15:57

[jonby]

zeDuffMan said:

£150k for a bodykit on a car you just paid £2m for? Good thing I don't have that kind of money, because I'd be raging...

Jethro Bovington who had access to the car before today's release quoted David King of Aston Martin as follows: 'Like anything with a motorsport mindset, once we’d built and delivered all 24 Vulcans we started thinking about how to make it quicker" '

F1 teams bring in minor aero enhancements every few races - why don't they fit them from the start of the season ? Because it's a continual evolution

As others have said, surely better they offer them as an upgrade than not offering the upgrade at all or releasing Vulcan Mk2

Personally, I can't see this being a huge money maker for Aston. I get that £100-150k on aero enhancements is a big, big deal to most of us but to Aston, it's only a couple of million quid revenue in total. This is surely about keeping Vulcan owners happy and helping them see their cars continue to be relevant, not pissing them off as you suggest

[zeDuffMan]

Depends how it was sold to customers I guess. If they were told there would be continual updates they would have to pay extra for, then fair enough.

[LotusOmega375D]

I always said the AM Vulcan needed more rear wing.

[AlexHat]

Aston Martin have the Valkryie coming which will surely overtake the Vulcan at the top of the range. If I'd spent £2million on a Vulcan, I'd be more annoyed as my new car is going to be surpassed sooner rather than later. (what do they say about buses?)

[Cold]

Not a huge cynical money spinner really. AM estimate a third of Vulcan owners to partake - that's just 8 cars. So £1.2m incoming minus the development and production costs. They will make a profit definitely and good for them, but this project seems to be more for the hell of it than much else.

[D-Angle]

Finally, a sporty Vulcan. Thank God.

[MikeGalos]

thegreenhell said:

No car is ever 'fully developed' when launched.

Exactly right and true of ANY high technology product that hasn't been discontinued. Congratulations to AM's customers for buying from a company that provides you with an upgrade path. That's rare in the world.

[MikeGalos]

Cold said:

.... So £1.2m incoming minus the development and production costs. They will make a profit definitely and good for them, but this project seems to be more for the hell of it than much else.

At £1.2m gross revenue, I wouldn't be so sure they'll even break even. Every little improvement at this level require a lot of money to do right.

[rodericb]

jonby said:

F1 teams bring in minor aero enhancements every few races - why don't they fit them from the start of the season ? Because it's a continual evolution

Mmm yes, this aero tweak will help the owners of these cars to win whatever racing series they run these cars in.

[MrScrot]

Bencolem said:

I feel a bit cynical about this - it either suggests the car wasn't fully developed when launched or the development was 'held back' to solicit more monies from existing customers later on. Why revisit a car that has been launched and the production run fulfilled otherwise?

I guess it's a fun exercise for the engineers. Also these cars are like jewellery to the people who buy them, so £150k for a bodykit goes well with the spirit of one-upmanship. I agree with you though; it seems off calling something "ultimate" just to facelift it a year later.

That colour is a bit bleurgh also. When I put my order in I will ask for a toned down racing green.

Edited by MrScrot on Friday 30th June 18:08

[RobDown]

AlexHat said:

Aston Martin have the Valkryie coming which will surely overtake the Vulcan at the top of the range. If I'd spent £2million on a Vulcan, I'd be more annoyed as my new car is going to be surpassed sooner rather than later. (what do they say about buses?)

My understanding is that Vulcan owners were given first refusal of the Valkyrie and I would imagine that all went for it

As an aside can I just mention that the Vulcan guys (if we can call them that) are very generous with their cars. More often than not you will see one on display at most Aston Martin events. They aren't all squirrelled away for private collections