The new August 2014 issue of CAR magazine has a stunning, eight-page photoshoot on the Aston Martin DP-100 concept car. We met its makers and spent a day with the amazing mid-engined supercar – where we learned the following nuggets.
1) Why the Aston Martin DP-100 is mid-engined
‘One of the phrases that we like to use is “out of chaos, something arises,”’ said design director Marek Reichman. ‘We picked a mid-engined layout precisely because we don’t do it. It actually helps you understand what you stand for as a designer because you start to focus more on the core values of Aston Martin in terms of the purity, proportions and beautiful surface language.’
2) Aston Martin has a long history of doing Gran Turismo cars
The DP-100 was created for Polyphony, the makers of the Gran Turismo computer game, as one of 28 cars commissioned for its 15th anniversary. But Aston has form here. It actually provided a DB7 in the very first installation of the gaming franchise…
3) Some bits of the DP-100 will actually influence future Astons
Most of what you see here is pie-in-the-sky concept car stuff. But those rear lights will influence the next generation of Aston Martins, echoing the brand’s famous badge in their C-shaped sculpture.
4) The wheels change shape at speed
We hadn’t clocked this until we got up close and personal with the DP-100, but its wheels change shape as it drives. There are moving vanes in the wheels to improve brake cooling or cut drag. How cool is that!
5) That whopping Aston Martin grille is just a few inches off the ground
The Aston grille has been reinterpreted for the DP-100 and the design team tell CAR it’s set just 60mm off the ground. You won’t want to seek out any speed bumps in GT6, that’s for sure.
6) Aston’s V12 is alive and well
This is a car for a computer game, so we can forget about the details of the power claims. But we’re heartened that the Aston V12 is alive and well in the DP-100 – it notionally uses a 800bhp twin-turbo version of the 6.0-litre V12, no AMG-sourced lump here.
7) It was designed by the man who made Colin McRae Rally
Reichman handed the project over to his sidekick, Miles Nurnburger. In a previous life, the ex-Lincoln and Citroen designer who did digital modeling for gaming legend Colin McRae Rally. ‘McRae’s Focus was modeled largely on a perfect profile shot published in CAR,’ we reveal.
See the full magazine feature in the August 2014 issue of CAR magazine. Click here for a digital preview.