Aston Martin

Vulcan

Aston Martin Vulcan: The God of Fire

The Aston Martin Vulcan is not a car you drive to the shops. You literally cannot. It is not road legal. It has no headlights (just LED running strips). It is too low, too loud, and too dangerous for public roads.

It is a track-only hypercar designed to compete with the Ferrari FXX K and McLaren P1 GTR. But unlike those hybrids, the Vulcan is delightfully old school.

The Engine: 7.0 Liters of Hate

Under the massive carbon hood lies a 7.0-liter naturally aspirated V12. It is an evolution of the One-77’s engine, built by Aston Martin Racing.

  • Power: 820 hp.
  • Sound: Without catalytic converters or road mufflers, it is deafening. It spits flames from the side-exit exhausts on every downshift.
  • The Knob: There is a knob in the cabin that allows the driver to adjust the power output.
    • Position 1: 500 hp (for learning/wet).
    • Position 2: 675 hp.
    • Position 3: 820 hp (God Mode).

Engineering: Pure Race Car

  • Chassis: A carbon fiber monocoque built by Multimatic (who also built the One-77 and Ford GT).
  • Suspension: Pushrod suspension with Multimatic’s DSSV (Dynamic Suspensions Spool Valve) adjustable dampers.
  • Transmission: A 6-speed Xtrac sequential racing gearbox. It whines, clunks, and requires aggressive shifts.
  • Brakes: Brembo carbon-ceramic racing discs (380mm front, 360mm rear).

Design: Function Over Form

Designed by Marek Reichman, the Vulcan is pure aggression.

  • Rear Lights: The “Light Blade” taillights are made of individual acrylic rods that glow red. It looks like the afterburner of a jet.
  • The Wing: The rear wing is enormous and generates 1,362 kg of downforce at top speed—more than a GT3 race car.
  • Steering Wheel: The steering wheel is a U-shaped yoke with buttons for pit speed, traction control, and ABS settings. It looks like it was stolen from a Le Mans prototype.

The Experience

Only 24 units were built. Buying one ($2.3 million) included a driver training program. Owners were flown to tracks like Abu Dhabi or Silverstone to be taught how to drive by Aston Martin factory racing drivers (like Darren Turner). They started in a V12 Vantage, moved to a One-77, and finally graduated to the Vulcan.

Recently, a UK engineering firm (RML Group) has converted a few Vulcans to be road-legal. This involves adding headlights, turn signals, raising the ride height, and fitting a quieter exhaust. But why would you want to muzzle a dragon?