One-off Aston Martin Victor is a manual-trans V-12 monument to the Vantage
Bespoke commissions can fall a bit flat at times. Maybe a customer requested special shade of exposed carbon-fiber or a blue suede interior to match their favorite shoes. Or maybe an entirely pink interior for their Rolls-Royce. The latest special-order from Q by Aston Martin, however, does more than pay homage to a customer’s favorite color; the one-off Victor combines contemporary tech with ’70s styling and a naturally-aspirated V-12 from the mid-2000s One-77. Oh, and it has three pedals. We dig it.
Let’s start with the mechanical changes. The Victor packs the One-77’s 7.3-liter V-12, but it also touts the title of most powerful road-going, naturally-aspirated Aston Martin. It surpasses its the 750-hp One-77’s output thanks to a rebuild and retune by the same shop that first built these engines for Aston: Cosworth. Hello, 836 hp. All those British ponies are harnessed via a six-speed Graziano manual gearbox and sent to the rear wheels. Among the increasingly bonkers hybrid and forced-induction supercars of today, the drivetrain is deliciously retro.
You might have already recognized the inspiration behind the Victor’s front fascia; the 1977–90 V8 Vantage bore the same round fog lights set into the trademark Aston grille. However, the grille—and kicked-up tail—also gesture at the V8 Vantage’s endurance racing counterpart from the late ’70s.
Remember the Aston Martin RHAM/1? Outside the realm of caravan-towing records, the RHAM/1 didn’t have a particularly successful or extensive racing resume, so perhaps not. True, it picked up third in-class at the 1977 24 Hours of Le Mans, but it returned two years later and failed to finish. After a run at Silverstone the following year, the RHAM/1 turned its focus to camper towing and shortly thereafter became a showpiece. Obviously, that lackluster record isn’t the focal point here—the Victor is about celebrating the 70th anniversary of Vantage nameplate.
Peeking at the taillights, we notice a more contemporary influence from the Valkyrie:
Underneath the Victor’s carbon-fiber skin you can find the same inboard springs and dampers as in the track-only Aston Martin Vulcan.
Though the interior’s wooden shifter is a nod to vintage motorsports, the steering wheel looks plucked from a jet (or the Vulcan). Surrounding those controls is appropriately green leather trim complemented by aluminum and titanium hardware. Naturally, when you’re rolling around in something this expensive—just how pricey? Aston Martin isn’t saying—you want the best of both worlds: race car performance, grand tourer comfort.
Ogle the rest of the Victor’s details here:
