This is the Aston Martin Vulcan, named in honour
of Britain's legendary Cold War bomber. Which is quite a bold name to give a car. The Vulcan, after all, was one of our finest engineering feats
of the 20th century. Calling your car Vulcan is
like naming your child Ace or Elvis. It's got a lot to live up to. The Vulcan is the fastest, most powerful, most extreme Aston Martin ever built. Nought to 60, less than three seconds.
Top speed, more than 200 miles per hour and that's with a huge wing
on the back slowing it down. Brake horsepower? Well, that depends
what you do with your knob. This knob here cranks the power
from 550 horsepower to 820 horsepower. Now, Aston Martin has asked me
to leave it in position one while I get to grips with the Vulcan
because she can be a bit lively. Whoops! Phenomenal! It's like having your internal organs put
into one of those old-fashioned mangles. Because the Vulcan looks like
it's time-travelled from the future, you might think all this speed comes from
some cutting edge hybrid wizardry. But it doesn't. In fact, to tell you the truth, the Vulcan is a bit
of a knuckle-dragging caveman. Unlike, say, Ferrari, Aston Martin
doesn't have an F1 team from which to borrow tech, but it does
have a proper British can-do attitude. So, the Vulcan hails very much from the make-the-most-of-what-you've-got
school of engineering and its engine started life
in an old Ford Mondeo. Well, actually two old Mondeos. Back in the '90s, Aston got a couple
of V6s from the first-generation Mondeo and kind of gaffer-taped them together
to make a V12. Okay, as time's gone on,
they've upgraded it to the point that they've redesigned it and it's
now got double the power output. But the fact is the most powerful
Aston Martin ever made is powered by the leftovers
of a couple of family saloons. But does that matter? Well, not really. Humans share
60% of their DNA with chickens, but you don't see many roosters
on University Challenge, do you? And when your Mondeo engines
sound like this... who cares? Just listen. Yes! It is like the fastest racing car
I've driven in a straight line. It's like a big GT car, a big Le Mans car. It's just fantastic. And because Aston hasn't bothered
with heavy hybrid stuff, the Vulcan's light and agile,
which means it's very good at doing this. This is fast here,
115 miles an hour through a left, same again through a right on the exit. Lean on the wing
and then just smash the throttle open. I'd never tire of that. Just hanging in
your belts, so physical! I have to admit that I'm kind
of at the limits of the speed I can carry and talk at the same time. I have to concentrate. So, instead of telling you how
quick this thing goes, since we've got the Yas Marina
Formula 1 circuit to play on, let's have a little demonstration instead. One lap of the track,
me and the Vulcan against this. The V12 Vantage S, 573 horsepower,
capable of 205 miles per hour, the fastest road-going Aston you can buy. And in it is Darren Turner.
He is also seriously quick. Darren is a two-time class
winner at Le Mans. Not what you call slow, then. Oh, and just to make things interesting,
Darren gets a 20-second head start. Probably ought to warm the tyres up. I think they're warm enough, aren't they? So, with Darren
now a good half mile up the road, let me show you what
the Vulcan's really made of. At 200 miles per hour, this car creates
its own body weight in downforce... so, in theory,
you could drive it upside down. However, in practice... My face is bending! Such a positive thing to drive. And 'cause you've got downforce,
you can fling it at these fast turns. And once you've got through
the twisty stuff, more than 800 horses are ready to close the gap some more. The power advantage is enormous. Oh, I can see him. I can see him! He's got well
over 500 horsepower in that thing and we are catching him
like he is standing still. I get to catch a Le Mans winner. Look at the way
we just come climbing past him. Oh, yes! Bye! The Vulcan really is
the very best of Aston Martin, the very best of British. It's bruising. It's brilliant. Chris, in now. It doesn't challenge the limits
of technology, but who cares? It does make you feel utterly alive. Chris, do you copy? This is a car you just want to drive
and drive and drive. Chris... Oh, come on, Chris.
