Aston Martin has splurged on a present for itself as the company celebrates its 100th birthday this year. The British automaker has built a special one-off car called the CC100 Speedster Concept, whose styling pays homage to the legendary Aston Martin DBR1 race car from the 1950s.
The Aston Martin CC100 Speedster Concept borrows the open-top “speedster” body style from the DBR1. But it dispenses with the windshield and adds huge cutouts in the so-called “swan wing” doors, which open at an upward angle and are a hallmark of modern Aston Martins. The CC100 uses a version of the company’s potent 6-liter V12 engine and a six-speed automated manual transmission, whereas the DBR1 had a much smaller six-cylinder engine and traditional five-speed manual. The concept car will do 0 to 60 miles per hour in four seconds. Top speed is limited to 180 miles per hour. Markham, Ontario-based parts supplier Multimatic Inc., helped Aston Martin create the carbon fiber body and interior for the CC100 Speedster Concept.
“We wanted to create something that, while celebrating our first 100 years, is also forward looking and gives a glimpse as to our future,” Aston Martin design director Marek Reichman says of the CC100. “Using the iconic DBR1 as inspiration, we have a speedster concept that gives a nod to those cars of 1959, but offers a new take on the form.”
Remember: The DBR1 debuted in 1956 and won the 24 Hours of Nurburgring three years in a row, starting in 1957. It also won the grueling 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race in 1959, cementing its heroic status.
