A road conversion package for the £1.8m Aston Martin Vulcan supercar will be offered after some owners expressed interest in driving their track cars on the road.
Conversions of the 7.0-litre V12-powered Vulcan will be carried out independently of Aston Martin by Northamptonshire-based engineering firm RML.
The conversion will take around three months and the changes are likely to focus on three key areas: safety-critical aspects, modifications to make the car more usable on the road (such as ride height and gear ratios) and any other custom changes requested by the client.
Converting a track car for the road is easier in some countries than others, but it should be possible in any country that offers single vehicle type approval. However, this could prove prohibitively difficult in countries like the United States, where two Vulcans currently reside.
Speaking exclusively to Autocar about the Vulcan conversions, Aston boss Andy Palmer said: “When we went on the market, some potential owners were hesitant because it didn’t have a road package. We didn’t want it to be road legal from the start, because [special projects manager] David King and his team wouldn’t have been able to build such an impressive car in the first place, but RML said they had the capability to do it. do it.
“So it’s taken a little time to determine what’s possible from an engineering perspective, but we’re hoping four or five owners [out of 24 total] will take advantage of this. We are currently negotiating the sales of the last two cars and it seems that the road conversion could be the one that would close those agreements.
The job also involves checking engine emissions, installing some road-legal lights and performing crash test simulations. Modifications that could compromise security will be prohibited. “We’re saying you can’t cut the roll cage, for example, because as soon as you do that, you can’t take it to the track,” Palmer said.
After Autocar broke the news, Michael Mallock, key account director at RML, added in an official statement: “This is a hugely exciting project and one that fits perfectly with RML’s world-leading expertise in unique engineering management and ultra low volume. Projects. The Aston Martin Vulcan is an incredible machine designed to perform brilliantly on the track. Converting it for road use while retaining its extreme character and dazzling performance is the kind of challenge we enjoy and are very proud to overcome. The results will surely be one of the most extraordinary road cars of all time.”
The exact price tag for the road redevelopment has not been revealed, although it is likely to fetch a six-figure sum. The conversion will take between three and four months and the first car will hit the road later this year.
The Vulcan conversion follows a trend among track car owners who want to take them on the road. The £1.98m, 986bhp McLaren P1 GTR, for example, is being converted for road use by Hampshire-based specialist Lanzante.
