Aston Martin One 77

The stunningly cool Aston Martin One 77 sports car is promoted as the quintessence of Aston Martin, a supercar that showcases its advanced engineering allied to hand-crafted finishing and the extensive use of exotic materials.

At its core is a rigid yet lightweight carbon-fibre monocoque. From this is hung the motorsport-style double wishbone suspension front and rear, employing pushrods to transfer vertical wheel movement to the horizontally mounted spring and damper units.


True to the £1m car's bespoke nature, the suspension will be tuned to the owner's precise requirements by Aston martin engineers.

The One-77’s 7.3-litre, naturally aspirated engine is an extreme evolution of the 6.0-litre V12 fitted to the DBS, DB9 and V12 Vantage. It has been developed in partnership with Cosworth. One-77 programme manger Chris Porritt said: “Our brief to the engine team was for them to take the 6.0-litre V12 as far as it could go, both in terms of output and weight reduction.


The targets were a power output of no less than 700bhp with a 10 per cent reduction in engine mass. Incredibly, the Aston Martin and Cosworth engineers achieved a mass reduction of some 25 per cent, and although we’ve yet to complete the final engine calibration work, I’m confident we’ll see in excess of 700bhp.”


Power is transmitted to the rear wheels via a new, six-speed robotised sequential gearbox, activated by steering wheel-mounted paddles.

With a projected weight of only 1,500kg, the One-77 should easily be capable of 200mph. Aston martin predicts a 0-60mph acceleration time of about 3.5 seconds.


Porritt added: “We wanted to create something that wows you as much when you see what’s under the skin as the exterior styling itself. We started by identifying the most technologically exciting front-engined, rear-wheel drive cars in the world: those from the DTM race series. We then applied the principles and technology that feature heavily in their design and translated it to a road car application.”

Car Insurance Incentives

In the UK, the credit crunch seems to be having an intriguing affect on car insurance companies. In a bid to appeal to cash strapped customers, it seems that each company is offering an incentive to be sure that their own policies are the ones we go for, and cash back offers are the current trend. But are car insurance incentives really as good as they sound?

Cash back is a simple method to tempt customers, and it seems that the majority of car insurance companies (as well as some general insurance companies) are using the tactic, with the most recent being Tesco, who offer £50 to all club card holders, whilst Halifax go further offering £50 initially, following with another £50 payment every year you renew.

Of course, some such cash back offers have been met with sneers of derision from finance commentators, newspapers, and other insurers alike – warning that such incentives may well confuse customers into taking out policies which may well have been cheaper with a competitor in the long run. Simply, many are arguing that the very mention of cash back is another factor to add into the equation of working out the price, whilst taking in the basic cost, and then considering such frills as a courtesy car or breakdown cover – for it is these latter factors that differ so greatly in price between insurers.

Additionally, others are warning that customers must be careful to ensure that their cash back is included if you proceed to buy through comparison sites, as well as direct – or even if you have to do so over the phone. Similarly, there are also insurers who stipulate that you must activate the payment yourself, in the hope that you forget the offer after a few months.

Thinking about the trend in the context of price comparison websites, one can’t help but wonder whether insurers have begun such incentives specifically in order to hinder the efficiency of such sites. Following another recent, but less publicized, trend in which insurers have begun incorporating their own comparison sections on their sites to increase user traffic (and subsequently conversions), this notion doesn’t seem so far-fetched. And one wonders how far these incentives will go over the next year as insurance companies compete with each other tooth to tooth. One also hopes that too many customers aren’t duped by callous companies offering great deals and perks, but masking other essential charges.