Aston shows off 20/20

[LotusGT1]

Few cars attract attention like an Aston Martin – but nothing excites a car enthusiast like a no-holds-barred Aston roadster. This surprise concept is destined for the Geneva Motor Show at the end of the month, and is the work of respected Italian styling consultancy Italdesign-Giugiaro.
Called the Twenty Twenty, the extreme-looking two-seater has been given the official blessing of Aston Martin's management, with the aim of predicting how a 'Spider' model may look in the year 2020.

It has been built around the acclaimed V12 powertrain from the DB7 Vantage, and explores new trends in aluminium chassis and load-bearing structure design. That's the reason for the wild exposed framework which supports the carbon fibre bodywork and suspension. Aston's director of communications Tim Watson told Auto Express the Newport Pagnell-based firm was only too happy to get involved with Italdesign-Giugiaro. "We were flattered to be approached by people of their standing. It shows that today we really are on an equal footing with the likes of Ferrari," he said.

The British company went out of its way to help the creative team from the styling studio. It handed over a brand new DB7 and a host of technology, as well as lending expert knowledge about aluminium construction, which features on its latest Vanquish supercar. The result is the running prototype seen here.

Powered by a 400bhp V12 driving the rear wheels, the Twenty Twenty would bring a new dimension to the Aston driving experience. A true wind-in-the-hair roadster, it would be a "hedonistic, uncompromising driver's car", according to Fabrizio Giugiaro. The link-up between the companies has been forged by the car maker's current chief executive Ulrich Bez. As head of product design at Daewoo, he commissioned Italdesign to create the Matiz.

Giugiaro continued: "The idea for the exposed spaceframe structure came to us after the Paris Motor Show last year, and we then approached Ulrich Bez. He was keen, and pointed us towards incorporating more obvious Aston design themes." Interestingly, rumours have been circulating regarding Italdesign's potential involvement with the prestige car firm's forthcoming small model. The best of Italdesign's proposals could be borrowed by Aston's in-house styling team, headed up by Ian Callum. He has been following the Twenty Twenty's progress throughout the design process, and is said to be interested in one or two ideas which could be considered for future production models.

However, when asked whether the Twenty Twenty would see the light of day, perhaps as a low-volume one-off machine to rival the Ferrari Rossa by Pininfarina, the idea was immediately quashed by Aston. "This is not the DB8 or the next Aston Martin," said Tim Watson. "This is about encouraging experimentation and brave design."

[igor@af]

Looks good, but I think they should stay with their heritage, that's a BIG design jump for them.

[NissanZ@af]

That car looks good, but they should remove the roll bar and it would probably look better.

[LotusGT1]

Originally posted by igor@af
Looks good, but I think they should stay with their heritage, that's a BIG design jump for them.

"However, when asked whether the Twenty Twenty would see the light of day, perhaps as a low-volume one-off machine to rival the Ferrari Rossa by Pininfarina, the idea was immediately quashed by Aston. "This is not the DB8 or the next Aston Martin," said Tim Watson. "This is about encouraging experimentation and brave design."

I wouldn't be too worried about that....

[justin@af]

I think it looks good...but too many sharp edges that i believe should be smoothed out.

[vectorclub]

I saw the 20/20 inperson at the 2001 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The car looks better at a distance. The closer I got the more disapppointed I was with it. The Vanquish is amazing, the 20/20 should remain a concept car.

Giugiaro styling is not right for Aston Martin or any of Ford's divisions. Aston may not want use Jaguar stylist for fear of making their cars to much like Jaguars, but the Jag team has turned out some of the best looking cars made in the past 5 years. The DB7 and XK8 did share some of the same styling lines. If it was my call, I would be working on a mid-engine supercar for the Aston Martin group.

[Pennzoil GT-R]

mid engined aston will never happen, its not their style, never has been. they are traditionally a FR layout

[lynx_effect]

I understand these come very late, but caught a few photos of this car the other day. I'd actually never heard of it before, because to be honest I’ve never been a huge follower of Astons, which is a shame considering they're British! Anyway, found the car very nice, however I didn't much like the rear end.

Just thought I'd share them anyhow.