Two new additions to billionaire’s row

published 13 March 2020

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The hotly anticipated Geneva Motor Show, which was to be held last week, was in the end cancelled due to the spread of the Covid-19 virus. “But that didn’t stop many manufacturers from showing their exciting new vehicles online, [with] several companies livestreaming launches,” says Motor1.com. The list of new launches included electric superminis and 1,700bhp hypercars from Koenigsegg, “and everything in-between”.

One of the stars of the show that never happened was Aston Martin’s new V12 Speedster. “Paying more for less is a well-established mantra in the car business” and this car is no exception, says Jason Barlow in GQ. Ferrari reworked the no-roof/almost-no-windscreen concept with its limited-run SP1 and 2 cars, and McLaren did something similar with the Elva. Now we can add Aston Martin’s Speedster “to billionaire’s row”. Look under the bonnet and you will discover the “full-fat 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12 used in the DB11 and DBS Superleggera”, says Ollie Kew in Top Gear magazine. That’s a little “like putting a cruise-ship engine in a pedalo”. Nevertheless, you can expect 691bhp from this set-up, “which is a mighty total for a car that’s about as well-protected from the elements as a Himalayan goat herder”. Just 88 will be made, each costing £765,000.

That makes the Speedster a bargain compared with the Bentley Mulliner Bacalar, which is twice as expensive. Not that that put off any of its buyers: all of the 12 cars made have been snapped up. Built for Bentley under the auspices of its coachbuilding division, Mulliner, the Bacalar boasts personal touches such as bespoke doors and dashboards. “I love the bold haunches, an exaggerated treatment of the rear wheel arch that has been a Bentley design trope since the gorgeous R-type Continental of the early 50s,” says Paul Hudson in The Daily Telegraph. The Bacalar packs a 6.0-litre, twin-turbocharged W12 TSI engine mated to an eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox. Expect more bespoke Bentleys in the near future.