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Aston Martin V12 Speedster will ditch roof and windshield

If your hunger for supercars with no windshields wasn't satiated with the McLaren Elva, we have good news. Aston Martin has one of its own to be revealed later this year. It's simply called the Aston Martin V12 Speedster, and sounds like it will be entertaining. Though the car hasn't been fully revealed, the teaser image gives us a good look at the profile. The nose is pointy with a huge grille like the Aston Martin Vantage. The short deck with tall rear spoiler is also Vantage-esque. Between the wheels appear to be some very aggressive air vents and character lines. And of course, there's no roof or windshield. There are cowls behind the seats, which are fitting since Aston says this car is inspired by the Le Mans-winning 1959 DBR1 race car and the 2013 Aston Martin CC100 concept car, both open sports cars. Powering the V12 Speedster is, obviously, a V12 engine. It's a version of the twin-turbocharged 5.2-liter that's been used in different versions of the DB11. In the Speedster it will produce 690 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque, which is less than the 715 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque in the monster DBS Superleggera. The engine is matched to an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission and rear-wheel drive. Only 88 V12 Speedsters will be built, and Aston is taking orders now. Completed cars will be delivered in early 2021. Pricing hasn't been announced, but we doubt that will be an issue for those ordering one. Related Video:    

Soundcheck: Aston Martin Valkyrie begins to scream

In July, Aston Martin published the first video of the Valkyrie on track at Britain's Silverstone Circuit during the Formula One Grand Prix weekend there. Test driver Chris Goodwin didn't push the 1,160-horsepower coupe to its limits, merely massaging the throttle for the camera a few times. The English carmaker headed back to Silverstone this month with a group of guests in tow, and this time the test driver put a little more muscle into the fly-bys. Since the track was wet, the soundtrack still can't be considered the ultimate experience, but even so, the 6.5-liter Cosworth V12 sounds exceptionally good. This new video injects a high-pitched wail that was missing in July, the kind of wicked, soaring keen that jellies one's organs and notifies the mind of blinding terrors on approach. In fact, the Valkyrie now makes all the noises Formula 1 fans wished the F1 race cars could make. That's no hyperbole, either. Compare the modern Cosworth to the 3.5-liter Honda V12 in the 1991 McLaren MP4/6, the resemblance is clear. Remove the street-legal equipment on the Aston Martin and let Goodwin uncork it, as we expect to happen in next year's World Endurance Championship, and it's clear the WEC might have the best sounding racers in all of motorsport. Deliveries are scheduled to begin before the end of the year, so Aston Martin should be wrapping up its validation testing on Verification Prototype 1 if it hasn't already. After that come competition entries into the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). And after that, someone will need to convince at least one owner to drive the Valkyrie on the street so that we can all enjoy the noise.

Force India: 'Door still open' for Aston Martin partnership

Force India says a partnership that would bring Aston Martin back to Formula 1 remains a possibility for the future, despite talks last year failing to produce a deal. The Silverstone-based outfit had hoped to tie up a partnership with the British sportscar manufacturer for 2016, but in the end the discussions fell through. However, while the matter is off the table for this year, Force India's COO Otmar Szafnauer says his outfit is still hoping that it can resurrect the idea and bring Aston Martin on board for 2017. "I don't think the answer is no," Szafnauer told Motorsport.com. "It was just for 2016 we won't be collaborating. But we will have further discussions later on with Aston to see if there is a possibility for future years." Rules key Szafnauer said that the talks with Aston Martin had been "serious", but thinks that key to completing an agreement will be in F1 delivering a platform of rules that entices the manufacturer in. "For 2017 there is still a possibility and the door is still open," he said. "We will reconvene again and see if there is any possibility for the future. "There were just some decision-making points that were unknown at that time. And they just needed more time to see what the sport was doing about the engine and some other things. "They need to have some of those answers before they can make that decision of entering Formula 1 or not. And only time would give them those answers." When asked if finalized 2017 regulations would be a help, he said: "Well, that's one of the things. "So when those 2017 regulations are sorted out, everybody knows and then people can make decisions like: 'Do I like them or not?' "But if you're trying to guess what those are, than people say: 'Oh, let me wait and see.' That is exactly one of the reasons. To understand what the regulations are going to be in 2017." Related Video: This article by Jonathan Noble originally appeared on Motorsport.com, the world's leader in auto racing news, photos and video.