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The Aston Martin Vulcan is bound for the Big Apple

Following its global debut at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, Aston Martin has announced that the Vulcan, its 800-horsepower track monster, will make its US debut at next week's New York Auto Show. According to Aston Martin, the Vulcan will lead what is for the brand, a huge display of seven cars, including the Vanquish Carbon Black, Vantage GT Roadster, Rapide S and DB9. "We are enormously encouraged by the overwhelmingly positive reaction we have received from customers and sports car fans around the world in response to the Aston Martin Vulcan," Aston boss Andy Palmer said in the attached statement. "I'm delighted that after a debut in Geneva we are able to bring the car to our North American audience, underlining the importance of this market to our business and its role in delivering our Second Century business plan." Be sure to check back next week for our exhaustive coverage from NYC. Until then, scroll down for the official press release from Aston Martin, and check out our full coverage of the Vulcan's original debut in Geneva. NEW ASTON MARTIN VULCAN SET FOR NORTH AMERICAN DEBUT IN NEW YORK • North American reveal at NYIAS for limited edition, track-only, 7.0-litre V12 supercar • The Aston Martin Vulcan fronts new seven-car Aston Martin display in New York 26 March, 2015, Irvine CA – Aston Martin's most intense and exhilarating creation to date will make its first appearance in North America at the New York International Auto Show (NYIAS) next month. The Aston Martin Vulcan – a track only supercar producing some 800-plus bhp – joins the British luxury sports car maker's presence at NYIAS fresh from a global reveal at the Geneva International Motor Show earlier in March. Fronting a new seven-car display led by CEO Dr Andy Palmer, the Aston Martin Vulcan will be joined by examples from the current Aston Martin product range in North America including the new Vanquish Carbon, Rapide S, DB9, V12 Vantage S and the V8 Vantage GT Roadster. CEO, Dr Andy Palmer commented: "We are enormously encouraged by the overwhelmingly positive reaction we have received from customers and sports car fans around the world in response to the Aston Martin Vulcan.

FIA introduces 'Hypercar Concept' for World Endurance Championship

One of the most common jabs at hypercars is the question, "Where can you drive them to their potential?" Imagine the answer being: to the checkered flag in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. We're not there yet, but the FIA World Motor Sport Council took a step closer to the possibility during its second annual meeting in Manila, the Philippines. One of three initiatives the WSMC announced for the 2020 World Endurance Championship was "Freedom of design for brands based on a 'Hypercar' concept." This "Hypercar concept" would replace LMP1 as the premier class in the WEC. The dream, of course, would be seeing racing versions of the AMG Project One, Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro, Bugatti Chiron, Koenigsegg Regera, McLaren Senna GTR, Pagani Huara BC, and the rest of the gang trading paint and carbon fiber through Dunlop in a heinously expensive version of "Buy on Sunday, sell on Monday." The reality is that we don't have all the details yet on the set of regulations called "GTP," but the FIA wants race cars more closely tied to road cars, albeit with the performance level of today's LMP1 cars. Exterior design freedom would shelter internals designed to reduce costs, the FIA planning to mandate less complex hybrid systems and allow the purchase of spec systems. One of the FIA's primary goals is lowering LMP1 budgets to a quarter of their present levels. Audi and Porsche budgets exceeded $200 million, while Toyota - the only factory LMP1 entry this year and next - is assumed to have a budget hovering around $100 million. Reports indicated that Aston Martin, Ferrari, Ford, McLaren, and Toyota sat in on the development of the proposed class. If the FIA can get costs down to around $25 million, that would compare running a top IndyCar team and have to be hugely appealing to the assembled carmakers. The initiative represents another cycle of the roughly once-a-decade reboot of sports car racing to counter power or cost concerns. The FIA shut down Group 5 Special Production Sports Car class in 1982 to halt worrying power hikes, and introduced Group C. In 1993, Group C came to an ignoble end over costs; manufacturers were spending $15 million on a season, back when that was real money and not one-fifth of a Ferrari 250 GTO. Then came the BPR Global GT Series that morphed into the FIA GT Championship, which would see the last not-really-a-road car take overall Le Mans victory in 1998, the Porsche 911 GT1. That era would be most aligned with a future hypercar class.

Aston Martin wants to get involved in F1 engines

LONDON — British luxury sportscar maker Aston Martin is looking to get more engaged in Formula One, chief executive Andy Palmer said on Sunday amid speculation of a title partnership with Red Bull and future engine involvement. "We want to be more involved in the sport," Palmer told Britain's Channel 4 television while attending the Singapore Grand Prix. "We're currently studying the 2021 engine. If we get a reasonable regulation that brings down the cost of the engine, Aston would like to be involved in the engine," added the Briton. "And then of course we'd like to be involved a little more next season and then join the dots. But it really depends on what happens with the engine regs." Red Bull and Aston Martin have an existing relationship, with the team's race cars carrying branding for the marque since last year. Top designer Adrian Newey, whose Renault-powered Red Bull race cars won four successive drivers' and constructors' titles between 2010-13, has worked with Aston Martin on the AM-RB 001 Valkyrie 'hypercar'. Media reports have suggested Aston could become Red Bull's title sponsor next season. Former Nissan executive Palmer was a key figure in negotiating just such a previous deal for the Japanese manufacturer's Infiniti brand, which has now gone to the Renault works team, to partner Red Bull. The British-based team currently use Renault engines, branded Tag Heuer. Formula One, under new management since U.S.-based Liberty Media took over in January, and the governing FIA are looking at what sort of unit will power the series once the current agreement expires in 2020. The aim is to bring down costs and allow a cheaper and less complex engine than the current 1.6 liter V6 turbo hybrid power units, one that could also encourage new manufacturers into the sport. Aston Martin, a 104-year-old firm whose road cars have become closely associated with fictional British secret agent James Bond, last competed in Formula One in 1960. The company is now owned mainly by Kuwaiti and Italian investors and is seeking to boost its share of U.S. markets. Last month Aston reported its first half-yearly profit in almost a decade and it expects full-year volumes to rise by around a third to roughly 5,000 cars. Reporting by Alan BaldwinRelated Video: Motorsports Aston Martin Renault Technology Emerging Technologies Racing Vehicles F1 adrian newey