Aston Martin One-77 review

GQ touches down at the world's first commercial spaceport and takes flight (well, nearly) in the Aston Martin One-77.

At the official opening of Spaceport America in the Jornada del Muerto desert in New Mexico last October, Sir Richard Branson made his entrance in typically understated fashion by abseiling down the glass front of the Sir Norman Foster-designed building. "I trust that will be the first of many safe landings at Spaceport America!" he announced to the gathering of assorted guests, before popping open a bottle of champagne and posing for the cameras with his biggest Virgin Galactic grin. And despite the £125,000 ticket price, 460 space tourists from 46 countries have already paid for their flights in advance (including actress Victoria Principal, film director Bryan Singer, F1 driver Rubens Barrichello and comedian Russell Brand) and are currently forming an orderly queue ahead of the inaugural trip in 2013.

Unfortunately, being from GQ, being impatient and being an inveterate queue jumper, I just couldn't wait that long. Which is why, beneath a cloudless October sky, I am sitting anxiously at the end of the 200-feet-wide, 42ins-thick, 10,000-feet-long runway in a futuristic cockpit waiting for blast off. The pilot, Chris Porritt, checks that I am securely strapped in, then, without so much as a countdown, we have blast-off. Pinned to my leather seat, the acceleration is as exciting as it is severe. In less than four seconds we are nudging 60mph, and the small crowd watching agape disappear in a blur.

Over the perfect storm of sound from the bawling engine, Porritt checks that I am OK. There is a grin on my face when I give him a thumbs-up affirmative, then we are pushed back into our seats again as our velocity pushes on into three digits. The ride is smooth, definitely comfortable, and from my vantage point I can see the numbers roll round: 130... 140... 150... 160. "Here we go," says Porritt. "Check this out." And he takes his hands off the wheel and our course doesn't flicker an inch. At 170, back in control, the acceleration begins to slow. 180: the pressure eases on my back. This is it. 190: any second now the nose will come up. 191: the final frontier. 192: ET, put the kettle on, I'm coming home. And at 193mph, it happens. Porritt slams on the ceramic brakes.

"That's the fastest we've done today," he says calmly. "If we'd been out earlier this morning, when the air was cooler, we'd have made it past 200mph easily." 

If you are Ms Principal and you are reading this - don't worry, Vics, you weren't galactically gazumped. I wasn't actually allowed in the mothership (WhiteKnightTwo, AKA VMS Eve, named after Richard's mother), the detachable spaceship (SpaceShipTwo, AKA VSS Enterprise), or even within 20 feet of Branson (he's a busy man; nothing to do with a restraining order). Instead, I was enjoying a passenger ride in the new Aston Martin One-77.  

This is an event, in automotive terms, almost as significant as the Spaceport opening. It is the first time anyone who doesn't have the wherewithal to bang down a deposit has been able to experience the One-77 on the road (OK, runway). Originally conceived as the ultimate demonstration of Aston Martin's design aesthetic and engineering capabilities, it took three years to travel from drawing board to production line. Then another year from unveiling to this point and passenger rides. On the basis of what I've just experienced, not only was it worth the wait, but it almost justifies its £1.2m price tag.

Then again, when you consider that Virgin Galactic has so far spent £175m on its space programme, and that construction of Spaceport America cost £132m, the One-77 seems like a snip.

It certainly looked that way to one prospective buyer who was given a test run that morning. Having been behind the wheel, under the supervision of Aston's chief engineer, he emerged from the fun seat laughing excitedly and reaching for his chequebook. Aston is only making 77 of these machines, and it is down to the last seven (better make that six), so there is a market for a 7.3-litre, V12 hypercar. And they are going fast.

The One-77's statistics, however, are not quite as impressive as the Virgin Spaceship's. "The climb up to 50,000 feet in the mothership takes about 45 minutes and is just like a normal flight," says Stephen Attenborough, Virgin Galactic's commercial director. "But at that height, the spaceship with the six passengers and two pilots disengages and the hybrid rocket fires. Then the spaceship accelerates to 2,600mph, which is around 3.5 times the speed of sound. That's probably a little quicker than the Aston. And in just 90 seconds you'll be suborbital, flying to around 360,000 feet [68 miles]."

Once the VSS Enterprise reaches that height, the rocket cuts out and the paying passengers get a few minutes of weightlessness, before the descent begins. Historically, getting back into the atmosphere has always been the hard part, but as a commercial vehicle Virgin wants to be able to re-use the spaceship. "What the designer, Burt Rutan, wanted was something that didn't rely on computers, didn't rely on pilots, but relied on nature," explains Attenborough. "So he came up with the shuttlecock idea." 

Rutan worked out if he could change the shape of the craft out in space, when it starts to return to earth as gravity begins to take hold, it would fall the same way every time. "The rear section rotates about 60 degrees to create a 'feathered' re-entry position," explains Dave Mackay, Virgin Galactic's chief pilot. "This slows descent, meaning there is no heat build-up and pilots don't have to do anything until about 70,000 feet when we press a button, the tail section returns to normal and the craft glides smoothly back to Spaceport America. The passengers get their astronaut wings and have a party."

When you consider that, so far, only 525 people have actually been into space, that surely is reason enough to celebrate. Virgin's intention is to take 500 people up in the first year (Richard Branson and his children Sam and Holly will be on the inaugural flight), but long-term projections are to fly into space on a daily basis. And unsurprisingly interest has been immense. As well as a number of celebrities, NASA has already block-booked some flights, and Virgin has also had enquiries from individuals who want to take all six seats for themselves, and perhaps one special friend. Attenborough does the maths quickly. "I think that would qualify as the 68-mile high club."

If an individual takes all the seats for themselves (and a guest), they get a small discount. Still, $1m is a lot to pay for a ride that will only last five minutes. Which brings us back to what a bargain the Aston Martin One-77 is.

After all, if you are travelling to infinity and beyond, you would certainly want to be dropped off in style.

Aston Martin One-77

You need to knowEach One-77 is built by hand by a team of 27 specially trained technicians. One car takes around 2,700 man hours to assemble.

Engine
7,312cc, 48-valve V12, 750bhp

Performance
0-62mph in 3.6secs; top speed more than 220mph 

Price
£1.2m

Contact
astonmartin.com

Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo

You need to knowEach passenger has a large window from which to take in the view. There is also an overhead window for those passengers who don't want to leave their seat during weightlessness.

Engine
Hybrid rocket motor 

Performance
Top speed more than £2,600mph (3.5 times the speed of sound)

Price
Flights cost £125,000

Contact
virgingalactic.com

Originally published in the February 2012 issue of British GQ.