It feels sometimes as though Aston Martin->ke13 can't make up its mind. We'd heard rumors->ke174 about Aston Martin building a road-going version of the 2016 Aston Martin Vulcan race car->ke148 not all that long ago. The rumors were later denied by Aston, but now the latest news that the company is indeed considering a street-legal hypercar. The reason that this isn't complete madness is that the car presumably won't be based on the Vulcan, and will be its own car entirely, on the grounds that it's cheaper to do that than to convert a race car for the road. But no official decisions have been made yet, so this has time to get even more convoluted.

Since this is news is official, and was reported by Auto Express as coming from Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer himself, it came with an official denial of some other rumors. It was suspected that the new car would be designed for Aston by the living legend Adrian Newey, but we now know that that was just a rumor. It could still end up being true, but that would just be a coincidence, as there has been no official talk of a partnership. Palmer said that the hope is to have a decision on the car by the end of the year, but there is no rush and it may come later than that.

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Why it matters

This might be heading back into the realm of rumors, but it has been suggested by Marek Reichman, Aston's design director, that elements of future extreme Astons would incorporate elements of the 2014 Aston Martin DP-100 Vision Gran Turismo. This wasn't exactly a concept, but more of a design study that is drivable in Gran Turismo. A life-sized model was built as well, and the mid-engined bubble-top car would certainly be a big departure from Aston's current design language. Whatever it turns out to be, it's a long way out if it happens at all, so anything said about it now would be pure speculation.

Aston Martin One-77

Read our full review on the Aston Martin One-77 here->Aston Martin One-77.