Aston Martin celebrates 100 years with the CC100 speedster

One hundred years ago, Aston Martin was born. Founded by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford, this classic British sports car company built a reputation for providing ultimate luxury meshed with a successful on-track pedigree. In celebration of Aston's birthday, the team developed a special concept showcasing the brand's past, present, and future curves, while taking specific inspiration from the storied DBR1 speedster from 1959. The result? The Aston Martin CC100.

The DBR1 remains the most successful race car Aston Martin ever created. Making its debut at the 1956 24 Hours of Le Mans, the car became synonymous with victory. Built as a thoroughbred race machine, only five examples of the DBR1 were made. In 1959, the beautiful speedster won Le Mans and the 1000km of Nürburgring in the same season, with British superstar, Sir Stirling Moss, at the helm.

The resemblance between Aston's DBR1 and the new CC100 remains evident. The sultry side-on curves, blending with sleek yet sharp headrests, display 21st century passion rarely witnessed amidst the modern era. The rear of the CC100 looks contrastingly menacing and mean, although it exudes a definite Lotus-esque stance. From almost every conceivable angle, the CC100 stuns. It's almost perfect, but the modern Aston Martin grille looks odd adorned to a windshield-less speedster. It resembles a gaping catfish vacuuming a school of minnows. And once you imagine said catfish, it's hard to relinquish that image.