Another new Aston?!

Yes, it has been a bit profligate this week, hasn't it, what with news of a V8-engined DB11 and the all-electric RapidE? Today's announcement is rather different, as it's for more of an upgrade package than an outright new car. You're looking at the Aston Martin Vulcan AMR Pro, an even more extreme version of the already really rather extreme Vulcan track car. Aston made just 24 examples of the 800hp, V12-engined wonder and now, just for fun, it has come up with a way to make them faster around a race circuit.

Old one was pretty slow, was it?

Erm, no, not exactly, but there was room for improvement, apparently. Anyway, the updates don't seem to touch the engine itself, though the Xtrac six-speed sequential shift transmission has been tweaked for shorter gearing (means faster acceleration, but lower top speeds, usually). And Aston managed to pare back 5kg from the carbon fibre engine cover.

Is that it?

Not at all. The AMR Pro package is mostly focused on the Vulcan's aerodynamics, so there are detail changes to the front splitter and around the wheels, a massive dual-plane rear spoiler and a shift in the 'Centre of Pressure' closer to the middle of the car. That, says Aston, will help steering response and front-end grip. Meanwhile, high-speed cornering should be, well, faster, thanks to a considerable increase in downforce. Aston curiously quotes it in Nm, a measurement of force, but the gains are more important than the absolute numbers: it's up from 3,150Nm in the original car to 4,000Nm. By way of putting that into perspective, the 2017 Aston Martin Racing Vantage GTE (won its class at Le Mans this year, don't you know?) generates just 3104Nm.

Cripes. Will the great unwashed ever see one?

One of the few opportunities will be this weekend at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Aston confirms that Q by Aston Martin has already begun work on upgrading customers' cars to the full AMR Pro specification.