If ever there were an automotive brand to be associated with the concept of "posh," it would be Aston Martin. Originally founded out of a small workshop in London in 1913, the brand has become synonymous with the very best (and most expensive) that British automotive engineering has to offer. Aston Martin is the brand that created the first car utilized by James Bond; that's how you know this is a manufacturer that knows a couple of things about style.
Of course, style isn't all that Aston Martin has going for it. After all, style without substance is meaningless flash, and Aston Martin's modern supercars and race cars are more muscular than they may appear. To drive an Aston Martin supercar at top speed isn't just driving about getting from place to place in an expedient fashion, it's a commitment to both panache and function, a "personal statement," to crib a few words from "Skyfall.
" Naturally, some of those personal statements resound a bit louder than others, with top speeds exceeding 200 miles per hour. In ancient mythology, Vulcan, also known as Hephaestus in Greece, was the Roman god of fire and forge, the father of the practices of smithing and metalworking, not to be confused with the pointy-eared guys from "Star Trek." Anything that would bear his name would have to be an exceptional piece of craftsmanship, fine-tuned to the millimeter to deliver utmost excellence.
Aston Martin took a hearty crack at pleasing the Roman pantheon with the Aston Martin Vulcan. The Vul.