The car, unveiled on 14 March at the Amelia Island Concours d’Élégance in the US state of Florida, marks the Danish designer’s second collaboration with the car-dealership conglomerate Galpin Motors, after his garish, Ford Mustang-derived Rocket of 2014.
Henrik Fisker is no stranger to Aston Martin. The designer counts among his credits the DB9 and the V8 Vantage. He’s no stranger to bespoke versions of existing cars, either. Before starting his own ill-fated car company in 2007, his California-based Fisker Coachbuild produced the Mercedes-Benz SL-based Tramonto and the BMW M6-derived Latigo CS.
The Aston Martin Vanquish is not a homely car; there isn’t an inch of its carbon fibre body that begs for a do-over. But the same might’ve been said of the lovely Aston Martin DB4 when Giorgetto Giugiaro crafted the stupendously lovely DB4GT Bertone “Jet” in 1960. Admittedly, Fisker’s Thunderbolt doesn’t quite match the vapours-inducing beauty of Giugiaro’s car, but it is an artfully conceived and finely wrought riff on Aston design chief Marek Reichman’s masterpiece.
With the help of California-based Gaffoglio Family Metalcrafters, a company known for fabricating concept cars for the big US carmakers, Fisker reworked much of the Vanquish’s carbon fibre bodywork. A new hood, which features a broad power dome flanked by triangular air intakes, meets a grille crafted from bright aluminium. The headlamps and LED taillamps are fresh, and a panoramic glass roof sweeps into a wraparound rear window. The car rides 15mm lower than a standard Vanquish, and rolls on 21in alloy wheels.
Though the exterior revisions are undeniably elegant, it is the Thunderbolt’s cabin where Fisker’s vision – and his global sensibility – truly shines. The instrument panel features a height-adjustable infotainment display, a dazzling 11.6in curved screen designed in conjunction with Panasonic. To add a touch of the classic, Fisker called on Swiss watchmaker Maurice Lacroix to craft a Skeleton chronograph for the centre console. Italian furniture-maker Natuzzi supplied leather for the entirely reupholstered interior, which now includes accommodations for a pair of wine bottles, complete with miniature seat belts, between the petite rear buckets.
Fisker is keen to note that the Thunderbolt is purely a design statement; the project has no endorsement from Aston Martin. That said, should a willing buyer or three step forward, Fisker and Galpin are prepared to craft “an extremely limited number of additional cars”, sold exclusively through Galpin’s sprawling Aston Martin showroom in Van Nuys, California. These “series” Thunderbolts (previewed by the red car in the gallery above) would feature a revised front end and a less radical infotainment system.
But at least for now, this clap of thunder will play for an audience of one.
