AS One

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AS One
AS One Main Image.jpgJeremy Clarkson presents the car to the camera.
Vehicle Automotive Solutions One
Origin Flagde.png Germany
Type MR track car
Engine 1.4L Inline-4
0-60 4.0 sec
Displacement 235 brake horsepower
Top Speed 150 MPH (241 KPH)
Produced 2002 - 2003
Appeared in Top Gear: Series 1, Episode 8 (2002)

Not to be confused with the SS One, the first car produced by the company eventually known as Jaguar.

The AS One was a lightweight track car built around a Suzuki Hayabusa engine by Automotive Solutions as a German-engineered alternative to the already established Radical and Westfield marques. The car was designed by Felix Faurbach and Jeremy Vick with a sole example built despite the company intending a small production run which included selling the car in the UK. Not much else is known about the car, with the majority of information known about it sourced[1] from an April 2003 Classic Driver article in addition to its 2002 Top Gear appearance.

Appearance[edit | edit source]

The One made its sole Top Gear appearance as part of the 2002 Christmas Special with the intent of surpassing the British-built Radical SR3, a car which was also fitted with the Hayabusa engine. The car was featured alongside the MTM Bimoto, an extensively-modified Audi TT built by another German track-oriented marque. Driven by The Stig, the car set a disappointing lap time of 1:29 around the Top Gear Test Track, later corrected to 1:29.4, which was just over 10 seconds behind the SR3's time of 1:19.1. The car placed sixth overall on the official power lap standings, and would later be disqualified following Series 2, Episode 4, when its time, alongside those of the SR3 and Westfield XTR2 were all taken off the board.

Position Car Year Time Track Conditions Episode
4 MTM Bimoto 2002 1:28.0 Dry Series 1, Episode 10
5 Lamborghini Murciélago 2002 1:29.0 Moist Series 1, Episode 1
6 AS One 2002 1:29.0 Dry Series 1, Episode 10
7 Lotus Esprit V8 GT 2002 1:32.0 Dry Series 1, Episode 10
8 Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG 2002 1:33.0 Wet Series 1, Episode 6

Unlike the other two cars however, the One's lap time would likely have remained ineligible due to the fact the car was never put into full-time production, and remained a standalone prototype. After its removal from the board, the car and its associated manufacturer were never seen nor mentioned again on Top Gear, nor any other automotive journalism programme. Though the company had its own website[2] at one point, it has been offline since 2004.

Significant examples[edit | edit source]

  • GC 06060

References[edit | edit source]