Aston Martin Shows the CC100 in Germany Among the many 100th birthday activities Aston Martin had going on during last weekend's Nürburgring 24-hour race, almost lost in all the events was the introduction of the CC100 Speedster Concept. "I have nicknamed it DBR100 because of its affinity to the great 1959 race-winning cars, and of course, our anniversary," said Ulrich Bez, the company's chief executive, who introduced the car on Saturday before the start of the race. But this car shows that the soul of Aston Martin is as powerful as ever. Mr. Bez drove the CC100 around the track on a parade lap, followed by Sir Stirling Moss in the classic "59 DBR1 - a 24-Hours of Le Mans winner - and a lineup of DB5s, One-77 limited edition models and other special Aston Martin cars. The open-top, V-12-powered concept, which Aston Martin has no firm plans to bring to production, does signal a new design direction that will be incorporated into future models, Mr. Bez said. The concept was taken from sketches by the designers Marek Reichman and Miles Nurnberger to reality in just the last six months at the company's headquarters in Gaydon, England. Mr. Nurnberger said his assignment was simple, yet daunting: "Create something that reflects the 100 years of Aston Martin heritage and signals the future of the brand." The CC100 rides on the company's VH platform, has a full carbon-fiber body structure and a 555-horsepower 6-liter engine that will propel the car from zero to 60 m.p.h. in under four seconds, the company said. The car has a top speed of 180 m.p.h.