What's the news?
This incredible, extreme-looking F1-car-with-more-bodywork is the result of a tie-up between Aston Martin and Formula 1 team Red Bull Racing. It's called the AM-RB 001 and there will only be between 99 and 150 road-going versions, with a further 25 track-only examples, once it goes on sale in 2018.
The AM-RB 001 has a lightweight carbon fibre structure with aerodynamics (delivered by Red Bull's chief technical officer Adrian Newey, who has developed impressive underfloor airflow) that are said to be at 'unprecedented levels' for a road-legal car. It is a bespoke machine from the tyres up and will be built by David King, Aston Martin's VP and chief special operations officer, and his team at Gaydon in the UK in the same facility where the Aston One-77 was put together.
Details on the full technical specification are sparse at the moment, although Aston Martin and Red Bull were happy to say that the two-seat 001 will have a mid-mounted, naturally aspirated V12 petrol engine with enough potency to achieve a 1:1 power-to-weight ratio. The AM-RB 001 will also have suspension using technology and principles honed by Newey during his 30-year career.
Alongside Newey and King, the third and pivotal person charged with bringing the AM-RB 001 to fruition is Aston's chief creative officer Marek Reichman, who styled the glorious body of this hypercar. And if you want one salient fact to make your jaws drop, Aston and Red Bull are saying, even at this early stage, that the track versions of the AM-RB 001 will have performance that is 'in line with that of today's LMP1 Le Mans sports prototypes'. Wow.
Anything else?
Adrian Newey said: "I've long harboured the desire to design a road car. The formation of Red Bull Advanced Technologies brought me a step closer to realising that ambition, but I believed we should work with an automotive manufacturer. Aston Martin was at the top of my list. I've always been adamant that the AM-RB 001 should be a true road car that's also capable of extreme performance on track, and this means it really has to be a car of two characters. That's the secret we're trying to put into this car - the technology that allows it to be docile and comfortable, but with immense outright capabilities."
David King added: "Working at Aston Martin means you get to be a part of some truly special projects, but the AM-RB 001 is a dream - a true once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Of course it's a huge engineering challenge, too, but the game-changing objectives of this programme have a uniquely energising effect on everyone involved. We have world-class people and facilities at Gaydon. We're all motivated to achieve great things and take Aston Martin to the absolute pinnacle of road car performance."
And Marek Reichman concluded: "Working so closely alongside Adrian and an organisation like Red Bull Racing is a fabulous experience. By definition the objectives we've set for the car ensures there has never been an Aston Martin - or any car, actually - quite like the AM-RB 001. The shared challenge has been finding that magical tipping point where we achieve the most efficient engineering solutions and the most beautiful styling solutions without any compromises. My personal challenge has been expressing the AM-RB 001's extraordinary performance and the unique way in which it delivers that performance. Its style reflects its revolutionary nature, while possessing the form and beauty that makes it unmistakably an Aston Martin."