Aston and Red Bull unite their forces

Aston Martin and Red Bull Racing have joined forces to produce a hypercar; surprise-surprise code-named AM-RB 001.

Three men are charged with realising this shared vision: Adrian Newey, Red Bull Racing’s chief technical officer and the world’s most successful F1TM designer, Marek Reichman, Aston Martin executive vice president and chief creative officer and David King, vice president and chief special operations officer.

Reichman and Newey are working closely on all aspects of the project, striving to ensure the AM-RB 001 is an unprecedented fusion of form and function: a car engineered to be entirely useable and enjoyable as a road car, but with the capability to perform like no road car before it on a race track.

A track-only AM-RB 001 is also in development, the projected performance of which is in line with that of today’s LMP1 Le Mans sports prototypes.

Built around a lightweight carbon fibre structure, the AM-RB 001 boasts truly radical aerodynamics for unprecedented levels of downforce in a road-legal car.

Thanks to Newey’s design talent, much of this downforce is generated through underfloor aerodynamics, leaving Reichman free to craft a dramatic form that expresses both the AM-RB 001’s cutting-edge dynamism and the unmistakable essence of Aston Martin.

Uncompromising in all respects, the AM-RB 001 is a bespoke machine from the tyres up. It will be built by David King and his team at Gaydon, in the purpose-built facility created for Aston Martin’s original hypercar, the One-77.

More details of the AM-RB 001‘s technical specification will be revealed when the final design is settled, but it will use a new, mid-mounted, high-revving, naturally aspirated V12 engine with the potential to achieve a 1:1 power-to-weight ratio – 1 bhp/kg.

To cope with high aerodynamic loadings and high speeds yet be able to deliver the on-road usability and comfort levels that sit at the heart of the concept, the AM-RB 001’s suspension system will feature technology and principles honed by Newey over his 30-year career.

Likewise, the transmission is a clean-sheet design conceived by Newey and developed by Red Bull Advanced Technologies.

Newey’s unrivalled knowledge has enabled the AM-RB 001 to be light and compact, yet offer genuine comfort and space for driver and passenger and house a V12 engine.

The task of engineering AM-RB 001 will be shared by Aston Martin and Red Bull, with production taking place at Aston Martin’s Gaydon facility. Total volume will be between 99 and 150 road cars inclusive of all remaining prototypes and 25 track-only versions. First deliveries are expected in 2018.