Sergiu Tudose wrote:While full technical specs will be revealed in due course, according to both Aston Martin as well as RBR, the AM-RB 001's high-revving naturally aspirated V12 is potent enough to achieve a 1:1 power-to-weight ratio, or 1 BHP per kilo of weight.
The AM-RB 001 is engineered to be perfectly usable and enjoyable on the road, but with the ability to perform like no other road car when driven on a race track. Though, future customers only interested in its racing performance will be glad to know that a track-only AM-RB 001 is also in development, projected to be as fast as a LMP1 Le Mans sports prototype.
Charged with developing the AM-RB 001 were Red Bull Racing chief technical offider Adrian Newey, Aston Martin EVP & chief creative officer Marek Reichman and David King, VP & chief special operations officer. Together they formed a formidable alliance, one that led to the AM-RB 001's truly radical aerodynamics and what they call "unprecedented levels of downforce", for a road legal car.
To start off, the AM-RB 001 is built around a lightweight carbon fiber structure, and thanks to Newey's designs, most of the downforce in generated through underfloor aerodynamics - which in turn left Reichman free to make the car look like something worthy of an Aston Martin badge.
Both its innovative suspension system and its transmission were designed by Newey and developed by Red Bull Advanced Technologies. The goal was to make the car cope with extreme aerodynamic loadings at high speeds, yet provide drivers with good on-road usability as well as comfort levels. So despite the AM-RB 001's light and compact nature, it can still comfortably house a driver, passenger and a mid-mounted V12 engine.
"I've long harbored the desire to design a road car," confessed Adrian Newey. "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. The synergy between Red Bull Racing and Aston Martin is clear. I knew Red Bull Racing had the ability to handle the pure performance aspects, but Aston Martin’s experience of making beautiful, fast and comfortable GT cars is of great benefit to the project. 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."
Aston Martin president & CEO Dr Andy Palmer also broached the subject, saying that as this project "gathers pace it's clear the end result will be a truly history-making hypercar that sets incredible new benchmarks for packaging, efficiency and performance and an achievement that elevates Aston Martin to the very highest level."
Until the project is finalized, the task of engineering the AM-RB 001 will be shared between Q by Aston Martin Advanced and Red Bull Advanced Technologies, with production taking place at Aston Martin's Gaydon facility, where they used to make the One-77. In total, there will be between 99 and 150 AM-RB 001 hypercars, including all remaining prototypes and the 25 track-only versions.
