Aston Martin and Red Bull confirm development of hypercar

Aston Martin and Red Bull have confirmed they are jointly working on a project to design and build “the next-generation hypercar”, which insiders say will be superior to any road car ever made, in terms of acceleration, top speed and circuit performance. It is also likely to be superior to all but the most focused race cars.

News of the project first emerged last year with our sister publication Autocar UK reporting that the two brand were collaborating to develop their first hypercar. Now with the first race of the F1 calendar set for this weekend, the two brands have confirmed this model, along with announcing a deal that marks the re-entry of Aston into F1.

Codenamed AM-RB 001, the car is being created in a specially dedicated design studio in Aston Martin’s Gaydon headquarters. Less than 100 cars will be manufactured by Aston’s bespoke Q division, which has recently produced the Vulcan track car, with each expected to cost between £2-3 million (Rs 19.25 - 28.87 crore approximately). Aston is expected to have a mock-up model ready within a few months though the final production car is only expected to meet its owners in 2018.

The project has grown out of an extraordinary personal partnership between Red Bull’s Adrian Newey, widely described as the world’s greatest race car designer, and Aston Martin design boss Marek Reichman, who has already designed a generation of Aston production and special-edition cars, as well as several James Bond Astons. Andy Palmer, CEO at Aston, recently announced that the company would design two “special editions” every year, and the AM-RB 001 will be one of them.

Newey has long been on record as wanting to build a very special road car, and this model is understood to be it with the AM-RB 001 being described as a ‘legacy car’ for the F1 car designer. He has already shown his perception of road cars with the Red Bull X2010 concept that was showcased at the Goodwood festival of Speed in 2014 after its debut in the Gran Turismo 5 video game.

Red Bull and Aston Martin are currently unwilling to reveal details of the car’s mechanical layout beyond the fact that it employs an F1-style recipe of very sophisticated aerodynamics, carbon-fibre construction and “super aggressive” weight targets with performance to match up to modern-day F1 cars.

Sources in Aston have suggested that the car could possibly be a hybrid and use simplified versions of the performance-boosting electric motors and energy recovery systems of F1 cars. The petrol engine could also be a detuned race engine as well. The suspension layout is tipped to be a race-style double- wishbone system complete with pull- or push-rods, bellcranks and inboard-mounted suspension units in the style of today’s top-end racing cars.

Though there are no specifics, Reichman has indicated that the car could use a full carbon-fibre structure.

The car’s name has already prompted speculation that if the project turns out to be success it could lead to further road car collaborations between the partners. Sources have suggested that a car in the more traditional supercar price bracket could follow, although Aston Martin personnel refused to be drawn on the speculation.