New Aston Martin and Red Bull F1 Hypercar Aims to Rewrite the Record Books [w/ Video]
After Red Bull Racing’s very public feud with its Formula 1 engine supplier Renault, and the subsequent departure of any and all Renault and Infiniti branding from the once-dominant machines over the offseason, the Austro-British outfit entered into a relationship with Aston Martin. Aston Martin would get its logo on an F1 car for the first time since its own underachieving grand prix program was axed in 1960, while Aston Martin would be able to enlist the services of RBR’s design/aerodynamics wizard Adrian Newey to create a new road-legal hypercar even more extreme than the One-77. And this is what the former March, Williams and McLaren pencil-wielder has come up with: The AM-RB 001.
As you’ve probably guessed from the proportions, the AM-RB 001 is mid-engined, something no prior production Aston Martin has been. That engine is a high-revving, naturally-aspirated V12 (Huzzah!) mated to a hybrid system that provides both a power boost and, interestingly, reverse “gear,” since that function will be omitted from the transmission in the interest of weight saving. An all carbon fiber body and chassis and F1-style carbon-carbon brakes provide additional mass reductions. No word on power or weight yet, but the company is promising a ratio of one horsepower for every kilogram (2.2 lbs.), something only Koenigsegg has been able to achieve thus far with its One:1.
However, this car’s real party piece is what’s going on underneath. Free of the current Formula 1 rules that require flat bottomed cars with very specific floor dimensions, Newey has been able to cram almost all of his aero know-how into the AM-RB 001’s underbelly (The shaping of the top and side surfaces of the car were left to Aston Martin design director Marek Reichman and his team.). That being said, there’s not much to said underbelly; the rear is dominated by mammoth ground effects tunnels, while the front underfloor is raised as well, meaning the driver and passenger have to sit with their legs forward and above their waists, just like modern F1 drivers have to do. How all these contours and vents will work (as well as other stuff like, you know, pricing) has yet to be revealed, but one thing that isn’t a secret is how many of these machines will be made: Between 99 and 150 street versions (including prototypes and other pre-production models), plus 25 even more extreme track-only versions that are sure to make the Vulcan feel like a snow-tire-shod Prius in comparison. And if the AM-RB 001 can deliver on even half of the claims being made by its makers, it will be the kind of quantum leap not seen in supercar/hypercar evolution since the McLaren F1.
Source: Aston Martin