The overachievers at the Red Bull Formula 1 racing team weren't busy enough with the short week between the Austrian Grand Prix two days ago and the British Grand Prix this weekend at Silverstone. So they have taken today to reveal their new Red Bull roadgoing hypercar tie-in with Aston Martin, the AM-RB 001. The two have used Aston's engine know-how, design and style excellence, and Red Bull Racing's composites, chassis, and aerodynamics knowledge to create wheat they call "a road car the like of which has never been seen before".
Adrian Newey, Red Bull Racing’s Chief Technical Officer and legendary F1 designer has designed a car where most of the aero magic happens underneath. This means that Aston Martin's Chief Creative Officer, Marek Reichman, was able to create a breathtaking form that looks like nothing else on the road. It is dramatic and simple with bulging fenders, a narrow cockpit on wide sills, and just a hint of the classic Aston grille in the nose. What you won't see are aero baubles and tack-ons. There is no massive rear wing, just a tapering rear. Aston and Red Bull Racing don't specify a number, but they say the design has "unprecedented levels of downforce in a road-legal car".
The car uses a carbon chassis, not shared with anything else in the Aston line. The suspension is designed by Newey based on substantial F1 knowledge and experience. He has also designed the transmission as an all-new unit. The engine will be an Aston designed naturally aspirated V12. Power isn't specified, but the potential for 1 hp per kg is claimed. The car may also end up with and F1 style KERS hybrid system.
Somewhere between 99 and 150 cars will be produced, including prototypes. In case the AM-RB 001 isn't extreme enough for you part of that production will be 25 track-only versions, engineered to be even more extreme, more single focused, and (of course) even quicker. The full slate of jaw-dropping statistics isn't available yet, but the track only model is claimed to be as fast as an LMP1 Le Mans prototype. Deliveries of the AM-RB 001 are expected to start in 2018.
