The much-rumoured but scarcely-known upcoming hypercar – dubbed internally as AM-RB 001 - being built jointly by Aston Martin and Red Bull seems to be very nearly ready for its prime time debut.
There is indeed very little solid information that we can attribute to the car other than the fact that both companies want it to be very fast. And by association, it will likely be unattainably expensive and produced in very limited numbers – just 99 examples.
Apparently, both companies were already well on their way into the engineering and development of the car by the time the initial announcement was made in March, leading to a selected unveiling to prospective customers at the Monaco Grand Prix.
And now, if a report by Autocar UK proves accurate, Aston Martin and Red Bull are ready to reveal the car’s design as soon as tonight. Andy Palmer, CEO of Aston Martin, told the publication that they are “70% to 80% there in terms of appearance” with working prototypes due in early 2017 for more development work to reach a full launch in 2018.
Palmer said: “We have a full-sized model of the surfaces as they stand, which is going through regulatory validation, so we’re checking things such as seat position, eye position and visibility.”
As far as what the AM-RB 001 might look or drive like, Aston Martin’s chief designer Marek Reichman says that it will be “uncompromising”, and that while the car is extreme “at many levels”, the design isn’t. There have also been some rather vague sketches release that raises more questions than answers.
Reichman also spoke further about the car’s hybrid powertrain, confirming it’s mid-engine petrol engine augmented by electric motors fed by a bank of batteries. He disclosed that it’s weight is of a paramount concern, and that they want to keep it as light as possible. To that end, they’re expecting it to be “slightly heavier” than an LMP1 racer which less just under a tonne.
If the report proves to be true, we’ll be seeing more about this new hypercar before long and hopefully have a clearer idea of what the AM-RB 001 is. Perhaps, even, we’ll find out if they plan to give it a catchier name.
Aston Martin did show off a mid-engine car, albeit a virtual one, in the form of the DP-100 which it injected into the Gran Turismo video game racing series as part of the Vision Gran Turismo program.
For more on Aston Martin vehicles, including pricing and specifications, check out our Showroom.
