Aston Martin and Red Bull Racing are joining forces to build what is described as ‘the ultimate of all road cars’.
The tie-up between the luxury British sports car brand and the multiple Formula One World Championship-winning racing team comes within weeks of Aston Martin unveiling the DB11 model and announcing that it will be constructed in a new factory in south Wales.
No details of the new car, codenamed AM-RB 001, are currently available, but industry observers predict it will beat all road rivals in terms of performance and handling, and also leave several race cars in its wake. Rumours suggest it will be made in a run of around 100 cars each of which cost at least £2 million.
The car will be designed jointly by Red Bull Racing’s Chief Technical Officer, Adrian Newey and Aston Martin’s Chief Creative Officer, Marek Reichman, and according to Aston Martin will represent the ultimate blend of cutting edge F1 technology with Aston Martin’s signature sports car design.
The two companies believe that the combined talents of Newey, widely noted as the most successful Formula One designer of all time, and Reichman, Aston Martin’s design chief since 2005, along with what are described as the world’s best aerodynamicists, composite experts and manufacturing masters, will produce the ultimate hypercar.
Aston Martin returns to F1 – but only as a sponsor
The reveal of plans for the AM-RB 001 comes alongside the announcement of a tie-up between the two companies, an ‘innovation partnership’ that will see Aston Martin’s winged logo return to Grand Prix racing for the first time since 1960, on Red Bull’s F1 cars.
According to Aston Martin CEO Dr Andy Palmer, Formula One offers the ultimate global stage to build wider awareness of the Aston Martin brand but partnership will deliver even more than that when the hypercar hits the road.
“Between Q by Aston Martin Advanced, Red Bull Advanced Technologies and project partner AF Racing AG, we are going to create a car that will excite and stir the imaginations of the car designers of the future and a global audience of sports car enthusiasts,” Palmer says.
“These are exciting times for Aston Martin and arriving hot on the heels of our DB11 launch earlier this month, this new partnership underlines that our brand really is racing again.”
The optimism is shared by Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner who describes the project as very exciting for everyone in the team. “It’s an incredible project which also realises a dream and vision long held by Adrian to design a road car – we are very much looking forward to what I’m certain will be a successful partnership,” Horner says.
