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2018 Aston Martin AM-RB 001 Hypercar to Cost $3 Million a Pop

When it comes down to road-going cars, Aston Martin has a lot of experience under its belt. Founded in 1913, the British manufacturer predates big players such as Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Maserati, just to name a few. But over the course of its century-long existence, Aston Martin veered away from the temptation to develop a hypercar. That, however, will soon change.
2018 Aston Martin AM-RB 001 hypercar 11 photos
Photo: Aston Martin/Red Bull
Aston Martin and Red Bull Racing AM-RB 001 hypercarAston Martin and Red Bull Racing AM-RB 001 hypercarAston Martin and Red Bull Racing AM-RB 001 hypercarAston Martin and Red Bull Racing AM-RB 001 hypercarAston Martin and Red Bull Racing AM-RB 001 hypercarAston Martin and Red Bull Racing AM-RB 001 hypercarAston Martin and Red Bull Racing AM-RB 001 hypercarAston Martin and Red Bull Racing AM-RB 001 hypercarAston Martin and Red Bull Racing AM-RB 001 hypercarAston Martin and Red Bull Racing AM-RB 001 hypercar
Presented in prototype form in July 2016, Project AM-RB 001 marries the bite-the-back-of-your-hand beauty of Aston Martin with the Formula 1 know-how of Red Bull Racing. Slated to hit production sometime in 2018, the AM-RB 001 is Aston’s and RBR’s first-ever effort in the real of hypercars. But be that as it may, we’re in for a wild rollercoaster ride laden with lots of G-forces.

New information surfaced via The Wall Street Journal puts us closer to what’s in store from the AM-RB 001. Speaking to the cited publication, aerodynamics genius and chief technical officer Adrian Newey let it slip that the hypercar is going to hit 200 mph (322 km/h) in approximately 10 seconds, then decelerate to zero in 5 seconds. That’s right, dearest reader: 0 mph to 200 mph then back to zero in 15 seconds. Can you imagine what that's like?

But wait, there’s even more madness in the offing! Of the 175 units that will ever be built, 25 of them will be track-focused monsters. The latter species is good for around 4,000 pounds or 1.8 metric tons of downforce at high speed, enabling the car to pull off 4 Gs in the twisties. To put that into perspective, a space shuttle pulls 3 Gs during launch and reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. A Formula 1 car under heavy braking produces 5 Gs or thereabout. To point out the obvious, the track rendition of the AM-RB 001 will be downright insane.

The key to all this insanity, according to Adrian Newey, is how the active suspension will work in tandem with ground effects. Don’t, however, think that the AM-RB 001 hypercar is a matter of cheap thrills and big spills. As a matter of fact, Newey told the WSJ that the road-going model would sell for $3 million or so per unit, which is a bucketload of green dollar bills.

To be built at the same facility in Gaydon where the One-77 was made, the 2018 Aston Martin AM-RB 001 will make use of a “clean-sheet design” transmission and a high-revving naturally aspirated V12 motor mounted bang in the middle. Also, look forward to a power-to-weight ratio of 1:1.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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