Aston Martin hypercar coming

Aston Martin is about to embark on what could be its most ambitious project yet, as it attempts to overtake current hypercar heroes like the McLaren P1, Porsche 918 Spyder, Ferrari LaFerrari and snatch the crown from the current king, the Koenigsegg One:1.

According to European media reports, the man who helped Red Bull Racing win four consecutive F1 drivers and constructors championships, Adrian Newey, has embarked on a new mission to deliver Aston Martin hypercar bragging rights.

Various reports suggest the aerodynamics guru will work with Aston Martin to design a brand-new hypercar due in 2018, a car that will bloody the noses of its more fancied European rivals.

Aston Martin showed its Vulcan supercar for the first time publicly at the 2015 Goodwood Festival of Speed in June, but that 600kW machine could well just be an appetiser compared to what Newey is dreaming up.

The project is understood to be part of an alliance between Aston Martin and Red Bull Technologies, with Newey tasked with the exterior design and working his aerodynamic magic on the high-velocity vehicle. Although the project is still in its early stages and certainly not signed and sealed yet, there's more and more talk that both Red Bull and Aston Martin are keen on the idea.

It's not clear whether the proposed hypercar would be road-legal, or simply a track-day special, but if the project does eventuate it's expected to have a German heart beating away beneath its carbon-fibre body panels.

Mercedes-Benz owns five per cent of Aston Martin and Benz-sourced engines will power the next-generation of Aston Martin sports cars. As such, a new hypercar would almost certainly be expected to make use of Benz power. Just don't expect that to translate to Mercedes power for the Red Bull Racing F1 cars. At least, not yet.

During the 2015 Goodwood Festival of Speed, UK publication Autocar quoted Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner confirming that Red Bull and its star employee, Adrian Newey, are keen on building a road car.

"It's something that Adrian is keen to do as a legacy project," said Horner. "At the moment our focus is on being a Formula 1 constructor but as we see more technology cross over with the road-car market, it's something that will organically grow."

Watch this space.