Aston Martin reveals 700kW AM-RB 001 hypercar

Aston Martin has revealed the all-new hypercar it has developed with Formula 1 race team, Red Bull Racing, that's claimed to be the fastest, most advanced Aston yet.

Called the AM-RB 001, a full-size model of the forthcoming McLaren P1-rival was revealed late last night at a ceremony at Aston's HQ.

Designed in partnership with famous F1 designer, Adrian Newey, the British sportscar-maker confirmed it would make just 99-150 road-legal hypercars with an additional 25 more hardcore versions for wealthy track day enthusiasts.

Claimed to be capable of lapping the Silverstone race circuit in the same time as a current F1 car, when it goes on sale in 2018 the AM-RB 001 is likely to set new performance benchmarks and break production car lap records all over the globe.

Standing less than a 1000mm tall, 1900mm wide, F1 designer Newey's presence in the design of the hypercar is evident by its ultra-compact packaging - the same concept that helped Sebastien Vettel clinch four F1 world championships driving for the Red Bull team.

With the Aston, Newey’s input is claimed to have introduced state-of-art advanced aerodynamics alien to road cars. These include a tight "shrink-wrapped" underside, front and rear diffusers and even an exhaust-blown rear diffuser that generates "ground effect" aerodynamics.

Inside, both driver and passenger have little room to breathe and are subjected to a 'feet-up' F1 car driving position with both driver and passenger’s comfort sacrificed for aerodynamic efficiency. The production AM-RB 001 also does without door mirrors for the same reasons. Instead, there's rear-facing cameras that project the view from behind on the dashboard.

Gullwing doors allow easy access to the confined cockpit. A removable steering wheel, meanwhile, helps the driver lower themselves into the tightly packaged cabin.

Behind the driver is an all-new twin-turbo 5.2-litre V12 that, despite its swept capacity, is said to have no relation to the new, similarly-sized DB11's V12.

Engineers claim that the AM-RB 001 will have a near 1:1 power-to-weight ratio thanks to the full carbon-fibre construction. Target weight is said to be well below 1000kg. If that's the case, with 1bhp per kilo of weight, the Aston Martin hypercar could generate as much as 900-1000bhp (670-745kW) from its V12.

Boosting performance further is an F1-inspired energy recovery system (ERS) that claws back kinetic energy under braking and uses electric motors to assist the V12 for added bursts of overtaking acceleration.

It's not known what type of transmission the British hypercar will use, but Aston Martin says the gearbox is all-new, designed by Newey and developed by Red Bull hinting, it too, could be ground-breaking.

Road and track versions will come with different aerodynamics, with the track-only McLaren P1 GTR-rival getting larger front wings, wide slick tyres and a fixed rear wing.

The circuit-biased AM-RB 001 will also come with carbon-fibre suspension and an 'extreme' track mode that sees the ride height lower for optimum aerodynamics. Aston Martin says performance for the track version will match current LMP1 Le Mans prototype racers.

The road car, meanwhile, has an active rear spoiler and an incredible underbody central exhaust that blows its fumes onto a rear wing to replicate the F1-style "blown rear diffuser" that Newey pioneered in F1.

The car shown last night was described as a design model. The 'real' prototype based on Newey's radical hypercar will begin testing in the middle of 2017,

Aston Martin says Red Bull Racing with remain a partner in the journey to engineer the wild concept to production car reality.

Rumoured to costs between £2-3 million ($3.5-5m), Aston Martin says it has already received 300 expressions of interest following a customer reveal in May. The car-maker says owners of either the recently launched Vulcan or older One-77 will be guaranteed a place on the waiting list.

Speaking following the reveal, Red Bull Racing's Adrian Newey said: “I’ve long harboured the desire to design a road car.

"I’ve always been adamant that the AM-RB 001 should be a true road car that’s also capable of extreme performance on track".