Saturday 18th February 2017

Aston Martin AM-RB 001 tech partners revealed

Cosworth, Ricardo, Alcon, Multimatic and more join Newey-led Aston Martin project to build world's fastest car

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To paraphrase the old gag if everyone thought the Aston Martin and Red Bull collaboration on the Adrian Newey designed AM-RB 001 was a bit of a joke then nobody is laughing now.

Last we checked in with the project we had confirmation of the way it'll look and an assertion from Newey it would be as fast as an LMP1 car in its circuit configuration. 25 of these track spec cars will be built, in addition to a 'maximum' of 150 in road spec, this number up slightly on original estimates of around 100 but said to include all prototypes and development cars. There's no further word on price but at last count we were anticipating it to be getting on for £3m. The 2018 delivery schedule seems to have slipped slightly, Aston Martin now saying customer cars will arrive in 2019 instead.

There are still no firm performance numbers yet, beyond saying there will be one horsepower for every kilo of weight - described as a 1:1 power to weight ratio. A four-figure power output is therefore a safe bet. At the heart of that will be a bespoke Cosworth built naturally-aspirated, high revving V12 engine displacing 6.5 litres. This, we can probably all agree, is a good starting point and indicates whatever else contributes to the propulsion there will be a noisy, charismatic internal combustion motor at the centre of the action.

While sparing on the details Aston Martin has confirmed a "hybrid battery system" from Croatian firm Rimac using expertise gained in its 1,000hp-plus electric supercar project.

Meanwhile Ricardo's engineering clout in the supercar world is well established, having supplied the gearbox for the Bugatti Veyron and developed and built the 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 at the heart of McLaren's product range. In this instance it's working on the AM-RB 001's gearbox, a seven-speed unit designed to "deploy intelligent engineering solutions to achieve Newey's uncompromising goals". Details beyond that are scant. Guess what though - it will be paddle operated.

Multimatic - a key partner in the Ford GT project - will supply the AM-RB 001's carbon tub while Alcon and Surface Transforms will be in charge of braking technology. Bosch will meanwhile manage ECUs and other control systems. Quite the dream team in other words.

"Much like Formula One, designing, engineering and building a car like the AM-RB 001 is a massive team effort," affirms Newey. "To achieve great things you need to surround yourself with the best people. Experience, creativity, energy, diligence and perfectionism are absolute must-have qualities in every area of the project. Having great technical partners such as those working with us is both reassuring and motivating. Together we aim to produce an innovative piece of engineering art."

Certainly Geneva will provide rich pickings for the moneyed hypercar buyer with a few million to burn - if that's you and you were too slow to catch a Huayra Roadster it may be worth showing your face at the Aston Martin stand. Saying that if you are reading this and thinking "I fancy one of those..." you may already be too late. More when we have it.

[Sources: Autocar]

[WCZ]

£3m is pretty expensive for a new car, if this doesn't meet the expected performance (i'm sure it will) then it'll be very embarrassing for them

[cidered77]

if they deliver on their promises, this would be an absolutely monumental increase in pace for any car deemed "fastest road car in the world".

Current holy trinity on their standard tyres would be comfortably be beaten on most circuits by a moderate club racer on slicks (Radical SR4/PR6, Sports 2000, etc) - and I doubt much faster than a 30k racer if there were on slicks. If we take that laptime to be about a 2:08 on silverstone GP - then LMP1 pace means closer to 1:40.

That is just a different universe to anything made as a road car before. Even the dubious "road" cars like Radical SR8 would be 20 seconds up the road. Some bankers in for a bit of a shock. And doubtless neck and heart issues...!

Would need to be on race slicks, which I guess is what "circuit configuration" means..

[WCZ]

cidered77 said:

if they deliver on their promises, this would be an absolutely monumental increase in pace for any car deemed "fastest road car in the world".

Current holy trinity on their standard tyres would be comfortably be beaten on most circuits by a moderate club racer on slicks (Radical SR4/PR6, Sports 2000, etc) - and I doubt much faster than a 30k racer if there were on slicks. If we take that laptime to be about a 2:08 on silverstone GP - then LMP1 pace means closer to 1:40.

That is just a different universe to anything made as a road car before. Even the dubious "road" cars like Radical SR8 would be 20 seconds up the road. Some bankers in for a bit of a shock. And doubtless neck and heart issues...!

Would need to be on race slicks, which I guess is what "circuit configuration" means..

Why can't someone just make an LMP1 car road legal? or am I missing something obvious here.

There are several road legal Porsche 962 cars...

[Bob_Defly]

This will be at the Toronto Auto Show tomorrow, will try and get some pics.

[TheDrBrian]

Wasn't it supposed to be faster than an F1 car? What happened to that?

http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/aston-martin-wan...

[Frimley111R]

Totally forgot about this. Seems like a 'Generate some news about it, anything will do' sort of press release.

[cidered77]

well I can't think of too many reasons to be negative about this - just a cool thing. What's not to like!?

[PunterCam]

I just have no interest in these aero-first cars. What's the point? It's just dick waving.

Homologation or converted race cars - great! I'm all for racing cars on the road - it's so dramatic! If Aston/Audi/Ferrari/Porsche/Peugeot/whoever had to build a Group B matching 300(?) homogated road cars in order to race at LeMans (or whatever), and this was one of them, I'd be all for it! Great idea! But this pretend race car? Tacky.

[cidered77]

ahh, if we were all the same life would be so boring.

I think converted race cars is just cheating, as they're never really proper road cars. Suspension travel, noise, vibration, component durability, maintenance, cooling - all things that make race cars awful road cars.

A road car that can actually be lived with deals with all of these. But are miles off club racers in all but most extreme situations - a genuine road car with close to LMP1 pace i think is fascinating. Variations on the P1/918, etc which are still big heavy road cars don't interest me - the lap time claims of this i find incredible. Cannot recall anything ever moving the game on so far in terms of pure laptime.

[PunterCam]

cidered77 said:

ahh, if we were all the same life would be so boring.

I think converted race cars is just cheating, as they're never really proper road cars. Suspension travel, noise, vibration, component durability, maintenance, cooling - all things that make race cars awful road cars.

A road car that can actually be lived with deals with all of these. But are miles off club racers in all but most extreme situations - a genuine road car with close to LMP1 pace i think is fascinating. Variations on the P1/918, etc which are still big heavy road cars don't interest me - the lap time claims of this i find incredible. Cannot recall anything ever moving the game on so far in terms of pure laptime.

It's going to be a racing car, but tarted up a bit. Having a similar power output to the LaFerrari, but weighing a good 400kgs less isn't going to result in a road car that's as fast as a racing car; it's going to result in a racing car that's as fast as a racing car. Except this isn't a racing car.

I don't get it.

[73RS]

so, what exactly are Aston Martin bringing to the team? Just the brand?

[andyps]

I think Aston are contributing quite a lot from a conversation I had with someone who works there. His concern was that they would have to put so much into it that the return is likely to be negative for them if they can even manage the engineering challenges set out.

Not they have announced the engine size and configuration I'm really struggling to see how they can actually fit it into the design which has been shown so far, and how it will get enough air to allow the engine to breathe and produce the power suggested as well as the cooling requirement. Will be great if they can achieve it but I suspect the final design will require quite a few changes from what has been seen so far.

[skidskid]

andyps said:

Not they have announced the engine size and configuration I'm really struggling to see how they can actually fit it into the design which has been shown so far, and how it will get enough air to allow the engine to breathe and produce the power suggested as well as the cooling requirement. Will be great if they can achieve it but I suspect the final design will require quite a few changes from what has been seen so far.

I think that will be the real genius of this car, the packaging.

[350Matt]

andyps said:

I think Aston are contributing quite a lot from a conversation I had with someone who works there. His concern was that they would have to put so much into it that the return is likely to be negative for them if they can even manage the engineering challenges set out.

Not they have announced the engine size and configuration I'm really struggling to see how they can actually fit it into the design which has been shown so far, and how it will get enough air to allow the engine to breathe and produce the power suggested as well as the cooling requirement. Will be great if they can achieve it but I suspect the final design will require quite a few changes from what has been seen so far.

just take a look at mid 2000 f1 car
they managed 900bhp in small space
so will this

[andyps]

350Matt said:

just take a look at mid 2000 f1 car
they managed 900bhp in small space
so will this

But the demands of an F1 car aren't quite the same as a road car. This needs to be able to dissipate the heat the engine will generate whilst travelling through cities such as London at average speeds of less than 10 miles per hour for maybe 30 minutes at a time whilst also keeping the occupants cool. F1 cars struggle when stationary if there is delay on the red lights at the start. Maybe Aston Martin will provide a couple of mechanics to follow along behind and put blowers into the radiators to keep the car cool when stuck in traffic!

Don't get me wrong, I really want to see this do what the claims say, just struggling to see how it will be possible without a few compromises along the way.

[SirSquidalot]

A hint of XJ220 about this project...

I hope it does come to fruition though, could be quite the thing.

[cidered77]

PunterCam said:

cidered77 said:

ahh, if we were all the same life would be so boring.

I think converted race cars is just cheating, as they're never really proper road cars. Suspension travel, noise, vibration, component durability, maintenance, cooling - all things that make race cars awful road cars.

A road car that can actually be lived with deals with all of these. But are miles off club racers in all but most extreme situations - a genuine road car with close to LMP1 pace i think is fascinating. Variations on the P1/918, etc which are still big heavy road cars don't interest me - the lap time claims of this i find incredible. Cannot recall anything ever moving the game on so far in terms of pure laptime.

It's going to be a racing car, but tarted up a bit. Having a similar power output to the LaFerrari, but weighing a good 400kgs less isn't going to result in a road car that's as fast as a racing car; it's going to result in a racing car that's as fast as a racing car. Except this isn't a racing car.

I don't get it.

Don't really get that to be honest... a racing car, is a racing car. I.e. engineered for track only, won't keep cool unless moving, suspension engineering for flat surfaces, zero creature comforts, never tested in freezing conditions, parts with part life measured in hours, rather than years, need to drive them with earplugs, etc.

To make a road car - something that deals with the above - and get even close to LMP1 pace would be staggering. Can't think of a more appropriate word.

[smilo996]

Interesting that some highly capable but less well known Brit firms are being used, though not all obviously.

I wonder if they and the others will play more of a part in Aston's production vehicle future as well.

[ZX10R NIN]

Wasn't the Caparo T1 pretty close to an F1 car for the road? I think one of it's big problems was that you had to carry big speed to get the grip from it so at anyform of low speed it was rubbish, this is the big problem AM is going to have with this car.

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=...

Edited by ZX10R NIN on Saturday 18th February 12:05

Edited by ZX10R NIN on Saturday 18th February 12:09

[anonymous-user]

cidered77 said:

To make a road car - something that deals with the above - and get even close to LMP1 pace would be staggering

It would also break the laws of physics as we know them.

Consider the P1/LaLa/918.

These three cars were developed, collectively by the BEST engineers in the business, and by companies that know how to make road cars and racing cars (Mclaren, Ferrari and Porsche have very very strong racing backgrounds of course).

They were developed, no not with an unlimited budget, but with enough cash to get the job done properly.
They were all relatively low volume vehicles, allowing specific design for low volume techniques to be used (just like are used for current racing cars)
All three are imo, on the limit of being practical road cars. The 918 is probably the mosty habitable, the LaLa and P1 similarly non compromising.
They all have a level of performance that the vast majority of owners will never be able to access.
All three have very very similar absolute performance because their tyres are the limiting factor


So why is an LMP1 car faster round a circuit than the Triumvirate above?

1) Hugely optimised downforce through both above and underbody aero.
2) Racing slicks
3) No usability whatsoever. Driving an LMP1 car is not actually a nice experience particularly.



So, is this new car is to "rewrite the rules", what are they going to compromise on?