Hold on tight: it's the Aston Martin AM-RB 001 hypercar

ASTON MARTIN and Red Bull have raised the stakes for every maker of supercars by revealing a car that puts the hyper into hypercar.

Said to weigh just 1,000kg, and powered by a 1,000bhp naturally aspirated V12 engine, the car, codenamed AM-RB 001, is expected to outstrip even the Bugatti Veyron in performance. Its aerodynamic design is said to generate more downforce than any other road-legal car. Yet Aston Martin claims it is also a practical vehicle suitable for public roads.

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The AM-RB 001 is the result of just over a year’s work – fast for a manufacturer that typically takes three years to design and develop a model before it is released to the public.

The brains behind the project is Adrian Newey, a racing car designer who has 10 Formula One world championships to his name, with Williams, McLaren and, most recently, Red Bull.

“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, and this means it really has to be a car of two characters,” Newey said. “That’s the secret we’re trying to put into this car — the technology that allows it to be docile and comfortable, but with immense outright capabilities.”

The technical specification is still evolving. Newey has hinted that an element of hybrid power may be added to boost the V12’s performance, but he stresses that it’s still a work in progress. However, one goal is non-negotiable: the car should be capable of lapping a racing circuit in the same time as an LMP1 Le Mans-type racing car.

At least 99 AM-RB 001 hypercars will be built; if the demand is there, the company can make up to 150, according to Andy Palmer, its chief executive.

The price, Palmer indicates, is likely to be between £2m and £3m. The AM-RB 001 will be built at Aston’s Gaydon factory, in Warwickshire, from late 2018.