Aston Marton AM RB 035 Unveiling Abu Dhabi Max Verstappen 1
Aston Martin AM RB 001 01 lt6x
Aston Martin AM RB 001 06 r960
Aston Marton AM RB 036 Unveiling Abu Dhabi
Aston Martin AM RB 037 Marek Reichman Dr
Gautam Sharma3 Dec 2016
NEWS

Aston hypercar secrets revealed

All the nitty-gritty on Aston Martin's ballistic AM-RB 001 from the man who's designing it

Aston Martin claims its 150-unit AM-RB 001 hypercar – co-developed with Red Bull Racing – is already four times oversubscribed, despite a $4m-plus pricetag (ex-UK).

Company CEO Andy Palmer says the circa-1000bhp (746kW) tarmac missile will have a “sexy” name (AM-RB 001 is just the internal designation) and will rewrite all performance benchmarks for road-registerable vehicles when deliveries start in late 2018.

Design director Marek Reichman gave carsales.com.au the inside line on the upcoming halo car:

carsales: Is the biggest difference between the AM-RB 001 and the likes of the LaFerrari, P1 and 918 Spyder the fact it weighs only 1000kg?
MR: The benefit of being light is that you’re not loading things. Given that it weighs only 1000kg, it means the brakes don’t have to be so big. It means the steering has a great feel. The reason we can keep it to 1000kg is because all the electronics and pipework is sat behind the driver. All the connections for the cooling are in the rear part of the car, so everything is set up in the most efficient way possible. What’s more, everything that takes place in the car, the driver feels. They’re not muted from the experience. It’s powered by a high-revving, naturally aspirated V12, and we wanted this to be the most incredible sounding car out there. You’ll be able to take off any piece of the car and put it up on a pedestal. It will be a piece of art.

How much of what we see here will go into production?
MR: This is 95 per cent the final car. Now I’m just working on the areas where we need a bit more cooling, or a bit more exiting air, so there’s more airflow around the car. There will also be small cameras integrated into the A-pillars in lieu of wing mirrors. But effectively what you see is how it will be when it’s driving around on the road late next year. The first prototypes will be on the road in late 2017, and then 2018 it will be finished. Deliveries to customers will start in late 2018 and into 2019. The track derivative will be rolled out after the road-going version.

Aston Martin AM RB 001 10 q1h4

Is the V12 in any way related to the existing 6.0-litre unit?
MR: We haven’t disclosed the capacity yet, but the V12 will be naturally aspirated and displace between 6 and 7 litres… and it will rev to 9500rpm. It’s an all-new engine with a much more open angle between the Vee (the existing Aston V12s are 60-degree units) as we don’t care about the width, but we do care about the height, because we want to keep the centre of gravity as low as possible. It will have a flat-plane crank for the same reason. We’re developing the single-clutch sequential gearbox with Xtrac (which provides the gearboxes for Aston Martin’s race cars), and this is a much lighter solution than a dual-clutch transmission.

I presume the KERS system that supplements the V12 makes use of Red Bull’s know-how?
MR: It’s kind of a KERS system, but it’s more like a big capacitor. So, if you imagine something that stores energy and provides a boost when needed. It has enough storage to start the car in the morning and drive at low speeds, but it’s not a hybrid system – it’s an 80hp (60kW) KERS boost system in which there’s no need to lug around big battery packs and so forth.

Aston Martin AM RB001 33 uol1

How difficult was it to package the big V12, plus this system into the car?
MR:  It’s difficult, but it’s what we do every day, and it’s what Adrian Newey does every day. If you look at the back of an F1 car with the panels off, now that’s a packaging challenge. The real satisfaction is from creating something where every single millimetre is considered. Nothing is done to excess. Even when we talk about a cut line or surface finish, we calculate weight.

Where on the scale between usability and extreme performance did you and Adrian agree to orient the car?
MR: The first thing Adrian and I agreed on was that we wanted to be able to get into the car and drive it to the pub, have a glass of water and then drive it away. The idea was that customers should think: “I can’t wait to drive my 001”, even if it’s down to the shops for a pint of milk. Yet they’ll still be able to track the car, even if it’s not the track derivative (which will be rolled out later). So, our ethos was to create a car that can deliver 4.5Gs of lateral cornering, and have acceleration that’s off the charts, thanks to its one-to-one ratio (one bhp per kilo). It can compete with a race-trimmed F1 car, yet you can drive it on the roads… and it’s easy. It’s not an opera-style show and tell. It’s just about the driving.

Related Reading: Best of British
>> Aston Martin AM-RB 001 Concept
>> Aston Martin DB11 Review

Aston Martin AM RB 037 Marek Reichman Dr

Will you steer clear of driver-assist electronics as much as you can?
MR: Obviously with this kind of power and performance, you need some electronic traction and stability controls. We have all of that, but we also have direct steering and a naturally aspirated engine. We don’t need a lot of electronic controls in the steering, because the car is light. We use the light weight of the car to enhance the driving feel, and this means you can eliminate a lot of the electronic systems.

Are these powered gullwing doors?
MR: Yes, it’s a powered gullwing door, so as it opens you can either step into the tub or sit on the sill and then swing your legs into the cabin. This is something that can be elegantly done even by a woman in a miniskirt. Believe it or not, that was one of the considerations! This car is about driveability. We want the owners to use their cars and this means it shouldn’t be intimidating or difficult to use. It’s about getting in the car and driving it.

Aston Martin AM RB001 31 qsjf


What were the parameters for interior packaging?
MR: I’m six-foot four (1.93m) and I’m the proxy for this car. I can sit in it quite comfortably. It’s a lot like being in the bathtub, you put your head back, you put your feet up, and that’s what you do in the car… you’re literally prone in it. You don’t have to use your muscles, as your head is supported by the headrest. The seat is fixed, but the pedals and column adjust to suit your height. What we’ll do with customers is to fix their seat in the car according to their frame, and put the pedals and steering column in a place where they have a suitable range of adjustment. They’ll be able to move them slightly to get their preferred driving position.

This is obviously a low-volume car, but will you still have to crash-test it to meet regulations?
MR: Yes, unfortunately we do have to crash-test four cars. But because the car is so rigid, we can do offset barrier, side and rear on one tub. So, we can crash multiple times with one car. The nosecone helps, as the whole front of the car is crash structure.

Aston Martin AM RB001 32 248e

What about pedestrian impact regulations?
MR: That’s a sharp front splitter on the car… That actually helps, as the legislation is that you have to basically break the ankle to make the pedestrian fall over onto the bonnet. The most difficult cars are the ones that are tall, because how do you possibly break an ankle in that case?

The ride height will obviously be adjustable, no?
MR: Yes, it will have a riser system for bumps and ramps. There’s also a self-raising function at low speeds, whereby a camera automatically spots speed humps and raises the car. There will also be an active rear spoiler – like an F1-inspired DRS system. But there’s no need for the spoiler to serve as an air brake because the car is very light. You only need an air brake in cars like Bugattis because they weigh 2000kg.

Can you elaborate on the materials used for this car’s construction?
MR: It’s a mixture of F1-technology carbons and Kevlar where we need to use it. But the great thing about an F1 tub is that there’s different thicknesses of carbon depending on the rigidity required, but always reducing weight. So we’re learning from Red Bull’s F1 expertise in everything we’re doing. The whole car is carbon and titanium, and the wheels are carbon and magnesium. There isn’t a single piece of steel in the whole car. The engine block is aluminium, while the upper components are carbon.

Aston Martin AM RB001 30 ju0t

That aerodynamic channelling under the front looks unlike any other road car out there?
MR: That was one of the biggest challenges, because you’re basically exposing the chassis to stones etc. We had to do a lot of work in developing the underside, not just in terms of aerodynamics, but also in terms of safety and as a safety cell for the occupants.

Presumably, some 001s will at some point be involved in a crash. Will owners need to then send the damaged car back to the factory for repairs?
MR: All the dealerships that will sell this car will receive the training to repair it… within reason. But if the damage is severe enough to warrant a chassis scan, then it will need to come back to the factory.

Do you have any Nurburgring Nordschleife and top speed projections?
MR: We do have a Nordschleife projection, but I’m not in a position to share it. Top speed will be upwards of 250mph (402kph).

There are arguably two great designers working on this car – yourself and Adrian Newey – both with presumably different ideas. Did this result in a lot of conflicts?
MR: (Laughs) Everybody in the company was worried about the first time we would meet. I’m pretty determined in what I like, and so is Adrian. Luckily we get on like a house on fire. Sometimes we argue a point, but at the end of the day we always find a resolution. That’s why I say we don’t stop at answer number one, two, three or four. Sometimes it’s answer number seven that gives us what we want. We set out to find a solution that isn’t a compromise to either party. We have a very similar philosophy as I like simplicity and purity. Apart from being technically brilliant, Adrian is also an aesthete. He knows what something beautiful looks like. Sometimes those partnerships don’t work but, in this instance, it’s been a very good one.

Share this article
Written byGautam Sharma
See all articles
Our team of independent expert car reviewers and journalistsMeet the team
Stay up to dateBecome a carsales member and get the latest news, reviews and advice straight to your inbox.
Download the carsales app
    AppStoreDownloadGooglePlayDownload
    App Store and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc. Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.
    © CAR Group Ltd 1999-2024
    In the spirit of reconciliation we acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.