The Aston Martin AM-RB 003 Is A Hypercar With Nasa-Approved Aero

Aston Martin has revealed a concept version of its third hypercar, which will be developed in collaboration with Red Bull Advanced Technologies

Matt Robinson

01 Mar 2019

The Aston Martin AM-RB 003 Is A Hypercar With Nasa-Approved Aero

Believe it or not, Aston Martin already has a third hypercar. Not content with the outrageous, N/A V12-powered Valkyrie and Valkyrie AMR Pro, Gaydon has whipped up a concept version hypercar number three - the AM-RB 003 - to show off at the Geneva Motor Show.

It won’t be building it alone, though, and that’s where the ‘RB’ bit of the name comes from - Red Bull Advanced Technologies will play a big role in the design and engineering of the Valkyrie’s baby brother.

The AM-RB 003 generates most of its downforce using under-body aero

Unlike the Valkyrie, there won’t be any big N/A engine heroics going on here. Instead, the AM-RB 003 will use a new ‘hybrid turbo’ V6 engine which will be designed in-house by Aston Martin.

Other than that, little has been divulged about the car’s mechanicals, but Aston Martin has treated us to a few tasty morsels regarding the aero side of the equation. Of note is the rear wing, which has a ‘variable airfoil’ across its length thanks to something called ‘aircraft morphing technology’.

The technology comes from a company called FlexSys, and it’s actually been “validated by Nasa through extensive performance and acoustic flight testing”. It’s the first time the tech has been used in the automotive sphere, and it “allows for the car’s downforce to be changed without changing the physical angle of the entire element,” Aston Martin says. Its operation is still being fine-tuned, but the plan is to have it continually altering its shape to trim the car’s aero.

It has a conspicuously massive rear diffuser, just beyond which you can see some of the 003’s underbody aero. It’s here that the car generates most of its downforce.

The whole shebang is built around a carbon fibre structure, which is clad in carbon panels. The doors open forwards in an LMP1-like fashion, taking with them part of the roof to make getting in and out easier.

Parts of the Aston Martin AM-RB 003's cockpit are 3D printed

Like the Valkyrie, the AM-RB 003 has an extremely compact two-seater cabin, although there is some luggage space behind the seats, along with a few storage bins. Interestingly, the infotainment system will all be delivered via a link to your own smartphone, which you can mount in what must be the sturdiest cradle ever built.

Production of the AM-RB 003 will be capped at 500. Aston Martin hasn’t yet said when the car will go into production, but the related Vanquish supercar - which will use the same V6 - is due to be built from 2022.

Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.

Comments

Getting rid of built-in infotainment system is the weirdest weight reduction process I’ve ever heard.

but somehow that’s brilliant I think

Using your smartphone as an infotainment system sounds good but doesn’t save that much weight: it still needs an amplifier to boost any sounds and some sort of an iDrive-like controller, that would at least work with their own app - trust me you don’t want to reach your phone while it’s docked there, or, at this point you’d be a lot safer to hold it in your hand. So what they’re really saving is the weight of a normal display, maybe like 500g. And unless your one of those phablet weirdos, you’ll end up with a screen smaller than your neighbor has in his Peugeot