ston Martin is keen that you don’t lump the Valkyrie hypercar (you
remember: single-minded Adrian Newey package and aero; astonishing
naturally-aspirated 6.5-litre V12 with hybrid boost making 1160bhp; £2.5m)
in with the likes of the McLaren P1, Ferrari LaFerrari and AMG One. It is,
Aston says, something beyond even those ethereal machines, and a unique
automotive moment.
Here, then, is the car we are allowed to compare to the aforementioned
Ferrari, McLaren and AMG: AM-RB 003, a name that makes little sense
until you recall Valkyrie’s codename was AM-RB 001 and the track-only
Valkyrie AMR Pro’s AM-RB 002.
‘This is the bridging project between Valkyrie and Vanquish; the latter
is the “cooking product” for want of a better term in our mid-engined line-
up,’ explains Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer. It’s a big leap from a £2.5m
car [Valkyrie] to a competitor of a future 488 or future Aventador. So this is
AM-RB 003, “Son of Valkyrie” – a £1m hypercar to be built in a limited run
of 500 units.’
While clearly inspired by Valkyrie, AM-RB 003 will blend that car’s84 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | APRIL 2019
A
AM-RB
003 debuts
Aston’s
new interior
thinking. We
like it a lotAM-RB 003: Aston’s LaFerrari
extensive use of carbonfibre (for both chassis and bodywork) with elements
of Vanquish’s V6 hybrid powertrain in place of Valkyrie’s boosted V12. To
an extent, development of the AM-RB 003 will run in tandem with that of
the Vanquish, though it’s the more expensive, carbon-tubbed car that will
hit the road first.
‘We have the body architecture in carbonfibre and the aerodynamics
from Valkyrie but with the engine which will eventually go into AM9
[Vanquish]; the brand new V6 engine,’ explains Palmer. ‘And obviously the
point of the V6 is that it’s a smaller, easier-to-package engine [than even
Valkyrie’s bespoke, mass-obsessed V12]. One of the lessons we’ve really
embraced from the Adrian Newey collaboration is an obsession with mass,
and wrapping everything as tightly as we possibly can for reasons of effi-
ciency. You’ll see that in this car.’
Palmer confirms that Red Bull and its celebrated aerodynamicist will
work directly on AM-RB 003, whereas their influence on Vanquish is less
direct and more by osmosis. That attention is evident in 003’s moveable
aero surfaces, an idea recently explored by McLaren on its Speedtail.Dihedral
doors, as
opposed to
Valkyrie’s
gullwings