FUTURE MODELS: Project a shot in the arm for marque
by Motor News Reporter,
2016-03-24 06:50:36.0
ASTON Martin is well on its path to revitalise and invigorate the brand and its product line-up, as evidenced with the unveiling of the DB11 sportscar at the recent Geneva Motor Show.
It also plans to launch the next generation Vantage in 2018. The latter model will likely be powered by Mercedes-AMG as part of the agreement between the British and German companies. This represents some interesting times for the British car maker that has up to now been left by the wayside as far as cutting-edge technology is concerned, utilising a similar V12 engine architecture and archaic automatic transmission across its range.
A naturally aspirated V12 remains a novelty in this age of force-fed, downsized motors, but current trends dictate that force-fed or hybrid sportscars are here to stay.
As part of its future direction, the company has also announced a partnership with Red Bull Racing in order to produce a future hypercar.
"Formula One offers the ultimate global stage to build wider awareness of the Aston Martin brand. However, this partnership will deliver even more than that when the hypercar that Aston Martin and Adrian Newey (Red Bull Racing’s head designer) are in the process of developing hits the road," says Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer.
"Between Q by Aston Martin Advanced, Red Bull Advanced Technologies and project partner AF Racing AG, we are going to create a car that will excite and stir the imaginations of the car designers of the future and a global audience of sportscar enthusiasts. These are exciting times for Aston Martin and arriving hot on the heels of our DB11 launch earlier this month, this new partnership underlines that our brand really is racing again," says Palmer.
One might question the collaboration between the two brands because, as we know, Red Bull has been a Formula One technology partner of Infiniti for a few years now. We can gather then that Red Bull Racing’s expertise in Formula One will be instrumental in the design of Aston’s hypercar. In turn the partnership will mean that the Aston Martin logo will once again appear in Formula One, albeit on the nose of Red Bull’s racecar, bizarrely with the Infiniti branding on the rear.
"This is a very exciting project for everyone at Red Bull Racing. Through this innovation partnership the iconic Aston Martin logo will return to grand prix racing for the first time since 1960, and Red Bull Advanced Technologies, led by Adrian, will be harnessing our Formula One DNA to produce the ultimate of all road cars. It’s an incredible project which also realises a dream and vision long held by Adrian to design a road car. We are very much looking forward to what I’m certain will be a successful partnership," says Red Bull Racing team principal, Christian Horner.
"We are in the process of developing a hypercar that combines the latest in aerodynamics from F1 and the stunning design language of an Aston Martin sportscar," says Aston design boss Marek Reichman.
"The opportunity to collaborate with Adrian and Red Bull Advanced Technologies will be a fascinating experience for everyone involved.
"Unconstrained by F1 regulations, we have a unique chance to create a car in its most efficient form that will represent the ultimate fusion of art and technology," he says.
The new hypercar will follow in the footsteps of some of Reichman’s iconic and exclusive Aston Martin designs in recent years, such as the Vulcan and the One-77.
"From the age of six I have had two goals in life — first, to be involved in the design of racing cars and, second, to be involved in the design of a supercar," says Newey.
"While the former ambition went on to form my career to date, the latter has always bubbled away, resulting in countless sketches and doodles over the years. The opportunity to now develop and realise those ideas while working with Marek and his colleagues from Aston Martin is tremendously exciting. It allows us to translate the technology we have developed in F1 into a new arena."
Exciting times seem to lie ahead for the Aston Martin brand as it readies itself for a new era including a new hypercar. This will mean it will now compete more meaningfully with the Ferrari LaFerrari, McLaren P1 and Porsche’s 918 Spyder at the very upper echelons of production cars.
It should signal a fresh injection of excitement into the brand, one that will likely spawn a new breed of customers who will not only have the exclusivity and craftsmanship of the brand to brag about, but also the performance potential that looks to be at the core of Aston Martin’s next generation of cars.
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Aston will launch its new DB11 later this year.
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The early design sketch gives little indication of what the hypercar will really look like.
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Red Bull Racing will use its F1 design expertise in the new Aston Martin model.
ASTON Martin is well on its path to revitalise and invigorate the brand and its product line-up, as evidenced with the unveiling of the DB11 sportscar at the recent Geneva Motor Show.
It also plans to launch the next generation Vantage in 2018. The latter model will likely be powered by Mercedes-AMG as part of the agreement between the British and German companies. This represents some interesting times for the British car maker that has up to now been left by the wayside as far as cutting-edge technology is concerned, utilising a similar V12 engine architecture and archaic automatic transmission across its range.
A naturally aspirated V12 remains a novelty in this age of force-fed, downsized motors, but current trends dictate that force-fed or hybrid sportscars are here to stay.
As part of its future direction, the company has also announced a partnership with Red Bull Racing in order to produce a future hypercar.
"Formula One offers the ultimate global stage to build wider awareness of the Aston Martin brand. However, this partnership will deliver even more than that when the hypercar that Aston Martin and Adrian Newey (Red Bull Racing’s head designer) are in the process of developing hits the road," says Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer.
"Between Q by Aston Martin Advanced, Red Bull Advanced Technologies and project partner AF Racing AG, we are going to create a car that will excite and stir the imaginations of the car designers of the future and a global audience of sportscar enthusiasts. These are exciting times for Aston Martin and arriving hot on the heels of our DB11 launch earlier this month, this new partnership underlines that our brand really is racing again," says Palmer.
One might question the collaboration between the two brands because, as we know, Red Bull has been a Formula One technology partner of Infiniti for a few years now. We can gather then that Red Bull Racing’s expertise in Formula One will be instrumental in the design of Aston’s hypercar. In turn the partnership will mean that the Aston Martin logo will once again appear in Formula One, albeit on the nose of Red Bull’s racecar, bizarrely with the Infiniti branding on the rear.
"This is a very exciting project for everyone at Red Bull Racing. Through this innovation partnership the iconic Aston Martin logo will return to grand prix racing for the first time since 1960, and Red Bull Advanced Technologies, led by Adrian, will be harnessing our Formula One DNA to produce the ultimate of all road cars. It’s an incredible project which also realises a dream and vision long held by Adrian to design a road car. We are very much looking forward to what I’m certain will be a successful partnership," says Red Bull Racing team principal, Christian Horner.
"We are in the process of developing a hypercar that combines the latest in aerodynamics from F1 and the stunning design language of an Aston Martin sportscar," says Aston design boss Marek Reichman.
"The opportunity to collaborate with Adrian and Red Bull Advanced Technologies will be a fascinating experience for everyone involved.
"Unconstrained by F1 regulations, we have a unique chance to create a car in its most efficient form that will represent the ultimate fusion of art and technology," he says.
The new hypercar will follow in the footsteps of some of Reichman’s iconic and exclusive Aston Martin designs in recent years, such as the Vulcan and the One-77.
"From the age of six I have had two goals in life — first, to be involved in the design of racing cars and, second, to be involved in the design of a supercar," says Newey.
"While the former ambition went on to form my career to date, the latter has always bubbled away, resulting in countless sketches and doodles over the years. The opportunity to now develop and realise those ideas while working with Marek and his colleagues from Aston Martin is tremendously exciting. It allows us to translate the technology we have developed in F1 into a new arena."
Exciting times seem to lie ahead for the Aston Martin brand as it readies itself for a new era including a new hypercar. This will mean it will now compete more meaningfully with the Ferrari LaFerrari, McLaren P1 and Porsche’s 918 Spyder at the very upper echelons of production cars.
It should signal a fresh injection of excitement into the brand, one that will likely spawn a new breed of customers who will not only have the exclusivity and craftsmanship of the brand to brag about, but also the performance potential that looks to be at the core of Aston Martin’s next generation of cars.
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