A lot of the attention on Aston Martin these days is surrounding the Valkyrie, but even with their halo car mid-way through development, they’re already getting started on the next big thing. Following in the footsteps of McLaren as the market for smaller, more “accessible” supercars is stronger than ever – people want left-field alternatives to Ferraris and Lamborghinis – their AM-RB 003 may be just want the people need.
It was previously known as Project 003, not that you would know what that means. The first two letters in the name refer to Aston Martin, naturally, while the second two refer to Red Bull – which is in reference to the involvement of Red Bull Advanced Technologies. It will be limited to just 500 units world wide, so while it may not be as insanely exclusive as the Valkyrie, it’s still about as exclusive as a Toyota Yaris GRMN.
Much of the styling follows that of the Valkyrie albeit scaled down. There’s plenty of channelling under the body which naturally provides an insane amount of downforce when controlled properly. The entire rear wing is variable airfoil that blends smoothly with the body, which would be an industry first. Light weight elements are still a big showing here, although again it’s not quite as extreme as the Valkyrie.
The largest and most immediate difference would be the powertrain. While the Valkyrie has a confirmed four-digit horsepower rating from its hybrid system and massive 6.5-litre V12 engine, the AM-RB 003 will use a more modest turbocharged V6 engine that’s still in development by Aston Martin. The chassis and bodywork is largely carbon as is the case with the Valkyrie, with the emphasis of road legality without compromising performance or aerodynamics.
As is the case with the Vanquish, details of the AM-RB 003 will be released progressively as the project continues. From the renders, however, we can expect it to be fairly similar in nature to the Valkyrie in its end product, but with the aforementioned approachability that comes with the less high-strung engine and such modern conveniences as “smartphone connectivity” and functional audio. Oh, and it comes with Le Mans style doors too.
Keyword: Geneva 2019: The AM-RB 003 Will Be A Baby Aston Martin Valkyrie