Aston Martin AM-RB 001

For a company that builds cars called Vantage and Vanquish and Vulcan, AM-RB 001 sounds about as exotic as a VIN.

- Angus MacKenzie

But the prosaic name belies an extraordinary Aston Martin concept with an astounding performance target: a road car that will deliver Formula 1 race car levels of acceleration, cornering, and braking. “We’re talking an F1 car in race trim, not qualifying trim,” hastens an Aston Martin insider.

OK, consider our expectations managed.

The AM-RB 001 is the product of a joint development program between Aston Martin and Red Bull Advanced Technologies, the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team’s in-house design and engineering shop headed by superstar race car designer Adrian Newey. Aston Martin says the car shown here represents about 95 percent of the final design.

The first running prototype is still a year away, but in automotive terms, the AM-RB 001 is being developed at the speed of light. Aston Martin and Red Bull Racing execs first discussed the idea only in January this year, and a formal contract green lighting the project was signed on the eve of the Australian Grand Prix in March.