Aston Martin Teases Its Upcoming 003 Hybrid Hypercar
UPDATE 2/20/19: Aston has released the first teaser photo of the 003 hypercar, which shows the rear end. In the image, which we have enhanced, we can see rectangular LED lights, the top of a huge rear diffuser, an active rear spoiler, and top-mounted exhaust tips on the rear deck. The 003 really does look like a slightly more tame version of the Valkyrie from the back, with a tapering greenhouse and wide rear hips. No additional details of the car have been released, but we might learn more at next month's Geneva auto show.
We broke the news that Aston Martin was planning to produce a mid-engined supercar positioned beneath the beyond-hyper Valkyrie last year, and now the company has confirmed that the production version will go on sale in late 2021, with the project currently referred to internally as the 003.
The 003 moniker is because the roadgoing Valkyrie and the track-only Valkyrie AMR Pro count as different projects: 001 and 002, respectively. Both Valkyries are being jointly developed with the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team, under the technical leadership of Adrian Newey, and although there is no confirmation that Red Bull will also be involved with 003, an Aston spokesman told C/D: "We are very hopeful that everyone involved with 001 and 002 will continue to be involved with 003." When we spoke to Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner at the British Grand Prix in July, he told us that his organization is already "heavily involved" with the project, hinting about even more future collaborations for good measure.
The production version of the 003 will be positioned below the Valkyrie and still limited to no more than 500 cars. It will be more practical than its zero-compromise sister: Aston promises that it will have luggage space and be homologated for road use in all major markets, and it will be offered in both left- and right-hand drive. It will be built around a lightweight structure-we'd be very surprised if that wasn't a carbon-fiber tub-and Aston promises class-leading performance from active aerodynamics and suspension systems.
The official release confirms the car will have a turbocharged gasoline-electric hybrid engine. We will have to wait to see if that is sourced from Aston's existing deal with Daimler, which supplies the AMG twin-turbo V-8 that is fitted to the DB11 and Vantage. Intriguingly, when we spoke to Adrian Newey about the Valkyrie at this year's Geneva auto show, he said that serious consideration had been given to producing it with a twin-turbo V-6 rather than the naturally aspirated V-12 it is now being developed with; we wonder if some of that thinking has been transferred to the junior car.
As with the Valkyrie, chassis development of the 003 will be led by Chris Goodwin, who defected from his former role as McLaren's chief test pilot last year. The mid-engined Aston is clearly aimed at the ground currently occupied by his former employer, as well as Lamborghini and Ferrari. Aston boss Andy Palmer has hinted he sees an entire range of mid-engined Astons, so we can anticipate more news to come.
This story was originally published on 9/20/18.
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