Supercars and hypercars are all about speed, and one of the tried and true ways to generate speed is to cut out as much weight as possible. This is a huge focus of Aston Martin’s new AM-RB 003 hypercar — so much so that the company isn’t even including a dashboard touchscreen. Instead, if you want to look at navigation, or tap through Spotify, you’re going to have to stick your phone in a mount on the dashboard.
Something tells me that the 500 people who will ever own this car will actually care. They’ll still be walking away with a car that’s going to be capable of… well, we actually don’t know, because Aston Martin didn’t share any specs.
Suffice to say, though, this thing will be fast when it hits the road in 2021. Powered by a new Aston Martin-built hybrid turbo V6 engine, the AM-RB 003 will “incorporate concepts and technologies taken directly from F1,” which Aston Martin recently returned to, as well as technology used in its predecessor, the Valkyrie. The company says this will give the AM-RB 003 the kind of power that will “meet and surpass the performance demands of existing top-end hypercar rivals.”
That’s saying something, because there are actually a lot of hypercar rivals these days! Electric motors are helping all kinds of companies shoot for new highs when it comes to performance. There’s the Rimac Concept Two, which nearly touches 2,000 horsepower. There’s the Pininfarina Battista, which clocks in at 1,900 horsepower. The Mercedes-AMG Project One. The McLaren Senna. We’re living through a veritable renaissance of ludicrously fast cars that none of us will ever drive, let alone afford.
Aston Martin did release a more souped-up version of the Valkyrie that only makes 1,100 horsepower, though it makes up for that power difference with a silly amount of downforce. The company will play a similar game with the AM-RB 003. But instead of using a giant rear spoiler, or one of those mechanical dynamic rear wings that are all the rage in supercars and hypercars, Aston Martin says the AM-RB 003’s wing will morph in place. To do this, Aston Martin is using a technology called FlexFoil, which was created by a company called FlexSys, which originally developed the idea for airplane wings. It’s honestly a wild thing to watch in action, and I can’t wait to see it on Aston Martin’s new car.
Combine that with the weight savings that Aston Martin is doing throughout the rest of the car — the center console is 3D-printed, for example — and we’re likely in for a very fast car. So here’s hoping that smartphone mount has a pretty tight grip.