Aston Martin developing first mid-engined hypercar
BY SPENCER LEECH | 21st Sep 2018
ASTON Martin has revealed a glimpse at its third hypercar, codenamed 'Project 003', which will go on-sale internationally from 2021.
News of the Project 003 follows the unveiling of the Aston Martin Valkyrie and Valkyrie AMR Pro hypercars, which were formerly dubbed Project 001 and Project 002 before given their official nameplates.
While the single illustration published gives little indication as to the final product, the British carmaker has outed some key details.
Importantly, this will be the first mid-engined vehicle built by Aston Martin, with power coming from a turbocharged petrol-electric hybrid engine.
It's unclear exactly what engine that will be, as the Valkyrie instead uses a naturally-aspirated 6.5-litre Cosworth V12.
The vehicle will draw technologies and componentry from the track-only Valkyrie, confirming that it will surely feature advanced active aerodynamics and highly focused suspension.
Aston has also stated that unlike the hypercars before it, Project 003 will be a road-going production vehicle with some concessions made like added luggage space.
Just 500 units will be built, homologated for all markets in both left- and right-hand drive.
Aston Martin Lagonda president and group chief executive Andy Palmer suggested that the Project 003 is a spiritual descendent of the ultra high-performance Valkyrie models.
“It was always the intention for the Aston Martin Valkyrie to be a once-in-a lifetime project, however, it was also vital to us that Valkyrie would create a legacy: a direct descendent that would also set new standards within its own area of the hypercar market, creating a bloodline of highly specialised, limited production machines that can exist in parallel with Aston Martin’s series production models. I’m thrilled to announce that this car is the Project ‘003’, and our next step into a dynamic and exacting arena.”
