Aston Martin RB-001 to pull 4.5G and hit 402 km/h
More Aston Martin RB-001 news came in, lots of new specs but a few dialed back. And in other news, if you were planning on buying one, all are sold out.
The RB-001 has been fascinating us since its announcement, promising insane performance you haven't seen before. Let's go back to what we previously knew: the car would have a 1:1 weight/hp ratio meaning it would weigh just under 1.000 kg and have 1.000 hp coming from a naturally aspirated V12 that would rev up to 11.000 rpm. Alongside that it'd have insane levels of downforce without big silly wings, the body would be pure downforce orientated.
Now onto the new things we've heard about it: the aimed weight hasn't changed, it still is 1.000 kg's thanks to the use of titanium and carbon fiber, no steel is involved in this car. Martin Reichman, Design Director of Aston Martin has stated that the RB-001 concept is 95% of what the production version will be, changes to the design would be made to improve cooling and airflow. No mirrors will be added to the car since small cameras in the A-pillars will replace their function, this would be a first for a production car.
Onto the engine, the V12 will be an all-new engine with a flat plane crank and a displacement between 6 and 7 litres, revving up to 9.500 rpm. The V-shape will sit lower than before which was made possible due to the car's big width. The car will have a single clutch transmission from Xtrac (guys who make transmissions for F1 cars) to reduce weight.
A new thing that has been added is an 80 hp hybrid element which will act like a KERS boost system. It'll be enough to start the car and travel around at a low speed, much like the LaFerrari does. What does all this mean? It'll have a top speed of 402 km/h, create 1.800 kg's of downforce and will be able to pull 4.5 lateral G's in the corners. That's like ripping your face off.
All 150 cars have been sold already for a rumoured 3 million $. 25 more track versions will come later and if you don't like the RB-001 name there's nothin to worry about since it'll get a more Aston Martin like name when it reaches production end 2018.
