Aston Martin Am9

Aston Martin Am9

The engine was fired up for the first time in late January. It will also be used in the AM-RB 003, where it will be paired with an electric motor to become a hybrid, a configuration that's also set to carry over to the Vanquish production car to help with low-end torque.

The next-generation McLaren 720S, also set to launch around 2022, is set to use a downsized V6 hybrid powertrain of its own. Ferrari is investigating electrified technology, too, as is Lamborghini, marking a significant shift in the supercar segment.

Underpinning the Vanquish is a new bonded aluminium mid-engined architecture that's of a new design, inspired by the Valkyrie, but uses learnings and technical solutions from Aston's front-engined models, too.

Further technical details have not been revealed by Aston, but the company will release them as the model progresses from this Geneva concept car to the full production model over the next three years.

The concept's styling, which brings with it dramatic proportions not seen on an Aston before due to its mid-engined layout, is claimed to be more than 85% representative of the final production car, according to Aston design boss Marek Reichman.

"We do well at taking a concept to reality," he said. "We do this to state our intentions for the proportions and surfaces. There will be lots of millimetre changes to this, as it's not something we've done before."

Reichman said inspiration had been taken from the Valkyrie in delivering an aerodynamic shape and surfaces in a beautiful Aston Martin way. "We've gone from the insect-like nature of the Valkyrie, and played tunes on the surfaces to develop them. The aero isn't just aero – they're simple, elegant solutions. Most of the downforce is created under the car."

Reichman is also keen for the Vanquish to remain usable every day in production despite its supercar billing, hence why its aero isn't as extreme as the Valkyrie in compromising things such as ingress and egress.

"There should be no reason for you not to want to drive it to Sainsbury's," he said. "There will be no excuse not to drive it."

Palmer said that the Vanquish had a smaller footprint than it would have otherwise due to what the company had learned from working with Red Bull's Adrian Newey.

"One of the real learnings with Adrian Newey is obsession with weight and mass, and package size," he said. "Our designers are now pushing our engineers; cars were getting bigger but now we're heading smaller, with cars packaged around the engine. It's the reversal of a trend."

Aston Martin Am9

Source: https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/motor-shows-geneva-motor-show/vanquish-vision-heads-trio-new-aston-martin-concepts