Aston Martin unveils Newey-designed AM-RB 001 hyper-car

At a special launch event at its Gaydon headquarters on Tuesday, the British sportscar marque revealed the design of the car that it hopes will be able to exceed the performance of Grand Prix machinery.

The AM-RB 001 boasts "unprecedented levels of downforce in a road-legal car", which Aston Martin says is largely the result of underfloor aerodynamics.

Exact technical details have yet to be released, but it will be powered by a normally-aspirated V12 engine which will produce enough horsepower to give the car a power-to-weight ratio of 1bhp per kilogram.

Aston Martin's intention is to restrict the number of cars produced to just 99, with the price tag estimated at between two and three million pounds.

“I’ve long harboured the desire to design a road car," said Newey, who co-designed the AM-RB 001 along with Aston Martin Chief Creative Officer Marek Reichman.

"The formation of Red Bull Advanced Technologies brought me a step closer to realising that ambition, but I believed we should work with an automotive manufacturer. Aston Martin was at the top of my list.

"The synergy between Red Bull Racing and Aston Martin is clear. I knew Red Bull Racing had the ability to handle the pure performance aspects, but Aston Martin’s experience of making beautiful, fast and comfortable GT cars is of great benefit to the project.

"I’ve always been adamant that the AM-RB 001 should be a true road car that’s also capable of extreme performance on track, and this means it really has to be a car of two characters.

"That’s the secret we’re trying to put into this car - the technology that allows it to be docile and comfortable, but with immense outright capabilities.”

The actual car is due for release in 2018, and will have a different name when it is fully launched. The car is expected to hit the road for testing towards the end of 2017.

A track-only version of the car is also in development, which Aston Martin claims will be in line with LMP1 levels of performance.