Aston Martin has wowed Geneva 2019 show-goers by revealing yet another mid-engined car, the Vanquish Vision Concept. The supercar alternative to the extreme AM-RB 003 hypercar, it confirms the next Vanquish will switch to a mid-engine layout – and directly take on the McLaren 720S.

This is a big deal for Aston. Up to now, all of its high-end sports cars have been front-engined. Switching to a mid-engined layout jumps it up a level. Now, it will go head-to-head with McLaren, Ferrari and Lamborghini.

The fact Aston Martin is showcasing the concept alongside the AM-RB 003 hypercar encourages us to make the link: the Vanquish Vision Concept is the Red Bull Racing of supercars, and the competition therefore needs to watch out.

Aston president and CEO Andy Palmer admits this hotly-contested sector has traditionally been defined by Italian marques. But the new Vanquish will be “a transformational moment for the brand… the car that will propel Aston Martin into a sector of the market traditionally seen as the heartland of luxury sports cars”.

Styling the Vanquish Vision Concept

Design director Miles Nurnberger happily makes the link to the Aston Martin Valkyrie and AM-RB 003. Its appearance is “more seductive and less technical… but it’s still extreme in terms of visual gestures”.

Take the front clamshell, around the front wheel: it has openings so you can see through onto the tyre. Designers will understand when he says “there’s less of the negative space that defines the look of the Valkyrie and AM-RB 003. “It’s a prettier car, and purposely so, as if it’s been designed to thrive in a less extreme performance envelope.”

Nurnberger says it is “less provocative and more classical in its look”. The aggression of the Red Bull-infused hypercars is dialled back, in favour of “more flowing and sensuous forms”. It’s still athletic and modern, though, he reckons: “critical qualities” for Aston’s first mid-engined supercar.

Aston Martin Vanquish Vision: technical highlights

Aston is telling us little about what’s underneath. For now, it’s simply confirming a version of the new in-house V6 used by the AM-RB 003 will be used. In that car, it is seen in hybrid turbo form: there’s no news on how it will be configured in the Vanquish.

It also won’t be made entirely from carbon fibre. That’s far too exotic for a supercar. Instead, it will use a bonded aluminium chassis, to best balance “cost, speed of production and weight vs. strength”

.Chief technical officer Max Szwaj will oversee the project. “The Vanquish Vision Concept is the point when the things we have learned during the Aston Martin Valkyrie and AM-RB 003 programmes reach the series production models. Creating a car like this for Aston Martin is a challenge I have relished since joining back in 2017.

“Although it takes Aston Martin into new territory, it does so with the benefit of hard-won knowledge, ground-breaking ideas and an uncompromising mindset.

“The full engineering story of this car is yet to be told, but what you see here should tell you this car will not only compete at the highest level, but it will do so in a manner and style unique to Aston Martin.”

Stay tuned, because what we’re watching unfold is the remarkable expansion of Bond’s favourite GT brand into a bona fide supercar and hypercar maker.

If the next Aston Martin Vanquish turns out to be a genuine Ferrari and McLaren rival, that really will give the automotive world (and the financial markets) something to celebrate.

Aston Martin Vanquish Vision: in pictures

Aston Martin is wowing Geneva with an F1-infused mid-engined hypercar co-developed with Red Bull Advanced Technologies. Previously known as Project 003, it now has a codename: AM-RB 003. The Geneva 2019 design concept is our first taste of how it may look.

The mid-mounted engine is a surprise as well: it’s a brand-new hybrid turbo V6, designed in-house by Aston Martin for the first time in years.
The third mid-engined Aston Martin – after the Valkyrie and Valkyrie AMR Pro – the AM-RB 003 may be known as ‘son of Valkyrie’, but design director Miles Nurnberger insists it’s very different. It is “a distillation of Aston Martin Valkyrie and not a dilution.

“The design isn’t as extreme in some areas, but it pushes just as hard in others, and is even taking certain ideas and concepts a step further.”
Key to this is what’s described as ‘next-generation aircraft morphing technology’. Using something called FlexFoil, the mind-boggling feature creates a variable aerofoil across the width of the rear wing.

NASA has validated the technology works, apparently, and Aston Martin is the first automotive brand to use it. In a nutshell, it allows the level of downforce to be altered without changing the physical angle of the entire wing. It’s much better than current “state of the art” active wing designs, opines Aston (*cough* McLaren Senna), as turbulence and drag are also reduced. Indeed, it’s so effective the production wing will operate virtually in real-time as the car’s pitch and attitude alter.

The upper body aerodynamics, front keel and large rear diffuser all resemble the Valkyrie, but new light graphics give a different appearance despite the ultra-lightweight lamps being borrowed directly from the flagship hypercar Valkyrie (the four units together still weigh less than one DB11 headlamp).

The AM-RB 003 is made fully from carbon fibre, both the structure and the bodywork. Red Bull has honed the materials, and also the active suspension and electronics, further underlining the F1 link. And while it won’t be quite as rare as the Valkyrie, it’s still hardly mainstream: only 500 will be sold.

Inside the AM-RB 003

A new buzzword describes the interior: ‘Apex Ergonomics’. This is said to perfectly align the centreline of the driver’s back with the steering wheel and pedals. Other controls within the clutter-free cockpit are also carefully located to help the driver focus.

The instrument display is actually mounted on the steering column itself, so it won’t be blocked by the wheel rim. The infotainment system isn’t overburdened with branded solutions nobody will use, either. Aston calls it ‘bring-your-own’ technology, masterminded through the owner’s smartphone.

Note the wraparound band that follows the curve of the windscreen, too. Through this, audio, ventilation and ambient lighting are fed, helping further declutter the interior and focus attention on the screen in front of the driver. We also like the start/stop button built into the base of the F1-shaped steering wheel.

Compared with the Valkyrie, there’s much more space and comfort inside the AM-RB 003. LMP1-style racing car doors make it easier to step in and out, and a wider centre console gives more space between front passengers. There’s even a makeshift boot: a shelf behind the seats. Aston Martin promises there will be stowage slots for wallets or mobile phones. Hopefully both.

The team behind AM-RB 003

Two Brits are responsible for making sure the AM-RB 003 drives as well as it looks: chief engineer Matt Becker and high-performance test driver Chris Goodwin. They’re currently running exhaustive tests – not on the road, though, but in Red Bull’s ultra-advanced simulator. Only later will the first prototypes take to the road. Another example of how Aston is working closely with Red Bull.

As these projects enter an incredibly exciting phase with the commissioning of the first running development prototypes, it gives me tremendous satisfaction to confirm that this exceptional partnership is continuing with the AM-RB 003 – a hypercar that not only draws from the ethos and DNA of Aston Martin Valkyrie, but will in turn influence Aston Martin’s first series production mid-engined supercar”.

Andy Palmer, Aston Martin Lagonda president and CEO, said: “When Aston Martin secured the services of Red Bull Advanced Technologies to embark on the extraordinary journey that became Aston Martin Valkyrie and Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro, it was always my hope that it would lead to a long-term collaboration.

Aston Martin AM-RB 003: in pictures

As if two new supercars (not to mention the spine-tingling 11,000rpm Valkyrie) weren’t enough, Aston Martin has revealed an electric luxury SUV at the Geneva Motor Show. Meet the Lagonda All-Terrain Concept.

At a stroke, the makes the Bentley Bentayga and Rolls-Royce Cullinan look like knackered old P38 Range Rovers. It’s all forward-thinking: a futuristic design that makes the current crop of luxury SUVs seem archaic.

A ‘super yacht’ for the road

Lagonda doesn’t have a generic SUV platform over which to drape a tight-fitting and stately English suit. As such, this doesn’t resemble a Volkswagen Touareg or BMW X7 in drag. It takes inspiration from existing Aston Martins, as well as the Lagonda Vision Concept of last year. There’s even a whiff of the Taraf saloon in the nose. 

It’s more traditional in its jacked-up estate-car proportions, albeit broader of hip and slighter of shoulder. We can see how it alludes to the design of superyachts. A hint of Vanquish Zagato Shooting Brake? No bad thing at all, sir.

Aston Martin says the ‘forms and shapes… look like they have been created by the huge, planetary forces of gravity fields’. So now you know.

A luxury brand that’s exclusively electric

More revolutionary is what’s going on underneath. Aston Martin made it clear last year that when Lagonda arrives as a standalone marque, it will be exclusively electric. Indeed, it will ‘confound traditional thinking and take full advantage of the latest advances in both electrification and autonomous driving technologies, which amount to the biggest revolution in land-bound transportation since the invention of the car’. 

The chuntering V8s of the old William Towns-penned Lagonda will be long gone by the time 2022 rolls around, then, as too will the rippling tones of the (Rapide-based) Taraf V12.

As with last year’s Lagonda Vision Concept, there’s also a very real focus on autonomous driving. 

While it ‘gives us a glimpse of the first production model from the luxury brand’, there isn’t anything as concrete as range numbers or horsepower figures yet. Suffice to say, the SUV size and body style lends itself to being stuffed full of batteries. By the time it’s out, we’re anticipating around 500 miles of range and serious quick-charge capability.

What there is an emphasis on, is the ‘utility’ side of a sports utility vehicle: ‘The Lagonda All-Terrain Concept is an ultra-stylish, supremely luxurious, fully electric emission-free vehicle that can transport its occupants to remote and spectacular locations.’

Enticing indeed, although we can’t quite see Colombian drug lords abandoning their G-Wagens and conquering the rainforest in a Lagonda just yet.

A levitating key… yes, really

Don’t let its size fool you, this is no Discovery-rivalling three-row wagon. The back is a place to spread out and relax in those stunning reclining chairs. The luxury begins before you even get in,  with the rear-hinged back doors giving you a ‘red carpet moment’.

Up front, there’s more pleasing minimalism. Well-judged lines combine an airy feeling with the intimacy of an Aston cockpit. The wheel is predictably futuristic – note the ‘Autonomous’ display we mentioned above – but it’s not intimidating.

That swirling centre console design spewing out from the levitating key is truly bewitching, as is the liberal use of bronze and gold metals. The key levitates using electromagnets. Why keep a key in a world where you can unlock your car with an app? “While the technology exists in this day and age to allow the key to be removed altogether, Lagonda believes that it remains an important point of contact between the driver and the vehicle,” says Aston Martin’s chief stylist, Marek Reichman. 

“It’s not about wood and leather”

“The Lagonda brand is unconstrained by the traditional values of current luxury products, it is not about wood and leather,” follows Reichman.

“We tried to design the interior to feel very calm and quiet, with soft, natural materials like Cashmere. Lagonda reflects a future that is full of unique materials that are not set in the past.

“We wanted the technology in the Lagonda All-Terrain Concept to bring a sense of personality to the vehicle. Just as with the materials and the exterior design, the technology should be warm and involving rather than cold and impersonal. This is the future and it should be something that people are inspired and delighted by rather than perplexed and frightened by.”

When can I have one?

Well, not until 2022 at least, and the finished product will no doubt be toned down somewhat. We hope some of the essential cleanliness and clarity of the design of the All-Terrain Concept makes it to production in St Athan, though.

Real luxury is a clarity of vision and a lack of fuss, as well as capability and quality. And Aston Martin Lagonda looks set to deliver.