Aston Martin's Am-Rb 003 Is a Mid-engined Hybrid Hypercar With Killer Instincts.
IT’S GETTING HARD TO KEEP UP with progress at Aston Martin. The English sports-car maker used to operate at such a leisurely pace that it took more than 70 years from its 1913 founding to produce its 10,000th car. Now, with the impending launch of the DBX crossover, it could soon be producing that number of vehicles every two years. But the biggest surprise in Aston’s five-year plan is a new family of midengined models. You already know about the Valkyrie, the Adrian Newey fever dream that looks set to become the most capable track car ever to wear a license plate. The next fruit of that collaboration with the Red Bull Formula 1 team, the upcoming AM-RB 003, will be less extreme than the Valkyrie but more extreme than just about everything else.
CHASSIS
The 003 will be built around a carbon-fiber tub inspired by the Valkyrie’s. Like that car, it uses a front-keel design, with airflow channeled past a teardrop-shaped cabin, but the 003’s passenger compartment is larger and aimed at packaging human occupants in something approaching comfort—if not exactly the everyday kind. An active suspension will vary ride height as well as damper compliance. “We intend to make the dynamic envelope between refinement and performance as broad as we can,” Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer told us at the 003’s Geneva-show debut.
POWERTRAIN
This story is from the May 2019 edition of Car and Driver.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 2019 edition of Car and Driver.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Drivelines - Refreshed but Not Revitalized. The Forester has long begged for more driver interaction, anything to differentiate it.
Refreshed but Not Revitalized. The Forester has long begged for more driver interaction, anything to differentiate it. But its innate funkiness has been discarded in a roadside ditch. Sure, it’s practical. But if that’s what you’re after, go hug your dishwasher. This redo feels half-hearted when what the Forester really wanted was a whole new hear
Selective Evolution
Now hybrid only, the Toyota Camry features careful tweaks for its ninth generation.
Stress Reliever
IN THE LINCOLN NAUTILUS, the loudest sound you hear at highway speeds is the rhythmic respiration of the massaging seats. With just 66 decibels of interior noise at 70 mph, this slick-looking new Lincoln is on a mission of zen.
Mega Bus
A three-row mid-size SUV trying to look and feel bigger, the latest has size on its side but still lacks charisma.
Going to Extremes
The Porsche Taycan Turbo GT pulls out all the stops in its quest for EV supremacy.
What the Tech?
IT’S NO COMPLAINT TO SAY that given the slow visual evolution of the Mercedes-Benz E-class, many wouldn’t notice that the stately three-box sedan has entered a new generation this year.
The Full Monty Carlo
EVERYONE IS NAKED. Just putting that out in the open.
THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS
THE MAZDA MX-5 MIATA RF CLUB AND THE SUBARU BRZ IS MAY BE SMALL IN STATURE, BUT THEIR PERSONALITIES ARE LARGER THAN MOST.
Sterrato > Dirt Road
Nothing lost in translation here. Might as well call it what it is: the best Lamborghini Huracán ever.
DEAD OR ALIVE?
Is the new 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser the real deal? We venture into the wilds of Utah to find out.
