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Aston Martin teams with Red Bull Racing for new supercar

Aston Martin has a new supercar in the works. Only this time, it isn't going it alone. Dubbed project AM-RB 001, this model is being jointly developed by the British automaker and Red Bull Racing. The freshly inked "Innovation Partnership" has been a long time in the making and will combine the talents of Aston Martin's chief designer Marek Reichman with those of Red Bull's legendary technical director Adrian Newey. Motorsports consultancy AF Racing AG will also collaborate with Q by Aston Martin Advanced and Red Bull Advanced Technologies to get the project off the ground and onto the road – and the track. Unfortunately, as the press release below and teaser image above are decidedly sparing with the details. But Reichman says the partnership is "in the process of developing a hypercar that combines the latest in aerodynamics from F1 and the stunning design language of an Aston martin sports car." One way or another, we trust it will prove a worthy successor to the likes of the exotic One-77 and the track-bound Vulcan. This isn't the first time we've seen Aston's chief exec Andy Palmer broker a partnership with Red Bull, having previously chaired the team's longtime sponsor Infiniti. Nor is it the first time we're seeing Red Bull dip its toes outside the confines of the F1 regulations – only its previous designs remained limited strictly to the cyberspace of the Gran Turismo gaming series. We'll be watching closely to see how this supercar project comes together. Related Video: ASTON MARTIN AND RED BULL RACING TO CREATE NEXT GENERATION HYPERCAR 17 March, 2016, Melbourne: British luxury brand Aston Martin and Formula One team Red Bull Racing are today announcing a partnership which sees Red Bull Racing's Chief Technical Officer, Adrian Newey and Aston Martin's Chief Creative Officer, Marek Reichman collaborate to produce a ground-breaking Aston Martin hypercar. Codenamed Project 'AM-RB 001', the new hypercar will represent the ultimate blend of cutting edge F1TM technology with Aston Martin's signature sports car design. The combined talents of Newey, widely noted as the most successful Formula One designer of all time, and Reichman, Aston Martin's design chief since 2005, are set to produce the ultimate hypercar. Combining the strongest elements of Red Bull Racing, Red Bull Advanced Technologies and Aston Martin, this new Innovation Partnership unites the world's best aerodynamicists, composite experts and manufacturing masters.

Is your new-car warranty good at the race track?

We've all heard the horror stories. Your buddy knows a girl that was dating a guy whose best friend's brother once broke his brand-new, recently purchased performance car while making runs at a drag strip or laps at a track day, and the manufacturer wouldn't cover the repair under warranty. True story? Urban legend? Complete crap? Yes, no, maybe. One thing's for sure: Automotive warranties have always come with caveats. In 1908, an ad in the Trenton Evening Times clearly stated: "All Ford Cars Guaranteed for One Year." Although it changed over time, by 1925 the Ford New Car Guarantee only covered 90 days on material and 30 days on labor, and it clearly stated that that there was "No guarantee whatever on Fan Belts, Glass, Bulbs, Wiring, Transmission, Bands, Hose Connections, Commutator Shells, Rollers, Spark Plugs or Gaskets." Whether or not Ol' Henry would pay to fix your Model T if you broke it shaving a tenth off your lap time at the local board track seems to be lost to history. We're guessing no. But what about today? Do new-car warranties in 2017 cover cars when they are driven on race tracks? We researched the warranties of 14 auto brands to find out, and the answer is yes, no, maybe, depending on the brand, in some cases the model, and whether or not your car is modified from stock. Acura has been out of the high-performance car game for a number of years, but jumps back into the party in 2017 with its hybrid-powered $173,000 NSX supercar. And Acura's warranty, as well as Honda's, clearly states that it does not cover "the use of the vehicle in competition or racing events." View 33 Photos So we asked Sage Marie, Senior Manager of Public Relations for Honda and Acura. "If the car is stock, the warranty covers it on a track just as it does on the street. No question," he told us. "However, if the car is modified, say with slick tires or other components that would put higher stresses on the vehicle's parts and systems, then we would have to investigate the circumstances further." Marie went on to say the same would be true for any Acura model or Honda vehicle, including the new 2017 Honda Civic Si. This became a common theme. Chevrolet actually started this practice with the fifth-generation Camaro on the high-performance ZL1 and Z/28 models.

Dany Bahar plans Aston Martin shooting brake at Modena-based tuner

You can't keep a good man down, or so the saying goes. The jury may still be out on whether Dany Bahar was a good thing for the automotive industry – with some portraying him as an overambitious opportunist and others pitting him as a genuine car guy against the bean-counters – but he's not about to stay down for long. Bahar, for those unfamiliar, was a top executive at Red Bull, serving as right-hand man to Dietrich Mateschitz right around the time that the energy drink company was getting into Formula One and NASCAR. He was then poached by Ferrari to serve as its commercial chief and brand director before taking up the reins as CEO of Lotus. Things didn't go quite so well for him there after new owners fired him, accused him of misappropriating company funds and canceling just about every one of his ambitious (or perhaps overambitious) projects to take Lotus into the modern age. But now he's back on his feet. According to Car and Driver, Bahar's new project is a tuning house and coachbuilder called Ares. Similar to an outfit like Mansory (with which Bahar, incidentally, fostered close ties while at Lotus), Ares is out to make high-end vehicles like the Range Rover Sport, Rolls-Royce Wraith and Lamborghini Huracan that much more unique. But the biggest project Ares is planning to undertake is to turn the Aston Martin Rapide S and Bentley Continental GT into shooting brakes for wealthy customers. Ares wouldn't be the first outfit to do so, Bertone having made a wagon version of the Rapide and Touring having offered an extended-roof Continental. But to show he's not messing around, Bahar has assembled a top team at Ares. Wolf Zimmermann, who worked for Mercedes-AMG before becoming Bahar's R&D chief at Lotus, is handling the technical aspects. 24-year-old Romanian designer Mihai Panaitescu, who is said to have worked on those aborted Lotus projects, is handling the style aspect. And the whole outfit is being based in Modena, Italy – the city that is home to outfits like Pagani, Maserati and nearby Ferrari. Predictably enough, Ares will launch initially in China, Russia and the Middle East, but reportedly plans to make it to the US sometime early next year. Featured Gallery 2014 Aston Martin Rapide S: First Drive View 32 Photos News Source: Car and DriverImage Credit: Copyright 2014 Drew Phillips / AOL Aftermarket Aston Martin dany bahar aston martin rapide s