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Aston Martin's AM-RB 001 hypercar will have a 6.5-liter Cosworth V12 and so much more

It's been a while since we heard any big news about the Aston Martin-Red Bull hypercar, the plainly named AM-RB 001. When it debuted last year, we got a look at the shape – and that's about it. Sure, a super-powerful V12 hybrid powertrain was promised, but we didn't have any concrete details on it or what was going into the pretty wrapper. Well, now Aston has made some announcements about partners, and they certainly have our attention: Cosworth, Ricardo, Multimatic, and Rimac. Cosworth, the famed engine supplier, will be supplying the engine. It's a 6.5-liter naturally aspirated V12. Aston had previously said the car will be a member of the one-horsepower-per-kilogram club, and so people are expecting the engine to make about 900 horsepower. It will of course be augmented by an electric motor, which will be fed by a high-performance battery from Rimac. (Yes, the same Rimac whose Concept_One has been shown in videos beating everything from Teslas to LaFerraris.) The as-yet-undefined amount of power will be routed through a seven-speed paddle-shift transmission supplied by Ricardo. And because you're going to want to stop, there will be big carbon-ceramic brakes – Alcon and Surface Transforms will supply the calipers and carbon discs. Multimatic, builders of awesome shocks, will make the carbon-fiber tub that everything goes into. Multimatic has worked with Aston in the past, including on its last limited-production vehicle, the One-77. Bosch is responsible for the ECU, traction control, and stability control. LED lights will be supplied by Wipac. So yeah, there almost aren't any high-profile companies left after this announcement. This car is going to be pretty extreme. Aston reiterates that it will build a maximum of 150for the road including prototypes, plus 25 more track-only models. They'll start going to customers in 2019. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2018 Aston Martin Red Bull AM-RB 001 Aston Martin Coupe Hybrid Lightweight Vehicles Performance Supercars aston martin am-rb 001

Maybach and Aston Martin alliance talks fall apart

If you have, like us, been salivating at the notion of a new generation of Maybach and Lagonda ultra-luxury crafts built by Aston Martin, we've got some bad news: According to reports emanating from Germany, talks between AML and Daimler have broken down.
The proposal under negotiation would have seen Daimler outsourcing production of the next family of Maybach models to Aston Martin, which in return would benefit from Mercedes-Benz platforms and engines - not only for its svelte GTs, but also for its own future Lagonda line of limousines and luxury SUVs. That, and a boatload of money - or at least that's what AML was reportedly seeking, an issue that served as the stumbling block over which the deal reportedly collapsed.
That's not to say the two parties couldn't still reach some sort of a compromise, but short of that, Daimler may opt to either shut down Maybach altogether, find another partner, or take another stab at building new models internally.

Aston Martin to demo Vulcan at Spa 24 Hours

The Aston Martin Vulcan is an absolutely evil-looking hypercar with a low-slung, heavily angular shape that looks ready to challenge any track in the world. With a 7.0-liter V12 with over 800 horsepower on tap, it can complete a lap in the blink of an eye, as well. Unfortunately, the Vulcan isn't street legal, meaning that this beast is exclusively for the circuit. To show this carbon-fiber rocket ship off to some very wealthy potential clients, Aston Martin is bringing the limited model to the 24 Hours of Spa on July 25 for a few high-speed laps prior to the green flag. Works driver Darren Turner will be doing two flying laps around the picturesque Belgian track. As a member of the development team from the very beginning, there's likely no other person better suited to driving the hypercar than him. It should be quite a sight to see the black and blue machine shooting up Eau Rouge, too. Aston Martin Racing is also on hand for the actual race, and the squad has two customer teams in V12 Vantage GT3s in the Pro-Am class. If you can't make it to Belgium for the weekend, the event is also livestreamed on YouTube at the Blancpain Endurance Series' GT World channel. The event kicks off at 10:30 AM Eastern on July 25. ASTON MARTIN VULCAN TO RUN AT SPA 24 HOURS 23 July, Gaydon - The highly-anticipated Aston Martin Vulcan will attend the showpiece of the Blancpain Endurance Series, the TOTAL 24 Hours of Spa, this weekend (25 July) and will demonstrate its abilities as the ultimate track-only machine as it completes two flying laps of the world-famous circuit. With its 800-plus bhp powertrain developed in conjunction with Aston Martin Racing, the 7.0-litre V12 Aston Martin Vulcan will be driven by works driver Darren Turner (GB), who has been involved in the design and development of the car from its inception. Turner has more than 20 years experience in developing racing cars and relished the opportunity to put this track-knowledge into Aston Martin's most extreme sportscar. "It's been amazing to have been involved in this project from the beginning," said Turner. "From the conceptual sketches through to working with the designers on driver ergonomics, it is a fascinating process to be part of. "It was very early days for the car when we first ran it at Goodwood Festival of Speed, but we certainly made a good impression and now we get to show the car in its most natural environment.