Gaydon, England - Aston Martin’s hypercar portfolio isn’t going to be limited to the ludicrously powerful (and fittingly expensive) Valkyrie, which is quite possibly one of the closest things you’ll get to a Formula One car for the road.
Enter Project 003, which in relative terms is Aston’s hypercar for the ‘masses’, although by masses we mean 500 wealthy clients, versus the 150 lucky ones that will get to own a Valkyrie.
In keeping with its more ‘mainstream’ positioning, Project 003 also promises to be more practical and comfortable for daily use, with “space for luggage”, although performance and handling will no doubt still take precedence as Aston Martin is promising “class-leading dynamics both on and off the track”.
The car will be built around a lightweight structure, with the body incorporating active aerodynamics to achieve “outstanding levels of downforce in a road-legal car”. An active suspension system is also part of the deal, while power will come from an as yet unspecified hybrid drivetrain that mates a turbocharged petrol engine to electric motors.
“It was always the intention for the Aston Martin Valkyrie to be a once-in-a lifetime project,” says Aston Martin Chief Executive Andy Palmer.
“However, it was also vital to us that Valkyrie would create a legacy: a direct descendent that would also set new standards within its own area of the hypercar market, creating a bloodline of highly specialised, limited production machines that can exist in parallel with Aston Martin’s series production models.”
The Project 003 will be offered in both left- and right-hand-drive configurations when it reaches showrooms in late 2021.
No word on pricing as yet, but we would be surprised if it didn't undercut the Valkyrie's $3.2 million (R45m) tag.