Aston Martin Red Bull Racing AM-RB 001 revealed

Wild Aston Martin/Red Bull collaboration will lap a circuit faster than a Formula One car.

The most jaw-dropping car of 2016 – and a clear contender for the wildest hypercar ever made – will set new standards for outright performance, according to its makers Aston Martin and Red Bull Racing.

It will boast such prodigious performance when it’s released to 99 lucky buyers in 2019 that the diminutive two seater – currently known as the AM/RB 001 until its final name is signed off – will be capable of beating half of the current F1 field around a track.

According to Aston Martin, all 99 cars have already been spoken for, with 370 “clear requests” being held for a vehicle that doesn’t actually exist yet, and is set to cost in excess of $5 million when it does eventuate.

It’s suggested that a further 20 will be built as pure racing cars.

The car will have a one-to-one power-to-weight ratio, meaning that for every kilogram the car weighs, there will be one horsepower pushing it.

The AM/RB 001 has been designed by F1 legend Adrian Newey, who has won world championships for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull with his ground-breaking aerodynamic renderings that are to this day drawn first on paper instead of a computer.

This is Newey’s first foray into the realm of road car design.

“I’ve always been adamant that the AM-RB 001 should be a true road car that’s also capable of extreme performance on track, and this means it really has to be a car of two characters,” said Newey.

“That’s the secret we’re trying to put into this car - the technology that allows it to be docile and comfortable, but with immense outright capabilities.”

The car is also a clear shot across the bows of British rival McLaren by a resurgent Aston Martin, who are in the midst of an entire model revamp.

“As the project gathers pace, its clear the end result will be a truly history-making hypercar that sets incredible new benchmarks for packaging, efficiency and performance,” said Aston Martin chief Andy Palmer, “and an achievement that elevates Aston Martin to the very highest level”.

Red Bull Racing, too, is keen to establish itself as a company that is capable of more than “making fizzy drinks”; a criticism once levelled at the Austrian company by McLaren boss Ron Dennis.

Set to be built at Aston’s plant in Gaydon, England as a two-seater in both right- and left-hand drive, the AM/RB 001 is not much more than a bleeding edge racing machine with fenders and a body – but its engine is set to be a lot more powerful than the small V6s powering the current crop of F1 cars.

While final specs are yet to be announced, a hybridised V12 with a capacity of between seven and eight litres has been mooted, with a projected 0-100km/h time of around 2.5 seconds.

Both Aston Martin and Red Bull are suggesting the car will have a one-to-one power-to-weight ratio, meaning that for every kilogram the car weighs, there will be one horsepower pushing it.

Based on a carbon fibre build, the AM/RB 001 could weigh as little as 1000kg – meaning that the V12 will produce at least 1000bhp, or more than 745kW.

But the car is not all about horsepower; Newey was the first F1 designer to come up with the concept of active aerodynamics and active ride height, where constant negative air pressure is maintained under a car to ‘glue’ it to the road.

The AM/RB 001 is certain to feature an up-to-date version tuned for the vagaries of everyday road surfaces.

The Aston Martin-badged machine will not just offer outrageous performance. Production cars are set to be equipped with everyday civilities like air conditioning, satellite navigation and a full suite of electronic active and passive safety measures, as well.

If you thought the LaFerrari, Porsche 918 and McLaren P1 were fast, the AM-RB 001 promises to topple them all.

Will the AM-RB 001 be the ultimate hypercar? Tell us what you think in the comments below.