Following the giant splash that Aston Martin made with the launch of the Valkyrie hypercar, the bespoke British sports car manufacturer has confirmed that it is working internally on an all new hypercar project, which is expected to be revealed in full at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show.
Dubbed “Project 003” Aston Martin claims that the new model channels a lot of the lessons that were learned on the Valkyrie project, but it manages to still maintain its own distinctive DNA. Aston also revealed that Project 003 was engineered to deliver what the company calls “class-leading dynamics on both road and track. To help achieve this, the car features a light weight structure, active aerodynamic add-ons, as well as an active suspension that allows the car to be very adaptable when it comes to a wide range of road and track conditions. This should come as no surprise, since a lot of these tactics were also used on the Valkyrie hypercar to help allow it to effortlessly make short work out of track days. Aston Martin is keeping the juicier styling details to itself for now, but the lone teaser image the company did cough up does show glimpses of a purposeful rear end, with prominent tail light clusters.
Predictably, Aston Martin did not confirm exactly what kind of engine is powering Project 003, but it did slip that the powertrain will be a turbocharged gasoline engine that will feature built-in hybrid technology. While it will be interesting to see a turbocharged V8 engine outfitted with the exotic hybrid technology, we suspect that the needs of weight savings as well as costs could push Aston Martin to use a highly modified version of the V12 that also sees duty in the DB11 as well as the fore-mentioned Valkyrie. In any regard, the Project 003 (and we highly doubt the production version will keep that name) sounds seriously quick, and that should please the well heeled clientele that Aston Martin hopes to appeal to with this new performance offering.
These same buyers can also rest easy knowing that Aston Martin engineers did not sacrifice utility for the sake of pure performance, with engineers promising that they have carved out space in the car to accommodate luggage. Look for this luggage to largely follow McLaren’s lead, and be pieces that are engineered exclusively to fit in the 003. This tiny tidbit is impressive, especially since hypercars tend to be more well known for their ability to produce massive horsepower numbers and track slaying lap times versus being functional pieces of every day usability.
Aston Martin will be limiting production of Project 003 to 500 examples in a bid to maintain a high level of exclusivity, and it will be available in either right or left hand drive possibly hinting that Project 003 could be available to buyers in the U.S. which would be a rare treat for U.S. buyers which tend to miss out on some of the limited edition and borderline one off specials that Aston customers abroad get to enjoy (including the exceedingly rare Lagonda Taraf luxury sedan.) While no official details have been released as of yet, look for more to be formally revealed on March 5th at the 2019 Geneva Auto Show where the car could appear as a close to production prototype.
Carl Malek has been an automotive journalist for over 10 years. First starting out as a freelance photographer before making the transition to writing during college, his work has appeared on numerous automotive forums as well as websites such as Autoshopper.com.
Carl is also a big fan of British vehicles with the bulk of his devotion going to the Morgan Motor Company as well as offerings from Lotus, MG, and Caterham. When he is not writing about automobiles, Carl enjoys spending time with his family and friends in the Metro Detroit area, as well as spending time with his adorable pets.