What is Aston Martin up to?

[dj choc ice]

all i will say, is i WILL be at LeMans this year, come hell or high water or otherwise, a fabulous looking machine, although Primat im a slight bit skeptical about though, it will be interesting though to see how Turner will be in a Prototype, does he have any form in a Proto before?

[Jamesy-18]

Not that i'm aware of. He did the Daytona 24 a couple of years ago i seem to remember, but that's not really that much in temrs of proto experience. He is quick though, but as proved in the BTCC, can be extremely unlucky.

[Speedblood]

Wonder who they might get to drive there 3rd Car if they get it accepted for Le Mans?

[lemansfan]

After the Qualifying from the LMS Series last Year at the Nürburgring ,I asked a Aston Martin Engineer if we will see a Aston Martin Works Car in LMP1 next Year .The Chance is for the Moment only 10% was his answer .5 Mounths later I am very happy with this 10% .The Car looks fantastic . Will be a graet Race this Year in Le Mans !!!!

[XJR14/WSC95]

I love the look of the new car!!! But I have my doubts as to how close the finale aero package will be to these renderings. After all winning is everything, and I would be more than happy to see some of the Aston road car styling cues sacrificed for the greater good of a faster car. The renderings actually remind me of a cross between the dome and the renderings of a proposed Bugatti LMP car which was featured in an Issue of le mans series and Sportscar racer some 8 years ago which eventually morphed into renderings of a clean looking Bentley EXP Speed 8 which eventually morphed into the not so clean looking but very rapid le mans winning '03 Speed 8.

[deggis]

Good point. Especially seeing it right after the 'mess' that Acura is, it looks just very primitive and conservative (and I love it for that, at least for now). But why would they release some early sketch/illustration? And if it is recent, it's only couple of months before the car is supposed to be doing its first race...

[WMUCarGuy]

Anyone notice the amazingly well integrated exhaust just ahead of the rear wing uprights on the overhead shot?

[John Turner]

Not sure whether this has alteady been said (it's a long thread) but they are hoping to do the Le Mans series, too. This week's Autosport (page 12) contains quotes from Dave Richards, Howard-Chappell and a short Q&A with Darren Turner which addresses the question raised by dj choc ice!

[The Badger]

They have entered the series with numbers 007 & 009 . So its a full series entry , GREAT !!!

[CTD]

Im so looking forward to see the real car, which is going to race!

[The Badger]

Well , I didnt like it when I first saw it but , its after growing on me . Even in that color !!!

[CTD]

Originally Posted by The Badger

Well , I didnt like it when I first saw it but , its after growing on me . Even in that color !!!

Dont let it grow to much on you, because we all know it's not going to end like that way!.
It could very well be like the 908Concept --> 908 HDi-FAP!

[Jamesy-18]

Originally Posted by CTD

Dont let it grow to much on you, because we all know it's not going to end like that way!.
It could very well be like the 908Concept --> 908 HDi-FAP!

True but this is Aston we're talking about. Peugeot has never had a history of particularly good looking road cars, while Aston has.

[CTD]

Originally Posted by Jamesy-18

True but this is Aston we're talking about. Peugeot has never had a history of particularly good looking road cars, while Aston has.

What has Road cars to do with anything.
If Aston is serious about winning Le Mans, then they'll have to put design in 2. potion and concentrate on making this car aerodynamical fast!.
Besides, saying that Peugeots road cars isn't particularly good looking is your opinion. Personal i believe that the 407 is one of the prettiest cars on the road right now!, and the 207 is my favorite new Hot Hatch, so its a matter of opinion!.
This rendering is too sleek to generate enough downforce, i believe, but would love if this was the way Prototypes was going to look in the future!

[Jamesy-18]

Sorry i spoke.

[FGE]

Originally Posted by WMUCarGuy

Anyone notice the amazingly well integrated exhaust just ahead of the rear wing uprights on the overhead shot?

Yes, I did.
But we all know:

Originally Posted by CTD

...it's not going to end like that way!.
It could very well be like the 908Concept --> 908 HDi-FAP!

And this was very different.

[CTD]

Originally Posted by Jamesy-18

Sorry i spoke.

You have your right to write our opinion. I just wrote why i believed it was wrong!, no need to get upset.

[Lazy]

Originally Posted by FGE

And this was very different.

It was also maybe half an year before the car made it's first public appearance... the Aston is supposed to be testing at Paul Richard in less than two months. Why would Aston make big announcement and then release old misleading illustration? Of course the render doesn't have all the bits and pieces, but I'm hopeful it won't be drastically different

[FGE]

It will, for sure. But we all know Bez and Richard - nobody knows ... and ... from Peugeot - they will keep the spirit.

[isynge]

There are a couple of areas where I'd expect a few changes in how the chassis looks between the render and when it hits the track, not least in that the render has a notable absence of pontoon front wheels.

Of course this might be part of the road car like styling they've gone for, but if they've managed to dispense with this particular aerodynamic device while still sticking to their avowed aim of not hampering speed in the restyling my hat will, more than usual, go off to them

[Lazy]

I googled and...

"You can see that the car doesn't look very much like a Lola. We've done our own aero package, which has been a joint effort between Aston Martin styling and Aston Martin Racing," said AMR team principal George Howard-Chappell. "You can rest assured, however, that we haven't done anything that will slow the car down."

http://www.autoweek.com/article/2009...VEHICLEREVIEWS

Aston Martin Boss, Dr Ulrich Bez agreed, "It's a leap of faith, but something I hope the fans will relate to... Not least because this will be the most beautiful car there..."

Designed by Lola, and styled by Aston's Director of Design, Marek Reichman the LMP1 machine has been carefully detailed to represent the firm's road car lineage... At the front, the race machine gets a distinctive front grille, while at the rear, there are C-section lights, like those fitted to the DB9 and DBS.

"It's every designers dream to be involved in a project like this," he said "we wanted the car to be instantly recognisable. We are planning to do something clever with the car's lighting - maybe using LED technology. As so many fans only get to see the car for a moment in each lap, I want to make sure it's memorable."

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/au...rtin_lmp1.html

I know it could be stupid to look too much into these kind comments but I would say these would very weird comments if the illustration does not give a glimpse of the real car...

[Aslak Vind]

Why would Aston make big announcement and then release old misleading illustration?

You cant be that naive, to think that the competition doesnt have an interest in luring out all the sexy bits on an alldone car illustration?

Come on..

[Lazy]

Originally Posted by Aslak Vind

You cant be that naive, to think that the competition doesnt have an interest in luring out all the sexy bits on an alldone car illustration?

Come on..

Notice I wrote "old". With that I mean so dated that that it would not resemble much at all the soon existing real car. Also you excluded from the quote the sentence that came after that

[CTD]

The Aston do resemble the old T70 Lola

[deggis]

VERY LARGE resolution image from Prodrive website:

http://www.prodrive.com/images/galle...artin_LMP1.JPG

It is "artist's impression of what the car will look like":

"Build of the first LMP1 has started in the race workshop and the car should run for the first time in March. Artist's impressions of what the car will look like will be put on the intranet in the morning."

http://www.prodrive.com/p_releases.html?id=210

Something I found with Google News search:

"The deal follows the arrival at Lola in the new year as managing director of Robin Brundle, who held a similar position at Aston Martin - but Mr Smith stressed that there was no direct connection. It involves three LMP1 (the top class of Le Mans Prototype) cars, each costing more than £500,000, plus spare parts and support."

"In addition to the three Aston Martin chassis, Lola has sold two cars since the autumn to Italian team Racing Box, one to Dyson Racing in the US and two to a European team that Mr Smith could not identify for commercial reasons. The total is more than in any other off-season period, Lola said."

http://www.huntspost.co.uk/content/h...A12%3A05%3A900

"The car has been modified by the design team of Aston Martin led by Mark Reichmann. The exterior was done by Aston’s stylists and the aerodynamic work has been going on for only five weeks, requiring 24-hour work at some phases of the project. Aston Martin boss Ulrich Bez claims that the car will be the “most beautiful at Le Mans.”

"An informant have said that Aston Martin’s budget for the Le Mans is only about “15 percent” compared to the entry of Audi."

http://www.4wheelsnews.com/aston-mar...two-lmp1-cars/

This from E-I, naturally Google translated so please bear with it, Charouz's "stake" (is surprisingly small?):

"The responsibility for the design and the technical part lies entirely in Aston Martin Racing, which is also in charge of testing, development and exploitation the car races. The Charouz Racing System assists Aston Martin Racing for the marketing and commercial aspects of the program."

"the assembly of the first car is not yet completed and no date official has been set for the shakedown. However, the prototype will be present at the meeting of official tests Le Mans Series on HTTT early March."

"We are in contact with several drivers to enter a third car at Le Mans!"

http://www.endurance-info.com/articl...d=7133&thold=0