Simply Abu Dhabi XXIV

2 6 0 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I crossover between Formula 1 and road cars,” Palmer explains, adding, “and it’s done with a team of three key individuals: AdrianNewey from the Formula 1 side, Marek Reichman from the design side and David King with masses of experience in engineering.” Simply Abu Dhabi spoke to Marek Reichman, Chief Creative Officer and Design Director of Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd, about his source of inspiration behind the AM-RB 001. “It’s a very dramatic car – in fact, in terms of superlatives, it’s one of the seminal moments in car design and engineering where we really pushed the boundaries of what a hypercar is – so what’s inspired me the most is efficiency, simplicity, purity, lightweight materials, and having a feel which is incredibly technical but very natural.” Expanding on how he drew inspiration from the natural world Reichman says, “If I look at certain things in nature, like a leopard as it’s being a predator, they have an amazing sense of balance, and they’re also very lithe. They look agile and that’s part of the inspiration. At the point of drawing what you’re actually drawing is the moment where the car is about to move – what you draw, what you sketch, what you imagine, is something which is obviously static when you’re designing it but it has to have movement and motion.” The car looks like it’s from a time we haven’t arrived at yet. It’s the future, today. The driver will assume a reclined driving position with feet raised, similar to in an F1 car. Aerodynamics is obviously central to the major advances embodied in the car. The bodywork is designed to create major downforce at high speed, thus keeping the 001 firmly glued to the road. The absence of side door mirrors also aids the aerodynamics and in their place the AM-RB 001 will utilise rear-facing cameras that project the rear view onto a dashboard screen. The new aero system has in turn required an updated suspension and the gearbox is also an innovation. The track version of the car will no doubt feature an aero kit and dispense with some of the requirements that the road model must adhere to. It’s likely that the AM-RB 001 will hit 60mph in about two seconds and will max out somewhere around 200mph.