F1: Newey 'stimulated' by Aston road car project

Red Bull's Adrian Newey says designing a supercar as part of the Formula 1 team's tie-up with Aston Martin will provide "a fresh stimulation."

Earlier this month the British sportscar manufacturer became an innovation partner of Red Bull, with Newey fulfilling a childhood dream in working with Aston Martin to create a supercar.

Newey has often lamented F1's tight aerodynamic regulations, and is excited by the blank canvas he has with the project codenamed AM-RB 001.

"It's much, much more open. There is more room for creativity," he said. "The rulebook now almost designs the car for you in Formula 1. I think that is clear in the way the cars have converged in terms of looks.

"With road cars, there is far more freedom with trying to do something which I think will be a bit different to anything else that is out there. It's a fresh stimulation and I think that then springs back into Formula 1."

In devising the concept, Newey has not only drawn on his F1 experience with Red Bull, McLaren and Williams, but also gone further back to create "a pure and simple" supercar.

"My final year project was on ground effect aerodynamics supplied to a road car," he said. "When I first started thinking about this project, I dragged up that project from 1980 and referred to it. It's trying to adhere to the old values.

"You look at so many cars right now, they have become big, heavy and very compacted. This has reversed that trend. From a design side, I've tried to design what I think this car should be in terms of its packaging and specification.

"It will be a car of two characters – it is playful with extreme performance when you want it to be and when it is stuck in a traffic jam on the King's Road [in London], it's not uncomfortable to be in."

Originally on Autosport.com