Aston Martin AMR-One
Encyclopedia
The Aston Martin AMR-One is a Le Mans Prototype
sports car
built by Prodrive
's Aston Martin Racing
arm. The car is a successor to the B09/60 which was a collaboration between Lola and Aston Martin. Unlike their diesel competitors Aston Martin had gone for an open-top LMP.
monocoque
chassis with a new open top bodywork, opposite to the Peugeot-Audi trend of closed car.
The Aston Martin has a very high belt-line, broad shapes and few surface breaks. The front of the car is designed to develop minimal downforce and to force as much air into the ducts. The air then moves through the car instead of over the top. There are numerous ducts inside the high bodywork, one for brake cooling, 2 through the side vents and 1 for rear gearbox cooling. One air scoop is in place to feed the turbocharger. 2 side ducts on the rear of the car are for rear-brake cooling. The exhaust exits at the bottom of the vertical fin.
participating in several international endurance events in 2011, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans
. At the 6 Hours of Castellet, the new AMR-One qualified 5 seconds behind the Pescarolo. In the race things took a downturn and the AMR-One finished way down the order. Further problems continued as they only completed a handful of laps at the Le Mans Test Day and were far slower than the top running LMP1 cars. The poor testing was followed by their withdrawal from the 1000 km Spa in order to continue private testing for Le Mans. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the #009 car retired after only two laps, while the #007 car spend four hours in the pit before officially retiring, having driven only four laps. Aston Martin decided to skip the Imola round in favour of developing the car, earning them 3 DNS in 4 races and no points. At the 1000km of Silverstone, Aston Martin dropped the AMR-One and replaced them with their older but much faster Lola-Aston Martin B09/60
.
Le Mans Prototype
A Le Mans Prototype is a type of sports prototype race car most notably used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, American Le Mans Series and Le Mans Series...
sports car
Sports prototype
A sports prototype, also referred to as simply a prototype, is a form of racing car that is used as a top category in sports car racing. These purpose-built racing cars differ from street-legal and production-based racing cars that also compete in sports car racing.Prototype racing cars have...
built by Prodrive
Prodrive
Prodrive is a British motorsport and automotive engineering group based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. It designs, constructs and races cars for companies and teams such as Subaru, Aston Martin and Ford...
's Aston Martin Racing
Aston Martin Racing
Aston Martin Racing is an auto racing team established in 2004 as a partnership between automobile manufacturer Aston Martin and engineering group Prodrive. The partnership was initially created for the purpose of returning Aston Martin to sports car racing with the DBR9, a heavily modified...
arm. The car is a successor to the B09/60 which was a collaboration between Lola and Aston Martin. Unlike their diesel competitors Aston Martin had gone for an open-top LMP.
Development
To meet the new regulations bought in by the ACO for endurance racing, the AMR-One is powered by a downsized, 2.0 litre turbocharged straight six petrol engine and also features a blade-fin behind the cockpit. The AMR-One is build around a light carbon fibreCarbon fiber
Carbon fiber, alternatively graphite fiber, carbon graphite or CF, is a material consisting of fibers about 5–10 μm in diameter and composed mostly of carbon atoms. The carbon atoms are bonded together in crystals that are more or less aligned parallel to the long axis of the fiber...
monocoque
Monocoque
Monocoque is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's external skin, as opposed to using an internal frame or truss that is then covered with a non-load-bearing skin or coachwork...
chassis with a new open top bodywork, opposite to the Peugeot-Audi trend of closed car.
The Aston Martin has a very high belt-line, broad shapes and few surface breaks. The front of the car is designed to develop minimal downforce and to force as much air into the ducts. The air then moves through the car instead of over the top. There are numerous ducts inside the high bodywork, one for brake cooling, 2 through the side vents and 1 for rear gearbox cooling. One air scoop is in place to feed the turbocharger. 2 side ducts on the rear of the car are for rear-brake cooling. The exhaust exits at the bottom of the vertical fin.
2011
Six AMR-Ones are expected to be built, with Aston Martin RacingAston Martin Racing
Aston Martin Racing is an auto racing team established in 2004 as a partnership between automobile manufacturer Aston Martin and engineering group Prodrive. The partnership was initially created for the purpose of returning Aston Martin to sports car racing with the DBR9, a heavily modified...
participating in several international endurance events in 2011, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
. At the 6 Hours of Castellet, the new AMR-One qualified 5 seconds behind the Pescarolo. In the race things took a downturn and the AMR-One finished way down the order. Further problems continued as they only completed a handful of laps at the Le Mans Test Day and were far slower than the top running LMP1 cars. The poor testing was followed by their withdrawal from the 1000 km Spa in order to continue private testing for Le Mans. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the #009 car retired after only two laps, while the #007 car spend four hours in the pit before officially retiring, having driven only four laps. Aston Martin decided to skip the Imola round in favour of developing the car, earning them 3 DNS in 4 races and no points. At the 1000km of Silverstone, Aston Martin dropped the AMR-One and replaced them with their older but much faster Lola-Aston Martin B09/60
Lola-Aston Martin B09/60
The Lola-Aston Martin B09/60, also known as the Aston Martin DBR1-2, is a Le Mans Prototype sports car built by Lola Cars International and co-developed with Prodrive for use by Aston Martin Racing. It is the first prototype to bear the Aston Martin name since the AMR1 in 1989...
.