For me, the greatest and most prestigious motoring even in the world is the Le Mans 24 Hour Race. It’s where motoring royalty – in terms of both drivers and manufacturers – come out to strut their stuff on the world stage.
Now Aston Martin, the British sports car maker, wants a piece of the action. To achieve this, the company has developed the AMR-One: a mid-engined racer powered by a 540 bhp turbocharged in-line six. The body is a carbon fibre monocoque underpinned by a carbon fibre chassis.
Team Principal George Howard-Chappell explains the choice of engine:
“We have chosen to run with a six cylinder turbocharged engine because we believe this offers the best potential within the petrol engine regulations. With the ACO’s ommitment to effectively balance the performance of petrol and diesel Le Mans entrants – our hopes are high that we’ll see the closest racing yet in the premiere LMP1 category.”
The AMR-One is rear wheel drive with a six-speed semi-automatic gearbox and was developed almost entirely in-house. In terms of drivers, AM has organised an impressive team that includes Brit Darren Turner, German Stefan Mücke and Mexican Adrian Fernandez.
Aston’s CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez is unsurprisingly confident in his team of both engineers and drivers:
“[Our] heritage is deeply rooted in endurance sports car racing, so in 2011, we take the next step demonstrating that a small team using advanced design and engineering intelligence will be agile and competitive.”
The company hopes the AMR-One will make its racing debut at the 59th Mobile 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Race in mid-March. It also hopes to take on all seven rounds of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. As always you can check out our full image gallery and leave your comments in the section provided.
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