Luxury sports car marque Aston Martin is to re-join Formula 1 after an absence from the starting grid of more than 50 years.
The car luxury car maker has signed a deal with F1 team Red Bull to jointly develop a racing car for the 2017 season.
Meanwhile, the dream team’s first collaboration will come out from under the covers within a few weeks, says the company.
The project is a ‘hyper car’ for roads rather than track racing.
Aston Martin has revealed they will work alongside Red Bull engineers to design and produce cars but will not provide F1 engines.
Brand awareness
Much of the work will be based on Red Bull carbon fibre construction techniques.
Aston Martin last graced the F1 race tracks in 1960, although cars have regularly raced in Le Mans and other track events over the years.
And the brand is best known for gracing the James Bond films as the ubiquitous spy’s car of choice.
The next time Aston Martin is scheduled for grand prix is in the line-up in Australia in 2017.
The car maker is willing to pump tens of millions into developing and racing in F1 to raise awareness of the brand worldwide.
The company feels the marque has lost ground to racing rivals Ferrari and McLaren, which also compete at the luxury supercar end of the market against Aston Martin.
Super car strategy
Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer said: “Formula 1 is the stage Aston Martin should grace. The championship will spread the word about our brand to a much wider audience and give us a chance to test and develop new technology and designs.
“F1 is televised in countries we cannot reach with traditional advertising, such as China, and although racing is expensive, the brand exposure in these markets cost much more by other means.”
Renault will supply the engines to power the Red Bull Aston Martin under an agreement already in place.
Re-entry into F1 is part of a global marketing strategy by Aston Martin which includes upgrading the range of cars.
The new DB11 £140,000 super luxury sports car was unveiled at the recent Geneva Motor Show to replace the DB9 and more new cars are waiting in the wings – even a cross-over part electric SUV.